New Blog

To anyone who might care, I have obviously stopped writing as Catholic Woman. If you are still interested in following me you can find me at my new blog Little Ginger Blessings.

I write about anything and everything that inspires me. You can also follow my Facebook page.

Thanks for following my life as a Catholic Woman!

Farewell

I know that I have not written in a very long time. When I started this blog I had every intention of being an active writer, but alas, life sometimes has a way of making things change.

It is still my intention to become an active writer once more. However, I created this blog to document my thoughts and feelings specifically as an active Catholic woman. My vocation has changed. Now I am a Catholic woman who is also a mother. Motherhood has dramatically changed my life and changed it for the better.

However, when I started this blog I did not want it to become one of the many Catholic Mommy blogs that are out there. If I start to blog again, and I hope I do, it will be under the guise of a whole new blog.

I want to thank you all for joining me in my journey. It has been a blessing and I have enjoyed it immensely. It is just time to move on and put my focus elsewhere.

In closing, I will leave you a picture of my now one year old son who has brought such joy to our lives!



May God bless you all! Blessed Zelie Martin, pray for us!

A New Normal

I created this blog to share my life as a modern day Catholic woman. Naturally, being a woman who was called to the vocation of marriage, a part of that life is the raising of children. I am now experiencing a new reality that is my life. It is not my intention to turn this into a Catholic Mommy blog, but my son has a huge impact on my everyday routine and he will probably play a heavy influence on my reflections.

Our son is a little cutie!

It is so cool watching my husband bond with our son. He is remembering the joys of his own childhood and wants to share those memories. He has picked up a number of car toys from garage sales and I think he enjoys them more than Richard at this point! 

Days are becoming easier for me, both emotionally and spiritually. I think I have overcome the major hurdle of postpartum depression and things are a little less overwhelming. It takes time to realize that a woman does not have as much time for herself once she becomes a mother. That is probably why I did not have any problems or anxiety when I returned to work. It gives me a little sense of  'me time'. 

I have met with my Deacon, who is my spiritual adviser, to assist with my spiritual problems. He did not give me any earth shattering advice. I pretty much already knew what he would say, but it was still a huge help talking with him and getting a different perspective. He encouraged me to go to confession more often (before I got pregnant I was going every 4-6 weeks) and spend more time in adoration. Spending more time in adoration is easier said than done. It's not always easy bringing a newborn into a space that is supposed to be quite and reflective, nor is it easy to find an opportunity to get someone to watch him so that I can sit with Jesus for an hour. 

I have been able to find a few moments of reflective time right before I go to sleep. I know there are some people who will be totally against this, but as of right now Richard co-sleeps with us. He does not like sleeping on his back or in the bassinet and the only solution we've been able to find is to have him sleep in my arms. We will work on breaking him of this as soon as we can, but I do have to say that it makes the midnight feedings so much easier! Anyway, when I look at my sleeping baby in my arms I reflect on what Jesus may have been like as a child. It's hard to imagine God as a helpless child who needs His Mother for EVERYTHING and it kind of blows my mind. But these reflections are helping me with my spiritual crisis.

Being a mommy is an amazing experience. I just hope that I will have enough emotional strength and courage to enjoy the ride! 

New Life

I wish to apologize for my long sabbatical from my blog. I did not intend for it to be so long, but the last part of my pregnancy was a bit complicated and once my little one came along I was diagnosed with postpartum depression. There was much that I needed to get used to.


Now, I am happy to say that God has blessed us with a son, whom we have named Richard Thomas.

Like I said in previous posts, my pregnancy was nothing like I expected it to be, and delivery was nothing like I hoped it would be either. I had always planned on getting an epidural since I have a rather low tolerance for pain. My doctors were aware of my wishes and were happy to accommodate as best they could.

Even though I was 3cm dilated for about a month and I had lost my mucus plug 3 weeks before I was due, I still carried past my due date. When my due date came, my blood pressure started to rise and it did not come down. My doctors then feared I was suffering from preeclampsia, so they started to induce me on a Tuesday night. When the pill they gave me did not start active labor, they then gave me Pitocin. 20 minutes later I went from being 4 cm dilated to 8cm dilated. It was too late to administer any drug medication and it just so happened that the guy who did the epidurals was unavailable...therefore I had to deliver my baby with no medication to help with the pain!

Needless to say I was mentally and emotionally unprepared for such a trauma. I knew that labor was going to be painful, but naturally it was nothing like I had expected. Thankfully, my hubby was there with me the entire time. He said that it broke his heart to see me in such pain, but he did all that he could to assist. I could not be more grateful for all that he did for me.

After 6 hours of active labor, our son finally arrived. He was 8lbs 1oz and 20 inches long, and came with a full head of red hair! He could not have been more perfect!

I adored my son the first moment that I saw him and I praised God!

It has taken many weeks to get adjusted to a newborn at home, and I was greatly overwhelmed. But now, things seem to have settled down into a new routine and I return to work on May 1st.

My spiritual life is still in disarray. I am working on returning to a life with God at my center, so I ask that you continue to keep me in your prayers. Things are looking up, and I hope to start a new life this Easter.





21 Weeks Pregnant

I would like to apologize for not spending more time on my blog. I must admit that being pregnant is a lot different than what I thought it would be. I expected to have the pregnant mommy glow by now and that is not exactly happening.

 

                                                            Things I wish I knew:

 





1) I always thought that morning sickness was when you puke then feel better for the rest of the day. I didn't think it could mean feeling like you're walking around with the flu.

2) You have weird dreams...like REALLY weird dreams.

3) Sleeping can be an issue.

4) You can actually LOSE weight during pregnancy. I lost 10 pounds! However, I quickly gained it back and am now back at my pre-pregnancy weight.

5) Tastes change. I have lost my taste for fish...but seem to like the taste of beer (very small sips from the hubby's glass, mind you).

6) I never thought that I would miss alcohol this much. I'm not a big drinker, but I miss my glass of wine at the end of a hectic day.

7) Baby movements can feel like little bubbles in your tummy.

8) Maternity clothes are expensive!

9) You pee in a cup every time you go to the doctor's office for an exam.

10) Your new best friend is your body pillow.

 

Also, I did not think that being pregnant would have such an effect on my emotional and spiritual life. My spiritual and prayer life is still in the tanker. I am just having a difficult time communicating with God and I don't know why. Plus, I am having some severe bouts of depression.

 

I am hoping that the more I feel my baby move the more I will bond with him/her. The hubby is insistent that he does not want to know the gender. So, we've nicknamed our baby 'Butterbean'. I think it's a boy, so I refer to the baby as 'him'. I believe it to be natural to almost assign your baby a gender so that you don't refer to the baby as 'it'. It makes the bonding process a little easier.

 

I ask everyone to please keep me in your prayers. The hubby has been so wonderful in dealing with my emotional problems and I am thankful for his love and support. I hope to be back on top of the world very soon!

 

Saint Gerard Majella, please pray for me!

13 Weeks and Counting

So, I am nearing the end of my first trimester. The nausea and fatigue are mostly gone, but I still have my moments of sickness which occur mainly in the evenings. Weird, huh? If any of the old wives tales are correct it would seem that I am carrying a boy. I say this because I am carrying low, I'm craving salt, and I don't think I have burped so much in my life.

 

The odd thing is, being pregnant has wreaked havoc on my spiritual life. I am having a hard time praying and connecting with God. I think it may be because I am struggling with the sickness and all I want to do is try to figure out what I can stomach to eat. I've been going to bed insanely early because my sickness is worse in the evenings.

 

I can only pray that things will look up as I head into the second trimester, which is supposed to be the 'golden period' of pregnancy. We'll find out soon enough.

 

I will be meeting with Deacon within the next few weeks to discuss his plans for a Bible Study class that he wants me to teach. Maybe teaching this class will bring me the spiritual support that I need and bring me closer to God.

 

I ask that everyone please keep me in your prayers. I want to dedicate more time to blogging on more important matters and hopefully I will be able to very soon.

 

Saint Gerard Majella, pray for me!



What's Up?

You wanna know what's up? Nothing much...other than feeling like crap 24/7. But, from what I understand, that is to be expected during the first trimester. My house is a mess because I have felt like I've been walking around with the flu. It sucks! However, it seems that my nausea is slowly getting better. I may not feel 100% normal, but I'm better than what I was three weeks ago.

That is why I have not blogged in the past six weeks. I think I will take a couple of more weeks to simply focus on relaxing and trying to get through this first trimester then I will be back.

Please keep me, my hubby, and our little Butterbean in your prayers!

Saint Gerard Majella, pray for us!

Never the Same

Phew! I have just finished teaching a week of Adult Vacation Bible School at my church. It seems to have gone over very well. The people seemed to have enjoyed it and I have gotten many compliments.

This whole month...well, more like month and a half, has been very hectic. My grandparents are moving in and we've been assisting with them, then I had to do AVBS. But something during all of this has happened that will change my life forever.



That's right! After 15 months of trying, the hubby and I are pregnant! God has decided to grace us with a child!

I am about 5 weeks along. The hubby and I, as well as the rest of the family and friends, are very happy. It seems that we can't be any more excited.

So, while I was teaching AVBS this week, I was fighting very hard to stay awake because I have been suffering from very severe fatigue. 

I am so thankful! Now comes the part of 9 months preparation. I'll keep you all updated! Right now, I'm going for another nap! :)

Why I Dislike Bravo

First off, I want to apologize that I have not updated my blog in a while. I am still preparing for the Adult Vacation Bible Study course that I will be teaching next week. My Deacon came up to me and asked if I was looking forward to teaching AVBS. I replied that I was 'excited yet scared as heck'. Deacon replied in good Deacon fashion by saying "Great!"

So, while I was taking a break from reading, I was flipping through the channels, like I always do, and I came across a show on Bravo called 'Princess Long Island'.



Ugh, oh my gosh, this show is such a degradation to women. Let me give you an example: There is this one woman who is 29 years old (my age, BTW), she still lives at home with her rich daddy, who still spoils her, and all she does is party and shop...with her daddy's credit card. Her mother apparently loves to shop for string bikinis and get Botox shots.

Don't even get my started on the whole 'Housewives' series who depict wealthy women as being nothing but vain and gossip obsessed drama queens.

It is shows like these that put forth an image that wrapping your world around material possessions and being concerned about nothing except your appearance is perfectly acceptable and something that we should all strive for. This is what our young girls are growing up with. They are being fed an image that womanhood is nothing but being wrapped up in yourself and using sexuality to manipulate men.

But, there is hope! I was very excited to come across a magazine called Verily Magazine. This is a magazine dedicated to the dignity of woman and how we can be beautiful and successful without jeopardizing our self-worth. They publish articles about relationships, recipes, fashion, just like the other magazines do, but they do it with grace and taste.

While the main media is pushing a negative image of women, there is also a culture that is pushing against the mainstream. This culture seems small because it is not the image that is being promoted in popular culture, but it exists and it is growing exponentially. People want something that is wholesome and pure. By nature I think we long to be treated with dignity, and there is a whole group of people who are being treated like a sub-culture, but we are not a sub-culture. We are the ones pushing against an image that is holding society back.

Summer Fun!

School is out. You know what that means? More work for me. Summer is the busiest time for those who work in the financial aid industry so my days are busier than ever.

It also means that summer is approaching. My church has all kinds of youth summer camps available for all of our children, and those activities keep the parishioners on their toes. Last year, my Deacon had the idea to do something for the adults as well, and we had a lecture series where a number of our parish leaders spoke on various topics.

This year, we'll be doing a Bible Study. Guess who is leading it...YUP! That would be me!

 

I will be teaching a week long series on Salvation History 101. And I am nervous as heck. Granted, Deacon sent me and the hubby to the Bible Study conference about two months ago where we got to learn all about it, but I am not a Bible Scholar...I just read a lot. I'll be doing a lot more reading to make sure I am well versed in this topic.

 

When I met with Deacon yesterday to discuss some of the logistics, we naturally discussed the hot topic of the day: Homosexual 'Marriage'. I've told him my struggles with trying to stand up with the faith on this topic, and he reassured me in my efforts. All we can do is stand up for what God has placed forth. We will probably lose this fight, but in the end we will receive our reward.

 

I will be doing a lot of studying during the next few weeks, so please do not be suprised if I don't write another post for a while.

 

Saint Jerome, pray for us!