The Buerglers

After I got burned by the Cloud Sand Disaster (still kicking myself for not thinking that through), I've been a little slow to do any more crafts at home.  I just see it as one more thing to clean. I forget the value in time spent, expanding creativity, exploring new skills and making memories. I wish I could say I had these great intentions in mind while making playdough with Evie, but I was driven by the fact that I HATE the smell of store bought Play Doh brand dough.  I took this time to channel my inner Mama Bethany (who is always doing fun, thoughtful activities with her children). After digging through Evie's preschool parent handbook I found the play dough recipe they recommend and we got started.  (Feel free to copy this, Google will yield you the same information)  Looks like mashed potatoes: check!  Time to choose the colors.  Evie decided she wanted to make purple.  I took the opportunity to teach a color lesson.  Y...

This post has been in the queue since before Maggie was born but I did not have the emotional energy to finish it.  It's now been four months since my discernment to leave ministry to become a full-time mother. Ever since late high school I knew I wanted to work in Religious Education of some sort. I didn't know if that meant in the classroom of a Catholic school or in youth ministry, or what.  After a few years of college education in Religious Studies - focus on catechetics - and a lot of hands on ministry work, I discerned that youth ministry was the starting point for me. I was hired at the second parish I interviewed, my parent's home parish.  I was a part-time high school youth minister and I nannied for two families, and eventually went full time youth ministry while still nannying for one family. A few years later I moved into a different role that was two different hats and two different age groups:  Middle school youth ministry and 10th grade Confir...

With the countdown less than ten weeks until Baby Buergler #2 is due, I had a sudden panic of all the things that "went wrong" with the end of my pregnancy, the labor & delivery, and my recovery.  I am terrified of a repeat.  I have been doing my best to mental prepare, should they, but it was just SO MUCH last time that I am almost in tears again just thinking about a repeat experience. 1. Preeclampsia    I was diagnosed with preeclampsia around week 36-37 with Evie. It only occurs in about 5-8% of pregnancies. Fortunately once you've had it you're not more likely to get it. Each pregnancy is unique. Still, I know more about now than I did then. It's dangerous (Lady Sybil anyone?).  I am terrified to repeat that: The headaches. The bed rest. The edema. The blood pressure feeling like my body was going to explode.  After a short stint on bed rest I had to be induced. I was also passed back and forth between the doctor and midwife, and neither of ...

Sorry to interrupt your fine Thursday evening of blog reading and wine drinking. I have an announcement to make. My daughter. Seventeen and a half month old daughter.  Pooped in the potty tonight.  The events took place hours ago but I am beaming from ear to ear, still. Let's rewind. My daughter has been battling a constipation issue since she turned a year old. We can control it with diet but occasionally it gets out of hand if we've been eating out a lot.  Needless to say, the last five months or so we've had a lot of conversations about poop.  Stuck poopies. Hurt poopies. Are you going poopies? She's also taken an interest in me going to the bathroom.  And now that she can open the door ( hooray !), I often find myself interrupted by a little visitor wondering what I'm doing sitting in that tiny room.  So I've taken these teachable moments to tell her that mommy and Evie sit down on the potty to go pee-pee and poopy. Aren...