Crunchy Catholic Mama

I was speaking to my physical therapist yesterday and the topic of mother's day came up. I used to be the mom that had high expectations - I wanted all the best treatment, the special day with presents, the day out somewhere fun.

But over time, I stopped wanting it. because it never happened the way I pictured in my head. My expectations were never met, and meltdowns always happened. My ex had to work or things just didn't go as planned, so I ended up stressed, angry, and feeling so sad and defeated.

So I decided to stop. I decided to adjust my expectations and viewpoint, so that it matched reality better. my special needs kiddos can't give me what I expected - that's an unrealistic expectation for them.

With my new expectations, this year's expectations were EXCEEDED! My own mother was sick, so we didn't end up going out anywhere. There was no special meal, no fancy presents, no expectation of good behavior, no needing acknowledgement of the day. I spent the day not feeling anything more negative than usual - but at the end of the day, I got a beautiful surprise.

I got a card from my daughter and this beautiful drawing by my first son along with a starburst candy. EXPECTATIONS EXCEEDED. I was able to fully enjoy these amazing gifts because I didn't expect them! What beautiful children they are ❤️

I think we all get too wrapped up in expectations that we forget what's really important. I don't need a special or specific day to feel honored and loved. I get that every day. I don't need a special present or lunch out - my appreciation comes from the daily "I love you!"s and flowers I am gifted when they play outside.

We all should find more appreciation in the little things and stop setting ourselves up for disappointment and failure. Just love every day and appreciate every day for what it is 🙏❤️

Love every day and appreciate all God's little gifts for us 🪻✨

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there 🌷🩷 Thank you for being amazing!

It's just one of those days...

FYI - Stay alert and pay attention to what food you are buying!

Edited 5/1/24
Yes, Bayer merged with Monsanto, and removed Monsanto's name for re-branding purposes. It still doesn't change the fact that the nation's largest w**d killer company was meddling in food companies. This list was just to show, which companies did business with Monsanto and or were owned by them prior to the merger. Some of these companies are still owned by Monsanto's subsidiaries.
By no means do we ever want to spread mis-information. ✨️

Hey y’all - last year I was diagnosed with hypermobile EDS. My whole life I have had odd joint pain, fatigue, chronic sprained ankles, collarbones that shift out of place, elbows and knees that extend too far…I could go on. I knew deep down I was different way back then, but it took me until age 35 to get a diagnosis. I am excited to celebrate my first EDS Awareness month being officially diagnosed. I am celebrating from the Seattle, Washington area - what about you? Where are you celebrating from?

Y'all - I'm giddy.

Now, if you don't know me well, I don't like reading.

Why you ask? Because I have dyslexia. It's hard, it's unpleasant, and it's exhausting.

So why am I so excited for this event starting in ONE WEEK? Because of my absolute LOVE for local small businesses and quirky shops. I plan on taking my kids along to all of them and creating some awesome memories.

If you're local, come check them out!! Support local, support small business, support all book worms!

We Be Book'n Artisans Books & Coffee Wit's End Books Stanwood Main St. Books Monroe, LLC Wit's End Books Marysville Uppercase Bookshop Third St Books, downtown Marysville WA

Illustration for bag by

Y'all - I'm giddy.

Now, if you don't know me well, I don't like reading.

Why you ask? Because I have dyslexia. It's hard, it's unpleasant, and it's exhausting.

So why am I so excited for this event starting in ONE WEEK? Because of my absolute LOVE for local small businesses and quirky shops. I plan on taking my kids along to all of them and creating some awesome memories.

If you're local, come check them out!! Support local, support small business, support all book worms!

Happy Easter!!! It's day 4 of the Easter Octave - we're halfway through!

This is what Easter Sunday looked like for us. E got through mass with no meltdown 🙌 This achievement is particularly exciting because he has not been going to church with us lately - it's just too much. But he also didn't have a meltdown for the rest of the day!! 🥳 🎉

We ate tasty hot cross and deli meats for lunch and didn't really eat dinner, as tummies were too full from lunch and candy.

We did have a fun egg hunt too! 🥚 🧺

HE IS RISEN!!! Happy Easter everyone! ⛪✝️🐇🥚✨

- Easter bags from the "Easter bunny"
- Our Easter scene
- decorating Easter eggs!

Have a very blessed day!

“Let him be crucified!” But he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” They only shouted the louder, “Let him be crucified!”
~Matthew 27:22–23

Today's to do list:
- confession
- stations of the cross
- watching "The Passion of the Christ"

Good Friday is one of the few days during the year I do not do any work, business wise. It's a day to focus on my faith and my kids. My kids enjoy dressing up, reenacting the stations of the cross, going all in. We learn all about the details of Good Friday and learn why it's so important to our faith as Catholics.

Have a blessed Good Friday -
it is finished.

I wanted to share something with you all! I created a local and online Catholic vendor page, for everyone to share! Please reach out if you don't see yourself on the list - I would love to chat with you more about how to get you on this list and to get to know you better 😊

"The Lord instructs two of his disciples to go into the village and untether a donkey. If there is any protest, they are to say, 'The Master has need of it.' This is true of every baptized person: the Master has need of your gifts, of you, of the whole of your life." - Bishop Robert Baron

Coffee work date with my middle boy ☕♥️👦 He gets school work done on the tablet a special fancy water, and I get coffee and work done. Win win!!!

I got it ALL for FREE!!!!
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I remember back in the day, where I grew up in Southern California, but new was THE THING. Thrift stores were only cool if you were able to get brand name gear and fancy clothes. You didn't usually advertise that you got things for free.
But I'm here to say....this shelf and all the books on it I got for free. We have been blessed by our homeschool co-op in ways I cannot even express. Every single series and book on this shelf has been a "Free Table" find or a gift from family. The shelf was a find from yesterday!
In our house, we have multiple special needs and learning disabilities, so reading happens late and slowly here.
This week, the kids will all get new customized reading charts designed in Canva with an ice cream party as the reward for finishing a whole chart (5-20 hours depending on the child). Homeschooling looks different here...and it works for us!
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Follow your intuition no matter what others say...no matter your opposition.
Be yourself, be authentic.
Reward yourself for met goals.
Have fun with life!!
Do not be afraid to be yourself in a world of different.
Be strong, be brave, be beautiful, be amazingly you.

Happy St. Patrick's Day ☘️

Today's crunchy green meal was:
💚Oatmeal with chia seeds and h**p hearts
💚Green DF milk (Ripple and almond milk), colored with spirulina
💚 Purple sprinkles (because why not?)

My kids devoured it and even asked for seconds....what did you do today?

Celebrating with Zebra cookies 🦓🍪

Spreading the love and accepting who we are meant to be - zebras!

Today is Rare Disease Day!!!! It's the one big day each year I bring awareness to all the rare diseases we have (that maybe aren't so rare in actuality.)

Have a friend with a rare disease? Ask them about it. Let them know you care about them. Give them grace and love and understanding. Ask if there's anything you can do to help. Take the time to learn about how it affects their everyday life. Educate yourself.

Unschooling….that’s for radical religious parents or for parents who are just too lazy to do real homeschooling, right?

Nope. You will start seeing me be more vocal about this. My kids go to a homeschool co-op 1-2 times a week, but when we are at home, it’s mainly unschooling. Whatever they want to learn about that day, is what we learn about. I let them lead - I will sometimes set boundaries of “only a learning tv show” or “pick a documentary to watch and learn from” but the subject matter is their choice. One would think, how could a kid possibly learn to read and write just by watching TV all the time and just playing however they want? Well…let me tell you.

My 6 year old came to me the other night, begging me to write the ABCs for him. We had this urge RIGHT before bed time to learn….so I went with it.

I wrote the top lines. He identified those letters (I underlined them as he told me what they were) then he wrote the letters himself down below as I pointed to the correct letter at the top.

THIS….this is how you unschool. Spontaneous, child led learning. I did nothing to instigate this. Children are naturally curious, amazing, God made creations. They WANT to learn by nature, and allowing them to learn on their own makes it much easier for their brains to be engaged and interested - it sticks better.

Thank you God for making such perfect little Saints!

Are you ready to BE TRANSFORMED?? 💡 🧠

I have been blessed to have an absolutely wonderful mom's group at my parish. For the last year we've been doing the Rooted study by Blessed is She. For lent however, we decided to read "Be Transformed: The Healing Power of the Sacraments" by Dr. Bob Schuchts with the adjoining podcast episodes from Abiding Together Podcast with Sr. Miriam James Heidland SOLT.

I am not a reader. I read articles and some blogs, but I have mastered the art of skimming, not fully reading every single word. Why you ask?

➡ I have dyslexia and reading is just....hard. It's so much work and takes up so much mental (and physical) energery.

➡I barely have time to listen to a podcast during my day as a working from home, homeschooling mom. Carrying around a book and reading one paragraph at a time just isn't practical for me.

➡I lose things. A lot. So carrying around a book just isn't a good idea - I will lose it

All that said...God was calling me this Lent. He has been calling me to come back to reading, if only to just try again, even if I don't pick up another physical book again for years. Let me tell you...this book is PACKED. This rivals the books I read in college and grad school in density. Every chapter is so so full and honestly, hard to get through. I am always skeptical when a book claims to "change your life" so going in, I wasn't sure what to expect....but let me tell you. This book truly is life changing. Truly. The podcast episodes are very dense as well, so much so, that it takes 2, 3, 4 times listening to it, to make sure I have actually heard and processed all the information within.

Let me know what you think! Are you ready to change your life? Have you read the book, and if so, did it change how you approach the sacraments and your daily life?

I won 2nd and 3rd place!!!

As a mom, especially as a single mom, you always wonder if you're doing enough, if you are enough. as a convert to the Catholic Church, I wonder if I'm doing it right...are my kids getting enough? how am I doing, really, as a mother?

My questions were answered on Monday. My oldest gave me this "trophy" (what she called it) and while most moms would feel slighted, my heart could not be happier.

I got 2nd place for motherhood. Who got first you wonder? Mary. Jesus' mother Mary got 1st place, and I got 2nd.

I got 3rd place for who she loves most. Who got 1st and 2nd? God and mama Mary.

Not a cell in my body is upset in the least. I am only second to Mary, and she loves only God and Mary more than me and I couldn't possibly do better than that.

But ultimately, what makes me happiest, is the fact that those were even a consideration for her. I am doing it right. Her love of mama Mary and love for God is so great and it's overflowing into all parts of her life.

Don't give up, even if you feel like you're failing. Don't give up even if you feel like you're not enough. You are enough.
You are exactly who God wants you to be, and you are exactly who your kids need you to be.

You are enough.

"As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” - EPHESIANS 4:14-16

(This is a repost from last year)

So many feelings this morning. I have stained socks and shoes from dropping my coffee. My toddler's feeding tube came out right as we were walking into church for daily mass. I got to change his tube during mass, which was a whole new experience for me. But we made it. We made it to church. We lasted the whole mass. His tube is changed and life goes on.
For a few minutes, my mind was racing - I've never had this happen in church. It's been almost 2 years since this has happened in public - the other times this has been at home. And I was reminded once again why I prepare and always have a bag in the car with a spare tube and extra supplies. This is why - you never know when this will happen. I was able to get us into church, get the bag, and calmly do my thing while listening to mass. And I can honestly say - I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. It was a beautiful experience.

Homeopathy must be snake oil woo woo! Right?? NOPE!!!

Homeopathy is absolutely fabulous and such a great low risk way to heal and COMPLEMENT western medicine. There are (affiliate) links in the blog post!!

"(This is a long post....stick with me to the end)
Last year, I was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), which was a decades long search for a reason behind so many medical issues...Several sprains later, the pain just never went away, so I decided it was time to address the inevitable. I ended up getting the Brostrom procedure done in January to tighten up the ligaments in my right ankle, with the idea that this will allow my quality of life to be significantly higher...Read more: https://crunchycatholicmam.wixsite.com/crunchycatholicmama/post/healing-from-surgery-a-holistic-and-real-approach

Check it out! This is the doll my son got for his first Christmas after getting his feeding tube! I was so fun to make - It has been such a blessing for him to have while processing how he is different and his different needs. In my opinion, ALL kids with tubes should have access to a tubie stuffy or doll ❤️

Let me know if you have seen or own a tubie animal or doll!

Isn't it crazy how you look back on posts you made a while back and you think to yourself, man oh man, how I have grown!! I posted this one over a year ago and it's amazing how things have both changed and not changed. What used to be so overwhelming is much less so now. But it's still a lot to handle, for sure.

"Going through the spare button, extensions, bags, and syringes backpack, car organizer, and extra buttons and boxes. We ALWAYS carry a backpack in the car filled with an extra feeding tube (button), syringes, bags, and a bunch of other supplies. You never know when you will need them!

So. Much. Stuff. Having a tubie is so overwhelming sometimes. So thankful my tubie is relatively healthy, we're home and not hospitalized, and praying for all those who are in much more difficult situations than we are ❤️❤️"

We definitely are blessed - no hospitalizations in over 18 months....and I know many other families cannot say the same. Praying for all the struggling families out there 🙏

Are you learning things this week? I hope you are! My goal is to get others educated and aware so you can go on to educate others 😄