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folklaur
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| Posted: July 06 2006 at 10:06am | IP Logged
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Hi,
I have a few questions, and was hoping to get some help/advice, and just see how others do things.....
Do you (Mom) have a set bedtime? Waking time? Do the children? How flexible are you with it?
Do you go to Daily Mass? If so, how do you do it? I have wanted to try to for years, but we just aren't so "get-up-and-go" in the mornings...But then I see other families that DO go, with more children than I have, and they can do it, so please, if you do, do you have any tips?
Thanks,
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Jamberry77
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| Posted: July 06 2006 at 11:05am | IP Logged
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Dear Laura,
So God wants you to get to Mass more! That's great. You don't have infants right now so that will make things easier. Try to figure out how much time it takes for all of you to get ready, and add 15 minutes, and that's when you wake the kids. Also, try shooting for one day a week to start. Then two days, then three, etc. I've found I must get up at a certain time, and get the kids up by a later, certain time, to allow for breakfasts and bathroom time. Decide if your kids will act better by having breakfast before or after Mass (ours is at 9 a.m. so we have time to eat first). A friend of mine gets her kids up early (like at 6) so they eat, dress, then do at least some lessons before Mass. We try to do that, too, so the rest of lessons are done from 10 a.m.- lunch.
If it makes it easier for you, remember St. John Bosco's advice: "Frequent Confession, frequent Communion, daily Mass: these are the pillars which should sustain the whole edifice of education." So when I start thinking, "we are too busy, it's raining, the kids get bored in Mass, they bug each other, we really need more time for spelling" I try to remember that quote.
We don't make it to Holy Mass every day, but we try for three times a week when possible. For more inspiration, pick up the Pieta prayer book (about $4 at Leaflet Missal) that lists many reasons for going to daily Mass, the best of which is, Jesus is eager to see us and feed us!
Edited to say we only live two miles from church. Living much farther, I'd go when I had errands to run, probably.
Love,
Kelly in NC, mom to two sons, 8 and 4
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Dawnie
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| Posted: July 06 2006 at 1:25pm | IP Logged
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cactus mouse wrote:
| Do you (Mom) have a set bedtime? Waking time? Do the children? How flexible are you with it? |
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 I have a beautiful schedule all planned out on paper. The problem, for me, is sticking to it!! I'm great at planning, not so great at following through with the plan.
Here is what we usually do: My dh works 2nd shift, which means he doesn't get home until about 11:30pm. I usually wait up for him, we talk a little while, and usually go to bed between 12 and 12:30am. My alarm is set for 8:00am, but I've been sleeping later, lately. My kids usually go to bed around 10:30pm. I usually let them sleep until they wake up on their own, which is around 9:00am. I'm going to have to be more disciplined during the school year, but that's our routine for right now. Our routine is very flexible, but it's summertime, I'm pregnant, and there's a lot of real life happening right now.
cactusmouse wrote:
Do you go to Daily Mass? If so, how do you do it? I have wanted to try to for years, but we just aren't so "get-up-and-go" in the mornings...But then I see other families that DO go, with more children than I have, and they can do it, so please, if you do, do you have any tips?
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No, we don't go to Daily Mass. I'd like to, though. I have plans to attend the noon Mass once a week--again, I just need to follow through w/ my schedule! My kids are pretty young: 7, 4, and 2. My plans for once-a-week Mass include my husband going with us (again, he works 2nd shift). Going to Mass by myself w/ them is pretty difficult. I used to go several times a week when I just had 2 and they were 4 and 1. When I went, I went to the noon mass at our Cathedral. Most other daily Masses are early in the morning.
Dawn
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Mom to Mary Beth (99), Anna (02), Lucia (04), Clara (06), and Adelaide Victoria (2/28/09)
Visit my blog!Water Into Wine:Vino Per Tutto!
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Dawnie
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| Posted: July 06 2006 at 1:28pm | IP Logged
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I wanted to add this encouraging quote from Kimberly Hahn: "Sometimes you feel like all the graces you receive from Mass are spent on the children before you even leave, but it's still good to go!"
Now if I can just follow through!
Dawn
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Mom to Mary Beth (99), Anna (02), Lucia (04), Clara (06), and Adelaide Victoria (2/28/09)
Visit my blog!Water Into Wine:Vino Per Tutto!
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rm4mrfrus
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| Posted: July 06 2006 at 4:46pm | IP Logged
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Hi Laura,
We are still trying to figure out our schedule. Dh really feels strongly that we have a set going to bed and getting up time. He is ok being more flexible in the summer but I am working on easing us into a better routine. Right now everyone goes to bed when they are tired and gets up when everyone else wakes them up!
Dh is on a totally different schedule for waking and sleeping than we are. He gets up at 4 to start working and therefore goes to bed by 8 most nights. The kids and I sleep later and go to bed later. I usually get in bed around 11 or 12. The kids go around 9 or 10 (the little ones go earlier and nap during the day)
We go to the Noon Mass on Wed. Thurs and Fri. There is no Mass on Monday and only one in the evening on Tues. which we don't get to very often. I am able to go to Mass because dh works from home and goes with us each day. Everything is scheduled around Mass. Dr. app'ts, meetings (for dh for work), school, etc.
Noon Mass is the only Mass offerer each day. I would rather go to one in the a.m. but there aren't any close enough. When we lived in NOVA we went to the 8:30 Mass and started school when we got home. Now we start and stop to go to Mass and start up again after lunch.
Our schedule is loose right now, but this is how our days go:
eat sometim before 9 (sometimes after). If we eat early (around 8) and the weather is good, dh and I go on a 2 mile a.m. walk in our neighborhood. Then he goes into his office when we get back and I shower and start school with the kids (right now we are just doing some Math and Science and reading for fun...) then at about 11:15 we start making sure everyone is ready for Mass-clean faces, diapers changed, etc. We leave around 11:45 and return home around 12:45 or 1. We eat lunch and dh goes back to work and we read books to the little ones before nap. Back to whatever we were doing til we have a snack.
We have worked hard to get back to saying the Rosary every day. We started a 54 day Novena a few weeks ago. We say the Rosary every night after dinner. I want to change it around and say it at 9 in the morning. I will be trying to do this when we start school back up.
I am trying to become a get up and go in the morning Mom but I have to work on it!
__________________
Hollee married to dh in 94,
ds(96), dd(97), ds(00), ds(02), ds(03) and dd(05)
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stefoodie
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| Posted: July 06 2006 at 6:48pm | IP Logged
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next week we plan to begin this again. we tried 5 years ago when i was pregnant with #4, and we were successful for about 2 weeks.... but i'm eager to start up again. at the time the only Mass was at 7:30. This time it's at 8:30 in our new parish. I found out that this was doable when we had a 8:00 dental appointment and we made it! My only concern is that the two times we did this the kids were tired and sleepy again by the time we got out of Mass at 9:15 and the ones that didn't nap when we got home were cranky the rest of the day (including me  ). I think the key (for us at least) would be to go to bed early, which rarely happens here -- so it's really a discipline and follow-through thing on my part as well. I tend to cram so much into the day that I usually don't go to sleep until I'm literally falling out of my desk chair or while reading to the kids. Yikes!
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stef
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aussieannie
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| Posted: July 06 2006 at 10:51pm | IP Logged
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We do go to Mass every morning but then we are early birds!!! We are up at 5 - 5.30am each morning and often children are up before we are. The children go to bed at about 8 - 8.30 the earliest riser (my oldest) takes himself off to bed when he feels tired, he obviously listens to his body, so therefore he is first up.
I see the commitment to making daily Mass a high priority in the same way we have to make homeschooling work in our lives - we do it because we know the benefits will change the lives of all of us!!
We have two different schedules as we have different Mass times 6.30am Mass Tue, Fri, 7am (but 1/2 hour drive to it) Wed, Thurs, Mon Mass is one on the way to homeschooling music lessons. So we have a 9am starting time for school for the 6.30Mass and a 9.30 starting time for school for the 7.00amMass days.
This has been routine most times in our lives so the children do not complain - it is just part of life for them. Interestingly enough when my oldest was 3, I lost him outside a Church and it was next to a busy highway one side, marshy swamps on another and a big fly-over on the other side!! I will NEVER forget those 10mins of frantic searching,  I promised Our Lady a novena of Masses (found him half way up to the fly-over with a stray dog in tow, he said he was following it  ) and so we have not looked back! I am always have little frights here and there over things and I am sure heaven has it worked out that this is a good way to extract promises from me! 
Jamberry77 wrote:
| If it makes it easier for you, remember St. John Bosco's advice: "Frequent Confession, frequent Communion, daily Mass: these are the pillars which should sustain the whole edifice of education." So when I start thinking, "we are too busy, it's raining, the kids get bored in Mass, they bug each other, we really need more time for spelling" I try to remember that quote. |
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Good one Kelly - we LOVE John Bosco - his words are sound and true!
I would say if you have this desire, find a way to make it work, go to bed earlier - if making changes means sacrificing things in our lives, Lent (or Advent is another good period for sticking to sacrifices)is always the perfect time to start that sacrifical change to ingrain the habit and then continue with it.
I have many weaknesses to overcome - I notice the difference in days we don't make it for some reason, it is harder for me to show virtue in trying circumstances.
There is no great virtue in Phil and I that makes us do this(in fact it is the great need of it that prompts us) but I believe it is also the childhood habit formed (Phil's mum use to go daily and often took him too) and so you implant this in your child's life too - I remember my mum & dad doing this with us and while I stopped daily Mass in my late teens, I resumed with ease when my oldest was 3 - it is what Elizabeth talked about when discussing Catholic Mosaic, this stuff becomes like part of your heartbeat that you are easily drawn back to to continue the 'happy imprints' of your childhood.
We make our travelling time to and from Mass productive (TOTAL travelling time 30mins some days, 1hr the other days) that is alot of time to read our children's books! By doing this I hope we are cementing natural things children enjoy/lovely family moments with going to Mass and hoping that the connection will always be made. Actually, when I think about it, it is very good quality/quantity time for me, dh and all the children minus the usual distractions in the house - and kids - well their contained in one spot! Yahoo!
I believe you will find that life will be never be the same if you do it. Start a novena asking Our Lady to guide you to Jesus daily in the Eucharist and that you will find a way to make this work for your family.
__________________
Under Her Starry Mantle
Spiritual Motherhood for Priests
Blessed with 3 boys & 3 girls!
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aussieannie
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| Posted: July 06 2006 at 11:04pm | IP Logged
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dawnie wrote:
| I wanted to add this encouraging quote from Kimberly Hahn: "Sometimes you feel like all the graces you receive from Mass are spent on the children before you even leave, but it's still good to go!" |
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Just saw this one! I don't feel so alone now!
__________________
Under Her Starry Mantle
Spiritual Motherhood for Priests
Blessed with 3 boys & 3 girls!
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kristina
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| Posted: July 06 2006 at 11:16pm | IP Logged
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cactus mouse wrote:
Do you (Mom) have a set bedtime? Waking time? Do the children? How flexible are you with it?
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For the summer, I am much more relaxed with our schedule. I tend to be a night owl. Our eldest son is also. I often let him stay up a bit later to read or just hang out with me. I am usually up, but not very awake by 7am to see dh off to work. Our younger children often wake about that time. I let them wake naturally unless we have somewhere to be in the morning.
cactus mouse wrote:
Do you go to Daily Mass? If so, how do you do it?
if you do, do you have any tips?
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I used to love going to daily mass. I went often with my first born. Then came more babies and the 8 am mass was really difficult. Our 8am daily mass is in a small chapel, if six of us went, we would take up one row!
Our parish has a 6pm mass once a week and either dh or I often bring just one of our children with us as a date. The one on one time is really special.
My husband had a different schedule when I was going to daily mass. He worked late night so he would be asleep when I left for mass. I did not want to use an alarm (he wakes easily) to wake myself. I would pray to my guardian angel on evenings when I planned to go to Holy Mass. I would always wake just in time to make it to mass in the nick of time. 
I echo Kelly's good advice to start by shooting for once per week. I hope to someday be able to go with all of our children on a daily basis and that is my strategy when the day comes that I can feel confident about bringing all of our little ones to Holy Mass by myself.
God Bless you and your dear ones!
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kristina
yesterthoughts
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: July 07 2006 at 6:44am | IP Logged
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***We make our travelling time to and from Mass productive (TOTAL travelling time 30mins some days, 1hr the other days) that is alot of time to read our children's books! By doing this I hope we are cementing natural things children enjoy/lovely family moments with going to Mass and hoping that the connection will always be made. Actually, when I think about it, it is very good quality/quantity time for me, dh and all the children minus the usual distractions in the house - and kids - well their contained in one spot! Yahoo! ***
This is a great suggestion! I'll have to remember that.
Laura, our travel time is 30 minutes each way and the only daily mass is 11:30, which is right in the middle of our studies most days. I'm thinking about making Friday daily mass this year since our school day is lighter then. Plus, if I do use up all the graces received before I leave the foyer of our parish...well, at least its Friday and the weekend is almost here.
We do have a set rise and bedtime. The kids are up at 7am, get dressed, do chores and eat at 8am. (We are going to try to eat at 7:30 this fall when the schoolyear starts). All the children (even my preteen) are in bed at 8pm. Everyone has at least 30 minutes of quiet reading time (nonreaders are allowed to play with quiet toys) and my older two read till 9pm and 10pm, as long as they don't look tired and droopy regularly in the mornings.
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: on Daily Mass & other schedule questions
