My Daybook: August 29, 2012

by | Aug 29, 2012 | Daybook | 21 comments

Outside my window…
it has been chilly, though not as cool as it was over at the coast this past Sunday, with a high of 55.   We were very glad we had checked the forecast and wore sweaters.  Here in the valley it has been around 80 during the day and dropping to the 40s at night.  It’s definitely starting to feel like autumn.

I am thinking…        
about my kid’s teeth.  I took the four oldest in for Orthodontic evaluations last week and both Captain and Twinkle Toes are in need of braces now.  Twinkle Toes is the most urgent, and if she has braces, in two phases – beginning right now for a year and then again in a few years – we should be able make room for the teeth that have nowhere to come in, and avoid pulling permanent teeth and oral surgery in the long run.   We then found out, yesterday morning when I took them to the Dentist for Cleanings and Exams, that they both need quite a bit of Dental Work before the braces go (Captain needs four fillings to correct defects in four of his molars, and Twinkle Toes needs quite a few sealants.)  They also had the impressions made at the Orthodontist yesterday morning.   If everything falls into place, their braces are scheduled to go on next Wednesday!

I am thankful… 
that the Dentist and Orthodontist are both willing to work with us and allow us to make small interest free payments each month, with larger payments at tax time.  Still, we are really nervous about the cost.  It isn’t exactly in our budget…  I’m also thankful that the only cavities that were found, happened to be on Rascal’s last couple baby teeth, and those should be falling out sometime this year!

Learning all the time… 
Yep… It is definitely time for our family to seriously consider any options we might have for Dental Insurance.

Celebrating the liturgical year… 
today is the feast of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist.   We don’t usually do much to celebrate this feast in our home, since we have a birthday tomorrow, but we will read a short story at dinner time as usual.   Still, there are so many cute ideas from some of the other contributors over at Catholic Cuisine… One of these years I really need to try a few of them!

From the kitchen… 
Gluten-free Carrot Cake made with Spice Cake Mix. Yum!!!

I am creating… 
plans for our Little Flower’s Mother/Daughter Tea.  Since we meet through the summer to complete Wreath IV, we decided to have our tea on September 8th, our Blessed Mother’s Birthday!

I am working on… 
being creative with our budget and looking for areas we can cut back.

I am going… 
to try really hard to limit our trips to town to save on gas.  This means that the boys won’t be able to play hockey this year, but they are very excited about taking a Lego Robotics class instead, which will be just once a week and only 5 minutes from home.

I am hoping… 
that we are able to enjoy our sunflowers for at least a little while before it starts getting too cold.   It’s taken them all spring and summer to finally bloom.

I am reading… 
about one of my little brothers!  There was quite the article in the paper this past weekend about him, and one of my neighbors dropped it off for us to read.  If you’d like to check it out you can do so here:  Different Strokes

I am praying… 
for a special intention.

Pondering these words…
from St. Rose of Lima, whose traditional feast day is tomorrow:

“Without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. The gift of grace increases as the struggles increase.”

I am listening…  
to Liberty Kids.   The kids are watching an episode in the living room.  We recently cancelled our Netflix subscription, but thankfully we do have the whole collection on DVD.

Around the house… 
Bud sure loves to crawl and explore.  His latest favorite thing to do is pull books off of the bookshelves.  I’m thinking he got the idea from his godsister – that little Cupcake Cutie, who is going to turn one already this weekend!

One of my favorite things…  
Gymboree’s beautiful sweaters for my girls!  I’m trying to decide between the Gem Button Cable Sweater or the Butterfly Button Diamond Knit Sweater to give Twinkle Toes for her birthday.  (They are on sale right now, plus I have an extra 25% off coupon!) Poor girl, she usually ends up getting mostly “back-to-school” clothes and new books on her birthday each year! Not that she minds… 😉

This week’s plans…

  • Dentist Appointments & Orthodontist Appointments Tuesday Morning
  • End-of-Summer Ice Cream Social and Park Day Tuesday Afternoon
  • Mom’s Night Out Tuesday Night
  • Celebrate Twinkle Toes’ 9th Birthday on Thursday
  • Friday morning Mass
  • Older boys attending a friend Birthday Party Friday night
  • Saturday Morning Grower’s Market
  • Sunday Mass
  • Hubby has an extra long weekend for Labor Day!!!

A little peek at my day…

21 Comments

  1. Karen

    I like both of the sweaters but I actually thought of Twinkle Toes when I saw that sweater when I was looking at it a few days ago. I thought it would look really good on her, while I wasn't sure if it's would look so hot on my very fair daughter. I'm trying to find things for my seven year old that don't look like Catholic school uniforms since she's starting with the parish school next week, so no more plaid skirts for regular clothes!

    Reply
  2. Hope

    Dental insurance–we need it too! (We just visited the dentist this week too and even cavities are painful on the wallet). Beautiful pictures as always!

    Reply
  3. fadfd

    Braces, braces, braces! I just recently had braces put in, due some major changes to my gums and jawline. Who would have thought I'd get braces at 40! Just recently there was a picture of myself, my eldest, and 4 cousins; all in braces. My brother-in-law shouted, "There is a brand new truck invested in all those teeth." It was funny and sadly sooo true.
    One of the kids, age 8, has to go through a two phased process… so expensive.

    Have a great Labor Day! Last weekend b4 school… the kids are so thrilled :0).

    Reply
  4. Aimee Landreneau

    I'd love to see some new photos of your learning room!! (hint, hint!)

    Reply
  5. Jessica Gordon

    Oh, that's funny! Yes, I do think the pink would look really pretty on her. Which style did you like the best?

    Reply
  6. Beth

    I love the diamond sweater! Thanks also for sharing the story about your brother- very encouraging. Many blessings to you and your family.

    Reply
  7. Anne

    Quick question-Where do you get your daughter's jean skirts at? I really want to have my daughter start wearing more skirts but I am finding it difficult to find ones that are not short. I love the idea of jean skirts because they are more universal.

    Reply
  8. Jessica Gordon

    They have gotten SO hard to find! All of the jean skirts that my girls have were made by Old Navy. The first couple were hand-me-downs from a friend, and then I started buying one or two each year as the girls grew. I have a couple in size 7, which my oldest is just starting to outgrow. I went to order size 8, but for some reason Old Navy stopped making them!! 🙁 I've been searching everywhere, and no luck… So far ebay has been the only place I've been able to find any.

    Yesterday, at the park, I met a mom with two beautiful high-school aged daughters wearing gorgeous jean skirts. I went up and asked where she found them and she said her daughters made them out of two pairs of jeans (bought at the thrift store)!!! They were so cute. I need to learn how to sew!

    Reply
  9. Karen

    I like the gem button sweater best, that's the one I thought looked like it would be great for her. What did you think of the green butterfly embroidered sweater? I thought that looked like one she would wear, too. I liked that one for my Ellie, but she wasn't sure she liked it.

    Reply
  10. Jennifer Elia

    Ah,braces. We are heading down that road too. No idea how we are going to afford it but my daugher's teeth are so crowded. She only has 7 permanent teeth and they are already on top of each other. We looked into dental insurance and it was no deal. They didn't cover much and when we sat down and calculated the cost, we would be paying almost as much in premiums as we would "save" by having insurance.

    I am teaching myself to sew. My daughter is not quite 8 but she wears a size 12. (big kids run in my husband's family, they are all taller than me by 3rd grade LOL). Once you pass size 7 it gets so difficult. Now that she is in tween sizes, it is nearly impossible. I made her a couple of "t-shirt" dresses that I found on pinterest. They were so simple. Just attach the skirt to the shirt and done. I used shirts from the thrift store and some fabric that I had already. I made her 4 outfits for $3. I used a thrifted skirt for the one and it was the easiest thing I have ever made. I am really trying to learn to upcycle since the price of fabric is so high right now.

    Reply
  11. Laurie

    Liberty Kids is a favorite around here! The article about your brother and family is fun!

    Reply
  12. Collette

    We are off to the dentist this morning, too….my daughter is having the last of 4 cavities filled. 🙁 Last time we were there, the subject of braces was brought up for some of my kiddos – I can imagine the stress of having to have it happen so fast (next Wednesday – wow!!).
    I always enjoy reading your "plans for the week." My family's schedule is going to be a full one this year w/many activities & I'm a little nervous about making it happen….it's encouraging to see other Mama's doing similar things for their families!
    Blessings to you!

    Reply
  13. Anonymous

    At least your little one has good taste in books!! 🙂

    Reply
  14. Jessica Gordon

    I wasn't sure what I thought of the green butterfly sweater. The white "yoke" around the neck makes me a little nervous, and I seem to really be loving mostly solid sweaters for my big girls lately. It is pretty though! I did really like the Green Apple Embroidered Cardigan from the Smart and Sweet Collection.

    Reply
  15. Jessica Gordon

    You noticed that I moved a few things around! 🙂 I'll try and post a few pictures in a week or two, after we start school.

    Reply
  16. Jessica Gordon

    Great ideas! I need to start visiting the thrift stores more often! The t-shirt dresses sound cute.

    Reply
  17. Anonymous

    Jessica these types of skirts are pretty easy to sew — if you have the denim (from thrift store jeans or hand me downs) you could probably easily find a sewer in your homeschool group or church who could do it for a good price (less than buying new). Good luck! Julie

    Reply
  18. olivia

    I saw your last post for pretty, happy, fun, real in my google reader but I cant find it here. I was wondering. Do your girls wear the veils in the Ordinary Form of the mass or just during Latin Mass?

    Reply
  19. Jessica Gordon

    Oops! One of our computers froze on me while I was working on that post, so I finished it up on the laptop. Late last night the computer was working again and someone clicked "save" on my original draft which took the real post off the blog. 🙂 It's back up now!

    Anyways, we do wear veils all the time for Mass – both at the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms. That is, unless we forget the Mass bag at home or in the other car! 😉

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Jessica, a Roman Catholic wife and home educating mother to our nine children. I was home educated myself, along with my eleven younger siblings. I have a special devotion to St. Therese, through whom I have been given much help and many blessings--the beautiful "Shower of Roses" that she has sent my way! Here I will record a few of the blessings I treasure. Please remember that what you see here is just a little glimpse at our lives, so please say a prayer for us, as we continue to strive for holiness.

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