My last day at work

I've been wondering all week how to go about starting to blog about my entry into the noble ranks of stay-at-home-moms. This week was my last week of work.

Tuesday, May 31, is my last day working part-time for the wonderful public relations firm I've worked with since I moved to Houston two years ago. It's funny how I ended up in PR. I studied mass communications and concentrated in advertising (of all things:) at LSU, and when I moved to Houston it was old-fashioned telephone calls, networking, and undoubtedly some Heavenly orchestration that got me a job at my firm. I've acquired many skills, experiences and contacts that will serve me--and help me serve others--in some special ways. I can already see that, and I know that working where I did and for as long as I did was part of God's plan for my life so far.

I don't think I've done too many "shout outs" for advice before, but I'd love to invite any mom readers  (or anyone with some timeless wisdom to share) to post a comment with a tip or two for me on transitioning to being home full-time. My only stipulations is that I'd love to hear positive advice and tips. In return, I promise that Humble Handmaid will stay updated with all of my thoughts and adventures and challenges as my family and I make this transition.

Considering that--aside from losing the income from my job--I'm just about into my third trimester of pregnancy, have a toddler already, am starting a new business with my husband, and am on your Typical Young Family Budget, this should be an adventure for sure!

I feel this amazing fierceness in my heart these days. Side by side with peace, of all things. I know I'm in for an incredible year. And a challenging year, in some ways I can already see and am already experiencing. But I'm ready for it!

Well, me + the grace of God are ready for it.

When the going has been tough lately, and all I've wanted to do is order pizza, watch Jane Austen movies, and kick all babies and husbands out of the house, in the moment my desperate, feeble little prayers have brought down mighty grace for me just when I need it. The Holy Spirit has gently put things back into perspective, helped me put a smile back on my face, and keep going. God is good, all the time.

And now to bed.

BUT before I go to bed...I actually have to show you this picture of the AMAZING hot fudge brownie sundae I ate today when my coworkers took my out to Another Time Soda Fountain and then antique shopping for my "sending off" trip. We had such a lovely day! :) Another Time is one of our clients, and I have loved working on their account. Mostly because they are such nice people to work with, but also because it's not the hardest thing in the world to get people interested in visiting a place that makes hand-mixed sodas and milk shakes, 1lb banana splits, delicious hamburgers and salads, and this:

A huge, perfectly delicious brownie covered in fresh whipped cream, hot fudge, pecans and a cherry, with a scoop of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream on one side and cake batter ice cream on the other side...heaven :)

Please don't ask me if I ate the entire thing. 

Cookie Dough Brownies

Special request: Cookie Dough Brownies

This recipe looks absolutely positively fantastic. I might try it for Family Dinner tonight!

Some updates

I haven't been blogging as much as I used to for a while now, and I only recently fully came to peace with that fact. It's not that I don't love to blog--it's that there's a time for everything, and at this time in my life (these last few months at least), I have needed to focus on my home, health, husband and family more than my blog.

I do feel that in the near future (probably the middle of June-ish) I will have the time and inspiration to blog and post much more frequently, since I'll be embarking on a new journey into stay-at-home-motherhood. I'll have a bit more time to write, plus I'm looking forward to blogging through such a big change in my life.

That said, I do have some juicy updates! And I will still keep writing for CatholicMom.com every other Thursday.

So here we go!

CrossCutt, our new business
I am so, so proud of my husband these days. He has done an incredible job getting our lawn care business set up in every way. He has spent just about every night for the past four months working on setting up every aspect of this business. And that's in addition to working 40 hours per week at his day job as a robotics analyst for the International Space Station. Lots of time in front of computers. No wonder he can't wait to get outside and do something active for a living (or part of a living, in CrossCutt's case. This is a side business and Michael will continue to work full-time.)

Lawn care guys with a truck, a mower and a handshake are a dime a dozen here in Houston, but we've set out from the beginning to create a professional, high-quality, trustworthy, commercially-aimed lawn care business. We have a full crew of (John Deere :) commercial-grade equipment so far: a 54" ZTR, a 32" pro mower, two backpack blowers, one edger and two weed-eaters. (Can you tell I've learned a few things about lawn care equipment over the past few months?) I bet you'd never guess that, to date, I have never mowed a lawn in my life! Crazy, I know!

A major dream of ours for this business is that it will allow us to give back generously to our community. From the get-go, we are putting 10 percent of the business's earnings toward service and charitable organizations in our community.

If you live in Houston, please help us spread the word about our new business! Our website, www.crosscutt.com, will go live by this Friday!

Baby Girl Franco updates
I am six months pregnant with my healthy baby girl and am looking forward to September 6. I'm feeling great most of the time, but have the blessing of usually being able to take care of myself with a nap or extra rest when I need it.

I definitely feel "bigger" this pregnancy, and my doctor said that this baby will probably be bigger than her big brother when she is born. I just love feeling her kick and move inside of me. It makes me smile many times during the day. :)

Gabriel updates
Gabriel is walking and running all over the place these days. He has this adorable little "toddle" to his walking, with his little hands all in the air. He constantly looks like he's going to fall over, and he probably falls dozens of times per day still. When he stands still, he likes to pooch out his tummy and rub his hands on it like an old man with a beer gut! It's hilarious.

Gabriel is also doing great with signing and talking. He puts his hands together for prayers, signs "please," "kiss," "bye bye," and "more" fairly consistently, and says "ma ma," "da da," "uh oh," "baby," and "amen."

I'm also thrilled that he finally lets us read him books. He has to be pretty tired or relaxed though before he'll sit down long enough for us to read more than a few pages together, but he's finally learning to like reading. His favorite book so far is Goodnight Moon.

Diet/South Beach updates
Michael has lost 24 pounds since February! He looks and feels great, and I'm so proud of him. It's been eye-opening for me to see how attached I am to food, especially emotional eating, when compared to my uncomplaining husband.

A typical lunch he takes to work consists of leftovers from dinner, two or three turkey roll-ups (a piece of turkey wrapped around a slice of red bell pepper and some low-fat cheddar cheese), alternately some cucumber slices with hummus, and some peanuts or low-fat popcorn. None of this sounds especially appetizing to me at all, and I know his lunches aren't usually particularly exciting for him, but the man never complains. I'll be honest, food is a weakness for me, especially at 6 months pregnant, and I need to learn from him.

We are still technically on Phase II on the South Beach Diet (at least Michael is), but we aren't overly strict about it. Michael and I both have sort of a new mindset now that if we splurge one day, we eat extra-healthfully and avoid lots of carbs, starches or sugar for a couple of days after that.

Other updates
We will have a roommate for the summer, Katie, and we are truly excited she is coming! She is doing a research project at NASA over the summer for her college. I know she will be a sweet spirit in our home.

I can't turn a blind eye any more.

My kitchen and bedroom blinds are f.i.l.t.h.y. I need to do something about it. Preferably before the daily temperature outside reach 100+ degrees every day.

I don't think my blinds are quite this yucky, but you get the picture:


At least I am blessed to have had the previous owners of the house leave us wide, sturdy plastic blinds that you pull the cord to open and close, not the skinny, flimsy ones with the turning rod (although we have those elsewhere in the house).

Does anyone have any tips or tricks to getting these cleaned quickly and thoroughly? I have heard that you can just take them down, lay them on your driveway, and use the hose, some dish soap, and old rags to scrub off the thick dust and tiny bits of macaroni and cheese (did I just type that? How embarrassing) before letting the blinds dry in the sun.

Is that really the best way to go about this?

Ideas are appreciated!

A Big Texas Truck, a new Business Venture, a Glamorous Evening, a Lovely Mother's Day, and the Goodness of the Lord

The last week has been intense, in mostly a very good way! The Lord has provided for us in every way this week, and we are amazed at his work in our lives. I wish I could blog through absolutely all of it, because blogging is one of the ways that I pray and think through things in my life, but even Humble Handmaid has to keep some things to herself :)

One awesome piece of news is that we finally purchased a second vehicle! And not just any vehicle...a Big Texas Truck! As many of you know. Michael and I have been a one-car family since January, but we've had the huge blessing of a loaner car from our friend Linda for the past couple of months. 

We found this Chevy Silverado just this past week. It was exactly in our price range (within $100 of what we saved up!) and has all of the features we wanted. The truck was also immaculately kept by its previous owner, and it's in fantastic condition. 

So that brings me to why we purchased a truck. 

Other than the fact that both Michael and I are starting to love being Texans (Michael is dying for a real Cowboy Hat and Boots now :), we needed a truck because Michael is starting his own lawn care services business as a side business for us. 

The business name is CrossCutt. The logo design is still being tweaked a good bit, but here's a prototype: 

We'll be focused on high quality commercial and residential services and also will have a special Christian mission of giving back to the community as much as we can in some special ways. We have already done almost all of the business formation work and are in the process of purchasing the equipment and tying up loose ends. 

We have been discerning starting this side business for a while now, and God has really been putting everything in place for us to start this. Especially since I'm going to be home full-time starting in June, and we have a new baby coming this year, the extra income will be a blessing for us. 

The best part is that Michael will get to do something he loves to do and also strike out into the business world, something he has been eager to do for a while! (And with two sets of parents who are entrepreneurs, I knew this was bound to happen at some point when I married this man!)

Enough of CrossCutt for the moment though...and on to more glamorous (but not less exciting) things! 

Check out this gorgeous dessert from the Virtuosi of Houston gala we went to last night. It was a work of art: a dark chocolate piano filled with vanilla mousse and fresh strawberries and blueberries; an apple pie tart; and a piece of printed white chocolate with Virtuosi's logo on it. Everything tasted delicious! 

The gala was so much fun! Michael and I had a blast and met many interesting people. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to go.

 

Virtuosi of Houston is a non-profit youth chamber orchestra made up of the top 11-18 year-old classical musicians in the Houston area. They give several concerts each season, and they play at the gorgeous Hobby Center downtown. They are incredible! I highly recommend attending a concert if you live in Houston. The ticket prices are extremely reasonable, and really what makes this orchestra so exciting is that you can hardly believe such perfect music is coming out of such young people--and such passionate young people. You can see these kids absolutely putting their hearts and souls into playing for you, and it's so neat to watch as well as hear. One of the pieces they played last night almost had me in tears it was so beautiful. And this is coming from a girl who had never heard been to a live orchestra concert in her life. 

One of the best parts of the night was dressing up and feeling beautiful in a I-Just-Need-a-Red-Carpet kind of way. It was also a very special treat to dress up for my husband, and he was quite appreciative! :) My friend Julie graciously lent me this fantastic dress of hers, since my--ahem--curvy new figure didn't fit into my one formal gown.  Here are some pictures for proof! 

22 weeks pregnant and feeling great! 

The picture below was taken after we got home from the gala. And after my amazing husband presented me with the GORGEOUS freshwater pale pink drop pearl necklace and earrings he had bought for me (without my knowledge) in the silent auction at the gala. I had oohed and aaahed over this beautiful set when we passed it, and so he secretly went back and got them for me for Mother's Day. That is not like Michael at all, and so I was so surprised and speechless I think I teared up :) This is my first real pearl necklace and earrings. I didn't want to take them off! 

Mother's Day has been lovely so far. The fact that I'm blogging in the middle of the day (instead of 10 o'clock at night) should tell you that I am having a slow-paced and relaxing day. We went to early mass, I took a very long nap, we played outside and washed the loaner car we're returning today (yay!), Michael made me a great lunch, and we're headed out for snowballs after we return the car this afternoon.

Plus Gabriel has obliged me by taking two long naps today. And I haven't done dishes all day.

Heaven. :)

I wish huge blessings today on all of my readers who are mothers! May God fill you with peace, give you oceans of grace in every moment, and bless you with some unexpected surprises today and in the coming week (the good kind:).

Right now is happily ever after

It came to me the other day that my life at this very moment is the "happily ever after" I dreamed about growing up. And I need to remind myself of that more often.

As Michael and I read "Guess How Much I Love You?" to Gabriel before bedtime, and Gabriel falls asleep all sweaty and happy on Michael's chest. 

As I watch Michael and Gabriel wrestle after dinner. 

As I snuggle with my sweet husband on the couch in front of a movie on a quiet weeknight (We're LOVING Netflix)

As I feel the rolls and kicks and hiccups of the precious baby girl inside of me.

As Michael and I make plans and dreams for our future. 

As we pray for God's guidance in our lives and let Him lead us in the never-boring, always-surprising, wonderful plan He's got for our lives. 

You know what also came to me on this topic? Unlike what I thought as a little girl and what too many young women think, my "happily ever after" didn't start once I finally get to wear that pretty white dress and walk down the aisle. 

It started in college, actually, when I finally began letting God lead my life, when, to the best of my abilities, I started making choices and living out my relationships based on discernment in prayer and on Christ-like behavior. 

That's when Happily Ever After began, because that's when I first remember feeling the incredible peace that comes with letting God into your life completely. I think that peace is a part of everyone's personal Happily Ever After, whether they've ever thought about it like that or not. 

There may not be peace in every part of my life right now, but overall, I do have an inner peace of God that I draw from when those challenging small and bigger trials arise. 

* * * 

I sure did LOVE my Pretty White Dress though :)

Have mercy

I really felt Divine Mercy Sunday this past week. 

Because the teachings and encouragement of John Paul II (who was beatified on Divine Mercy Sunday:) were the major force behind my conversion of faith in college. 

Because many of John Paul II's writings have been a continuous source of inspiration and guidance for me and my husband in our relationship ever since we started dating. 

Because God taught me some lessons this Lent about how generous His mercy is, and just how much I need it. 

And because I have challenging situations in my life right now that the message of Divine Mercy Sunday speaks to my heart about. 

The Divine Mercy image above is a depiction of a vision that Christ granted to a humble Polish nun in the early 20th century. The red ray stands for the life of souls, and the white ray stands for Christ's sanctifying grace.

St. Faustina lived a remarkably humble, quiet, and seemingly-monotonous life, but outward appearances did not do justice to the richness of her prayer life, spiritual gifts, and intimate relationship with God. 

One particular quote from the writings of St. Faustina really articulates a part of my own spirituality in relation to mercy: 

O my Jesus, each of Your saints reflects one of Your virtues; I desire to reflect Your compassionate heart, full of mercy; I want to glorify it. Let Your Mercy, O Jesus, be impressed upon my heart and soul like a seal, and this will be my badge in this and the future life (Diary 1242). 

The reason I love this prayer and desire of St. Faustina is that I feel so strongly that mercy is missing from our culture. I can feel it and see the need for it everywhere, especially in our personal relationships, and especially in our families. Every minute spent in traffic, every misunderstanding, every personal attack, oppression or challenge we face in our everyday lives and relationships--that's when we've got to have mercy. On one another.

The word "mercy" sounds a little antiquated and vague, I know. So here's how I translate being merciful in my own life.

• Be slow to anger and quick to forgive.
• Pray for right judgement before you speak or act.
• Be humble of heart. Pray daily to grow in humility.
• Pray daily for wisdom. 
• Work especially hard at this with those you or deal with every day: your spouse, children, siblings, coworkers and roommates. 
• Before you judge others, before you become angry, before you try to change another person, and before you act--ask God to reveal to you those things in your heart and life that need to change. Ask him to take out of your heart every thought, belief, feeling or opinion that is not of Him. 
• Let your first reaction in adversity be compassion and trust in God's guidance. Those who hurt you probably have something tough going on in their lives. The very fact that they're not acting Christ-like reveals they need God. They need prayers. 
• Don't indulge in negative speech that we so easily fall into when we're with "like minded" people. Don't crack jokes at others' expense. Catch yourself before participating in conversations that "roast" politicians, coworkers, or even friends and family. Yes, many people make bad choices or hurt us--sometimes over and over again. yes, there are people who have hurt us or our loved ones badly. But rather than our grudges and anger, they need a Heavenly wakeup call brought on by prayer. 

Michael and I actually just finished praying the awesome Divine Mercy Novena, and it's been amazing to see how God has worked in our lives over just the past nine days leading up to Divine Mercy Sunday. My thoughts in this post come from my reflections during this novena. 

Jesus, I trust in you! Have mercy on us, and on the whole world...

I like bikes

Over the past four weekends, we have attended three major athletic events: The MS 150, the Crescent City Classic, and the South Houston Special Olympics.

After cheering on all of the athletes at these three events, I think we got a little inspired to get active as a family. Michael and I talked this week about how neither of us can think of one demographic of person--no age, athletic ability, level of fitness or state in life--that we didn't see getting out and going for it at one of these events.

So this weekend we went out and bought two bikes and a pull-behind double bike trailer and jogger. We have a good friend who works at a great local bike shop, and he found all three of these on clearance for us! We got great deals on all three, which helped ease our (probably just my) Buyer's Remorse a bit. Our friend fitted our bikes to us perfectly, double-checked they were in pristine condition, and showed us how to adjust and maintain them. Thanks, Robert :)

We have matching bikes that are oh-so-comfortable and easy to ride. I love them! Michael's is just a little bigger than mine. 

It is NOT like us to just go out and buy something for our family like this! But I'm so glad we did. It was such a blast doing something active as a family. Riding together felt like a little adventure of sorts. 

Buying all of our bike gear was worth is just for this picture :)

We went on our first ride together yesterday evening. The smooth, maintained, shady, paved streets in our  neighborhood and in the beautiful neighborhoods and parks right around our neighborhood were a joy to ride on! It was especially lovely riding through the big, beautiful neighborhood across the street from ours. All of the houses are gorgeous (and different, unlike our neighborhood, where there are about 12 floorplans total:), and there are winding, shady, double-wide sidewalks and quiet streets everywhere. We had a blast!

Because I happen to be a bit over five months pregnant right now, we took things very easy. The great thing about my bike is that I can adjust it so that I can almost be sitting upright if I want. I wasn't uncomfortable at all, and it felt great to get some exercise that wasn't too bouncy--or hot. 

I will keep doing easy rides with the boys until I feel too big and uncomfortable to ride anymore, and then I'll take a break until Baby Girl Franco is old enough to get packed in the trailer with her big brother! Hopefully it will be cooling off a bit by a few weeks after she is born, though, so walking in a double-stroller with both of them might not be such a devastatingly hot proposition by that time.