Well... We Tried? {WIWS}

Our Mass routine was down to an art back before we moved - I'd take John Paul, Cecilia, and one of the twins to the 8:30 at our local parish every week, and they had gotten to the point where everybody's behavior was pretty good. And never so bad that anybody had to be taken out of church. So I figured that with my mom coming along with us, bringing all 5 kids shouldn't be too big a deal, right?

Well.

I suppose you can see where this is going.

Our new parish is beautiful, but a smaller building and a different architectural style. Which means that we have to enter the pew from the *side* instead of the center, since now it's inevitable that I'll have to take Peter out at least once during Mass. Which also means that John Paul has to throw a fit because he wants to enter the pew from the center even though it means I'll be crazy-exposed as the only parent of a young child who isn't already just camping out in the narthex in anticipation of bad behavior, since my mom and I had to take turns taking the three youngest out more times than I could count during Mass the first weekend at our parish.

It took three weeks for me to realize that we needed to be entering from the side, rather than the center, so we employed our new strategy when I took the older three to a weekday Mass with a special blessing for schoolchildren. But of course, John Paul was not a fan of the new routine, and kept arguing with me and trying to refuse to go into the pew. Which bled over into arguing with Father during the homily (not loud enough for Father to hear, but loud enough for everybody around us to hear that he doesn't want to abstain from meat on Fridays, and when he is a grown up, he will eat whatever he wants on Fridays), at which point he started plugging his ears and trying to get away from my scolding him. I picked him up and carried him out of the church screaming (like, ALL THE WAY outside), then had to run back inside for Elizabeth, who a nice old lady was helping out of the church because she started crying and trying to follow us, THEN had to go BACK in for Cecilia and my purse so that we could just leave because John Paul was having a meltdown outside and there was no redeeming the situation (although a very sweet lady asked if we needed any help when I was escorting the last child out of the building - at that point we were all a lost cause!).

Needless to say, I think it was a great way to introduce ourselves to the local homeschooling community! And yeah, I was too embarrassed by our showing to try to go to the local park meetup later that day (and also it was a million degrees out...).

The usual culprits... Can't imagine why they wouldn't be behaved perfectly!

What exactly is the point of this entire post? Well, just to officially confess that yes, we'll be tag-teaming Mass again even though I have another adult to help out. Maybe we just need more time for the kids to get comfortable with the church so they don't freak out if/when I have to take Peter out? Maybe we just need the twins to be mature enough that they don't spend the entirety of Mass fighting over who gets to sit on my lap? I don't know. But for now, I'll see you at the 7 AM, perhaps alone!

And now I present to you... What I Wore Sunday! I'm pretty sure you've seen this outfit before, but it's one of the dresses that I got to wear post-partum with Peter and it still fits great! Button-down, easy to add shape with a belt, and chilly enough (50!) yesterday morning to wear boots and a scarf!

This is the back entrance to our house - you can see the possible location for our Mary garden on the left side, the car seat we need to install in the car, and also some random tomato plants on the right! We know how to decorate, that's for sure ;)

Oh, two more things before I go for who knows how long without blogging (actually maybe not long because I have a couple of drafts almost finished!):

1. Our old house is on the market! We're taking offers until 5 today, so if you're looking for a GREAT home for kids inside the beltway in Northern Virginia (which happens to have a strawberry patch in the back yard, a swing set, and is within walking distance to a frozen yogurt place), check it out! (Or if you're just nosy and love looking at pictures of other people's houses - I totally get it, I'm the same way!)

Edit: Sold! Hooray! 

2. We're participating as a family in a fundraiser for the local pregnancy center - if you're looking for a cause to give money to, this is a great one! Our goal is $400 but if we raise over $1000 the girls and I will all walk in princess dresses :) Click over! And thank you for your support!

3. 

This. I love Virginia :)

Happy Monday! Time to go find the older kids and get John Paul back to work!