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I spent the first 8 days of June preparing our family for
July 7, 2022
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Discover the journey, tips, and ideas from Claudia Yeoh’s writing desk.
I spent the first 8 days of June preparing our family for
I’m writing this on a Thursday night (though it won’t post until
I doubt anyone will be shocked if I say I’ve always been
One of my mantras over the past sixteen years of motherhood has
It’s time for a reset. 2021 has been–well, a whirlwind. The long,
It is time to choose next year’s classes for my three middle-
Do you ever have that feeling that there’s just too much going on? No,
I was supposed to take this week, the last week of summer
Monday night, when the coach dismissed the boys from their last (praise
“I need to learn to say ‘no’ more.” Those words, spoken by
Life has been feeling pretty overwhelming lately. If I haven’t given out
I spent last week hobnobbing with my fellow liturgical composers…which means I
When I was in the sixth grade, I wore soft contacts that
Well, I had all but decided to quit blogging as of January
Sometimes life seems like a full-on sprint. I take a deep breath,
“What come next?” There was a period of several months recently when
When you have four kids, life is going to be busy, simply
“How do you do it all?” This is the question I get
We didn’t go on any field trips this year. This has been
It’s been hard to blog lately. Hard to motivate myself. Hard to
What we’re doing lately: Swim lessons. The little boys started yesterday. Nicholas
The weeks fly by so quickly, and every moment under pressure to
I have quite a few projects in the hopper right now, and
There is no such thing as a truly quiet day (holiday or
There are days when you can feel it barreling down the highway
When I was a kid, I thought it would be great to
When Alex was a baby, the time I felt most secure in
It started out so well. We’d had two days of solid-packed family
It’s time to admit it out loud: This has been a rough
At 3:30 this morning I woke up when Christian got up briefly.
Yesterday morning I hired a sitter so I could go someplace offsite
Chapter 4, “Blessed are They Who Hunger And Thirst For Righteousness,” focuses
(You all love my descriptive 7QT post titles, right?) ___1___ What a
I’ve said before that I’m obsessed with sleep. This is because i
One of my blog friends has helped start a new meme. It’s
I remember a day, long ago, when we had a long list
There are times when I realize I will never understand my children.
I’m a multitasker. Shocking, I know. But it’s true. I’m a make-lunch-while-feeding-baby,
No one likes having to confess that they lost their cool in
A few weeks ago, I was driving to a neighboring town to
It’s quiet outside this morning, and the slim sliver of cream-colored moon,
I completely lost it last week. Twice. The first time was on
I made a somewhat horrifying discovery last week. As I excavated the
God’s been calling me lately. As the blasted earth bakes and leaves
I’ve been trying to do too much in this time with the
I have this recurring dream. In it, it’s opening night of a
(WARNING: This is another one of THOSE POSTS. Read at your own
Summer break begins officially today. It feels like a watershed summer; in
It has been a month of craziness unsurpassed. I held my breath
I’ve been out of balance lately, and it showed: short fuse with
This weekend, I read the most beautiful description of a place, a
My life is crazy now. As I try to get back into
We sat in the front pew at church yesterday, our first Sunday
There’s an old truism that says, “Man plans, God laughs.” The entire
News flash: we’re having a baby in two weeks! So what does
“The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional
There were many mornings in my childhood when I would watch my
I know this will come as no surprise to those who know
If I wasn’t a mom, I’d have so much time to for
I think it happened because my dishwasher broke. It’s ridiculous, really, that
Some people say the hardest transition is the first. Others say the
___1___ Here’s something to listen to. This is a CNS report about Mass
Image via Wikipedia Last night, we left the house for choir practice
I was hot in pursuit of a giggling Julianna down the sidewalk
It happens to me quite regularly. I’ll be talking to someone and
Saturday afternoon, we arrived home to a relatively clean house, a stack
Every afternoon, while I’m putting the kids in bed, my brain works
My whole life, I have been a poster child for Catholicism. I
Today is my birthday. I am 35. Tomorrow, I’ll have things to
This week, CBS “discovered” that breastfeeding cuts the risk of breast cancer:
This week, I mowed the lawn with Nicholas in the Snugli. This
Since returning from NPM, my baby boy has become a demanding child.
In six months, Julianna will exit First Steps and enter the public
Several years ago, a liturgical songwriter I admire made the comment that
A few days ago, Christian called from work and said, “Guess what?
The last two weeks, I have been reading a book called Dead
A while back, I wrote about doing too much. Shortly after, I
There’s a poem I ran across tonight while blog surfing. I’d love
It was the end of an afternoon that had been devoured by
It’s been another busy week–Christian’s been out of commission every night this
The smell of spring permeates the air—the sweetness of crabapple, the heady
I should re-label this blog the “attitude is everything” blog. As
These days, it’s all I can do to take care of the
If I have the date right, we are now eleven days into
Which one is softer, his silky, thick dark hair, or his velvet-satin
I spent yesterday driving crazily around St. Louis, from doctor’s office to
Do you ever wonder how different your life might have turned out
Motivation = progress It’s 10:07 a.m., and I’ve vacuumed the second
“Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,For babies grow up, I’ve learned,
I spent the first 8 days of June preparing our family for a trip to Disney World, days 8-18 IN Disney World, days 19-26 unpacking,
I’m writing this on a Thursday night (though it won’t post until morning), sitting on my deck by myself on a lovely evening in May.
I doubt anyone will be shocked if I say I’ve always been a pretty serious person. I love movies and books and music that make
One of my mantras over the past sixteen years of motherhood has been “This is the season of life I am in right now.” It’s
It’s time for a reset. 2021 has been–well, a whirlwind. The long, choking oppression of the pandemic is lifting, and we’re busier than ever: soccer,
It is time to choose next year’s classes for my three middle- and high-schoolers. Going through this process this year made me realize how much
Do you ever have that feeling that there’s just too much going on? No, of course not, she says (wink-wink). This summer hit me like a Mack
I was supposed to take this week, the last week of summer school, as a week off writing. I’ve finished my novel revision, and that
Monday night, when the coach dismissed the boys from their last (praise God!) baseball game of the season, he followed it up with, “Let’s get
“I need to learn to say ‘no’ more.” Those words, spoken by a friend of mine this past January, were like a tiny pebble in
Life has been feeling pretty overwhelming lately. If I haven’t given out that vibe, just look back at the fluffy blog posts I’ve been publishing,
I spent last week hobnobbing with my fellow liturgical composers…which means I got to geek out about hanging out with people I have looked up
When I was in the sixth grade, I wore soft contacts that I had to stick in this boiler thingamabob every night. And every night
Well, I had all but decided to quit blogging as of January 1st. But I tossed off a quick post about Julianna and—gasp—a whole bunch
Sometimes life seems like a full-on sprint. I take a deep breath, as I did on Tuesday afternoon last week, and comfort myself that this
“What come next?” There was a period of several months recently when Julianna was constantly asking this question: when a song ended on a CD,
When you have four kids, life is going to be busy, simply by definition. But Christian and I have not given up the things we
“How do you do it all?” This is the question I get asked most frequently. I have four kids. I play flute, lead a church
We didn’t go on any field trips this year. This has been bothering me all summer. For the last several years, this has been the
It’s been hard to blog lately. Hard to motivate myself. Hard to feel inspired. I feel like I’ve said it all before. And I wonder
What we’re doing lately: Swim lessons. The little boys started yesterday. Nicholas amazed me. I don’t think he lost anything over the last year. Michael
The weeks fly by so quickly, and every moment under pressure to accomplish as much as humanly possible. More than is humanly possible, to tell
I have quite a few projects in the hopper right now, and some of them are pretty big. More and more lately I have been
There is no such thing as a truly quiet day (holiday or otherwise) in a house with four children, three of them boys. And yet
There are days when you can feel it barreling down the highway from behind, like a Mack truck loaded down, an unstoppable force just waiting
When I was a kid, I thought it would be great to be a grownup, because grownups got to do whatever they wanted to do,
When Alex was a baby, the time I felt most secure in my role as a mother (outside of nursing) was bath time. At bath
It started out so well. We’d had two days of solid-packed family fun, with the promise of another coming up on Sunday, and we’d prepped
It’s time to admit it out loud: This has been a rough summer. This is the first summer since Julianna came along that I haven’t
At 3:30 this morning I woke up when Christian got up briefly. No big deal…he interrupted a terrible, vivid dream in which my mother was
Yesterday morning I hired a sitter so I could go someplace offsite and dig into writing without being interrupted by children bashing each other ,
Chapter 4, “Blessed are They Who Hunger And Thirst For Righteousness,” focuses that hunger and thirst on the liturgy. Today’s guest post comes from Bill
(You all love my descriptive 7QT post titles, right?) ___1___ What a week! Monday I spent the day at the Cathedral selling books and playing
I’ve said before that I’m obsessed with sleep. This is because i don’t get enough of it, though not for lack of trying. I go
One of my blog friends has helped start a new meme. It’s called Power Down. This group of women felt that the glut of connection
I remember a day, long ago, when we had a long list of household essentials we needed, and having nothing else to do, Christian and
There are times when I realize I will never understand my children. Like Julianna, who can drag a pile of “Your Baby Can Read” cards
I’m a multitasker. Shocking, I know. But it’s true. I’m a make-lunch-while-feeding-baby, scribble-notes-in-grocery-store-checkout-line, do-spiritual-reading-while-nursing, scrapbook-while-watching-TV kind of girl. A girl after Martha’s own heart. Not
No one likes having to confess that they lost their cool in front of their kids. It’s a tossup deciding which is worse: the experience
A few weeks ago, I was driving to a neighboring town to teach at a church music camp with four kids in the back of
It’s quiet outside this morning, and the slim sliver of cream-colored moon, its remainder a charcoal disc, lounges in a straight line with two bright
I completely lost it last week. Twice. The first time was on the heels of a horrible dream, one of those that should have served
I made a somewhat horrifying discovery last week. As I excavated the computer desk, descending through layers of papers waiting to be filed, responded to
God’s been calling me lately. As the blasted earth bakes and leaves wither on their branches; as they drop ungracefully to the ground, bleached and
I’ve been trying to do too much in this time with the fourth baby nursing–carry too many responsibilities, juggle too many balls. Something’s got to
I have this recurring dream. In it, it’s opening night of a big performance, and I have the lead (or at least, a major role).
(WARNING: This is another one of THOSE POSTS. Read at your own risk.) Before I was a mother, going to the grocery store used to
Summer break begins officially today. It feels like a watershed summer; in the fall Julianna starts kindergarten, and Nicholas starts preschool. When we contemplated the
It has been a month of craziness unsurpassed. I held my breath and lowered my head into the wind, knowing there was nothing to do
I’ve been out of balance lately, and it showed: short fuse with the kids, a constant sensation of barely keeping my head above water, a
This weekend, I read the most beautiful description of a place, a description that picked up my heart and plopped it down in the Sierra
My life is crazy now. As I try to get back into the swing of regular life, with writing assignments to finish and errands to
We sat in the front pew at church yesterday, our first Sunday to attend Mass as a family of six. It had been a long
There’s an old truism that says, “Man plans, God laughs.” The entire later part of this year, we have shaped the future around one day:
News flash: we’re having a baby in two weeks! So what does a family that puts such a big focus on Advent do when there’s
“The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made
There were many mornings in my childhood when I would watch my father stride across rough gravel or dewy grass at an hour when everyone
I know this will come as no surprise to those who know our tendency to plan, plan, plan, but we have already started Christmas shopping.
If I wasn’t a mom, I’d have so much time to for myself. I’d go sit for hours in remote woods, finding God in the
I think it happened because my dishwasher broke. It’s ridiculous, really, that one appliance can become so indispensible that one starts to obsess, not only
Some people say the hardest transition is the first. Others say the real challenge lies with the second kid. Still others think going from “man
___1___ Here’s something to listen to. This is a CNS report about Mass in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Take a minute to listen. Even taking
Image via Wikipedia Last night, we left the house for choir practice at 6:35p.m., leaving the all-important Music List lying on the kitchen table, which
I was hot in pursuit of a giggling Julianna down the sidewalk between two teeball diamonds when I heard a woman off to one side
It happens to me quite regularly. I’ll be talking to someone and she (it’s almost always a she) shakes her head and says, “I don’t
Saturday afternoon, we arrived home to a relatively clean house, a stack of mail, and seven voice mails. The very first one was from Sr.
Every afternoon, while I’m putting the kids in bed, my brain works furiously so that when I get downstairs, I’m ready to dive right into
My whole life, I have been a poster child for Catholicism. I was a choir baby, which means that on Lenten and Advent Wednesdays, I
Today is my birthday. I am 35. Tomorrow, I’ll have things to say on the subject of birthdays (probably), but I’ve decided that today, I
This week, CBS “discovered” that breastfeeding cuts the risk of breast cancer: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/11/earlyshow/health/main5232807.shtml In all fairness, this is a new study, but still, we’ve been
This week, I mowed the lawn with Nicholas in the Snugli. This wasn’t some heroic case of overachieving, or even a desire to get some
Since returning from NPM, my baby boy has become a demanding child. By which I mean to say, he wants to be held ALL THE
In six months, Julianna will exit First Steps and enter the public schools. It sounds like a long time, especially relative to her age: two
Several years ago, a liturgical songwriter I admire made the comment that he hardly ever wrote any music anymore. This is a man whose gift
A few days ago, Christian called from work and said, “Guess what? I’ve got a researcher who’s saying the same thing you always say.” “What’s
The last two weeks, I have been reading a book called Dead Lucky, by Lincoln Hall, who was left for dead on Mt. Everest in
A while back, I wrote about doing too much. Shortly after, I got an email from my sister, scolding me mildly for thinking that the
There’s a poem I ran across tonight while blog surfing. I’d love to include the poem in its entirety, but instead I will send you
It was the end of an afternoon that had been devoured by haste and busy-ness. I had put aside the housecleaning and trash collection to
It’s been another busy week–Christian’s been out of commission every night this week, so I’ve had the kids from rising to bedtime every day. That’s
The smell of spring permeates the air—the sweetness of crabapple, the heady perfume of lilac—and redbud petals lie strewn across the path at the entry
I should re-label this blog the “attitude is everything” blog. As a rule, I like to stay positive in writing, but I will admit
These days, it’s all I can do to take care of the basics. Having a newborn has cured me of wasting time checking email and
If I have the date right, we are now eleven days into life as a family of five. So I thought I would do a
Which one is softer, his silky, thick dark hair, or his velvet-satin skin? I can’t decide…but I’ll never get tired of stroking his head and
I spent yesterday driving crazily around St. Louis, from doctor’s office to Penzey’s to instrument repair shop to drop off my flute. Apparently when you’re
Do you ever wonder how different your life might have turned out if you had made one decision differently? I do. I chose my
Motivation = progress It’s 10:07 a.m., and I’ve vacuumed the second floor and finished the list of edits. And we still have 6 days
“Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,For babies grow up, I’ve learned, to my sorrow.So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep.I’m rocking my baby,
I’m preparing for a major revamp of my author site, and I’m not sure what’s going to happen to this blog as part of that.
It’s the 4th of July, and I am in the middle of the confluence of playing for our local professional orchestra’s summer festival, preparing for
One perk of being a published author is how many other authors I get to “meet.” We all hear about the big, flashy books by
Hi, all! Long time, no see. I’m stretched pretty thin these days with a college kid, two over-involved high schoolers, and a middle schooler, plus
Environmental stewardship and climate have long been high, high priorities for me. That is because of my Christian faith and because nature is where I
One perk of being a published author is how many other authors I get to “meet.” We all hear about the big, flashy books by
I was late to the Nicole Baart party. When I read my first of her books, I was gobsmacked. “How have I never come across
OK, I will admit it: I am fascinated with the British royal family. Not nearly as much as some–I never watched the weddings, for instance,
“Wicked” is a cultural phenomenon, and with a few exceptions (Marvel, Star Wars, Harry Potter), I am terrible at keeping up with cultural phenomena. I
Today (Feb. 27, 2023) only: A SONG FOR THE ROAD is on Kindle sale for $1.99! (Hint: Feel free to share this post. 😉 )
I have loved the Anne and Emily books since the first time I read them, but it took me until now to read this late
In the spirit of the holidays I wanted to share some really good things–books and not-books–that I have discovered in the past year or so.