Please Pray for the Soul of Neumann Press Founder
In your charity, please pray for the repose of the soul of Dennis McCoy, founder of The Neumann Press.
Our family has been so blessed by the books from Neumann Press – the precious baby records (reprints of the one my husband had from his own childhood!), traditional coloring books our children love, the gorgeous hardcover copy of Sermons of the Curé of Ars we read often at dinner, and so many other inspiring and beautiful Catholic books they have reprinted. We’ve slowly been collecting them all to share with our children.
May God reward him greatly for his dedicated service in promoting and spreading the Catholic faith!
Saint George and the Dragon :: A 3-D Sugar Cookie Story Quilt
Feliz Cumpleaños Chiquita :: A “Josefina” Birthday!
Feliz Cumpleaños Chiquita :: A “Josefina” Birthday!
On Saturday we celebrated Chiquita’s 8th Birthday! This year she requested a Josefina themed birthday party. I hadn’t been feeling well all of last week, and was overwhelmed from way too much paperwork, other commitments, and a 12 year old boy who had been sick all night Friday/Saturday morning. Thankfully I had put a little thought into her birthday weeks ago and had supplies and a few activities planned to make sure she had a special day, even though we kept the celebration simple and to just our immediate family.
Chiquita was given Josefina, her very first American girl doll, for Christmas in 2010. This past year the girls also completed a Unit Study and Josefina Lap Book. And last Christmas Chiquita received a dress-up clothes to match Josefina! The first thing Chiquita did when she woke up was put on her Josefina outfit!
Las Mañanitas
mañanitas (may-nyah-NEE-tahs) – a traditional song sung to wake someone in the morning on a special day ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Usually I try to have a cake baked and decorated the night before, for the children to discover when they wake up in the morning, but Friday night Sean and I were out late (He had choir practice for our Latin Mass and I needed to run a few errands. Afterwards we went to every store in town trying to find a bike for the birthday girl.) so early Saturday morning we got up early, wrapped a few gifts, placed some flowers on the counter, along with a coffee cake and melon for breakfast. We then “woke up” the birthday girl singing Las Mañanitas! I purchased a beautiful Mañanitas CD from Sister Servants which we played all morning.
We sing songs for your feast day, which were sung by David, King,
Now we sing them in your honor; Of all your beauties we sing,
Awake now, my love, awake now, the dawn has already flown;
hear the little birds are singing, the moon’s already gone home…
Along with the Coffee Cake and Melon the birthday girl also enjoyed New Mexican Hot Cocoa!
Esteban and Mariana brought a wonderful gift. It was a melon that had been buried in sand since last fall’s harvest to keep it fresh. When Josefina thanked her, Mariana said, “It’s not much, but my heart goes with it.” ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Tia Dolores had made a special fancy loaf of bread. ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Twinkle Toes made sure to add a Statue of St. Joseph to the decorations for her little sister.
“The morning song was only the first surprise in a day full of them. Ana made cookies called bizcochitos for everyone to eat before breakfast. At morning prayers, Francisca showed Josefina how she’d decorated the family altar with garlands of mint and willow leaves and how she’d surrounded the statue of San Jose, the saint Josefina was named for, with white wild lilies and little yellow celery flowers. Clara, who liked to be practical, surprised Josefina by helping with her chores.” ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Memory Boxes
The girls had also been saving the Memory Box Craft Kits they received for Christmas to paint on Chiquita’s birthday!
“Papa had given her a little wooden box of Mama’s. Josefina called it her memory box because in it she kept small things that reminded her of Mama, such as a piece of Mama’s favorite lavendar-scented soap.” ~ Meet Josefina
The girls had so much fun painting their own little wooden memory boxes!
Rose didn’t want to be left out of the painting fun… I ended up finding a wooden egg for her to paint. She painted it pink, of course, and has been carrying it around ever since!
Snake-Bite Calzone
Then everything happened so fast it was a blur. The snake gave a menacing rattle. Mariana threw the rock at it and missed. The snake whipped its head around, shot forward, and struck Mariana on the arm with its fangs.” ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Shortcake had suggested incorporating a snake into our party, and Charlotte found me a recipe from Kraft for a Snake-Bite Calzone! Of course I needed “a five year old boy and a three year old girl” to help make a special lunch for the birthday girl! 😉 The prefect distraction for my two “helpers” while the girls finished painting their memory boxes!
Rose wasn’t sure she was interested in eating “snake” for lunch… even if it does taste like pizza!
The birthday girl, on the other hand, thought it was perfect!!! And the boys? Well they said next time we need to make 4 or 5, not just one. It was GOOD!
He handed her something that looked sort of like a shell. It was rattles from a rattlesnake. “I’ve saved these since I was a boy just your age,” said Papa to Josefina,” to remind me of something I was proud of. Now I am giveing them to you, because I am proud of you.” ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Spanish Appetizers
There were meat turnovers, and fruit tarts, and candies fruit that looked like jewels. ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Thankfully I had picked up lots of appetizers (which helped make up for not having enough Snake Calzone) at Costco including Mini Chicken Tacos, Beef Taquitos, and Chicken, Pepper Jack and Jalapeño Empanadas, with Chips and Salsa.
Spanish Songs and Games
“Popular pastimes from Spain included singing games such as La Vibora de la Mar (The Sea Serpent), which is similar to London Bridge, and guessing games such as El Floron (The Flower), which is much like Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button?” ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
We choose a few games from The American Girl’s Party Book. This book is out of print, but we were able to purchase a copy for pretty much the cost of shipping. We choose a few Spanish Songs and Games to play outside on our beautiful spring day!
El florin (el flo-ROHN), or The Flower
One player is the Guesser. The other players sit in a circle holding their closed fists out in front of them. The Guesser closes her eyes. One of the players hides the floron – a flower blossom or other small object – in her hand. Then players chant the lines below as the Guesser tries to guess who has the floron. If the Guesser is correct, she and the hider switch places.
The flower goes in the hands,
And in the hands it has spoken.
Guess who has it, guess who has it,
Or be taken for a fool!
It look a little while to explain the concept to our little Rose! When Chiquita opened her eyes the first time and I said “Ok, who do you think has the flower?” Rose immediately forgot about keeping her fist closed and pointed to Snuggles hand shouting “HE HAS IT!” to Chiquita! Lets try that again…
The Rainbow
Players choose a home base. One player is the Angel. The other players are the Rainbow. They each think of a color to be – without saying their color out loud. Then the Angel calls out a color. When a player’s color is named, she runs for the base while the Angel tried to catch her. If she reaches the base before the Angel, she chooses another color and rejoins the rainbow. If the Angel catches her, that player is out of the game.
The Sea Serpent
This game is much like London Bridge. Two players hold their hands up high to form a bridge. The other players form a line, each holding onto the waist of the player in front of her. The line weaves under the bridge like a sea serpent as the players chant the lines below. At the next-to-last line, the players forming a bridge drop their arms to catch a player. Gently they rock her back and forth. Then the game starts again.
The sea serpent we like to play
To have fun, to have fun.
Under the bridge all on a track,
Children in front go faster and faster.
If you don’t follow, you’ll stay back,
Back, back, back, back.
Birthday Gifts
“Josefina swirled the shawl around her shoulders and looked behind her to see the brilliant embroidered flowers and the slippery, shimmery fringe on the back. She fluttered the fan and felt very elegant indeed.” ~ Happy Birthday, Josefina!
Chiquita was so very excited to open her own very beautiful shawl sent from her madrina!
She also loved the birthday card her padrino had mailed to her!
She also received a couple new outfits for summer, the set of Kit Books, the set of 4 American Girl movies, and her first very own bicycle!
Josefina’s Leather Pouch and Flowers
“She walked across, picked the primroses, and tucked the stems in her pouch. She let the yellow flowers stick out so that they wouldn’t be crushed.”~ Meet Josefina
The birthday cake was inspired by Collette, and based on Josefina’s Leather Pouch and Yellow Evening Primroses! I posted a tutorial here: Josefina’s Primroses in a Pouch Birthday Cake
Even though the cake was one of the easier cakes I have decorated, I was so happy with the results, and so was the birthday girl! It turned out so pretty, and looked just like Josefina’s pouch.
We love you Chiquita! Happy Birthday!
Josefina’s Primroses in a Pouch Birthday Cake
Yesterday we celebrated Chiquita’s 8th Birthday! This year she requested a “Josefina” party theme… After a busy week, I was exhausted and still not feeling well on Friday so we actually picked up a “Caramel Tres Leches” cake at Costco as a back up to the cake I had originally planned on making. Thankfully Saturday morning I was starting to feel a little better and managed to pull together her requested theme!
Supplies:
- 2 – 9″ Round Cakes, baked and cooled
- 1 can Chocolate Frosting
- 1 can Milk Chocolate Frosting
- 1 can White Frosting
- 1 Werher’s Caramel Candy
- Yellow Citrus Gum Dropsy
- 5 Orange Gobstoppers or Sixlets
- Green Gum Drops or Spice Drops
- Green Apple Twizzler Pull-n-Peels
To create the sprig of yellow evening primroses I cut the yellow gumdrops in half to create the flower petals with an orange Gobstopper in the center. The stems were made with strips of Green Apple Twizzler Pull-N-Peels, and the leaves were made with green spice drops cut in half diagonally and then pinched into a leaf shape.
Our Annual Little Flowers Mother-Daughter Tea Party
On Saturday afternoon we had our 5th annual Mother-Daughter Tea Party! (You can find pictures from 2009, 2010, 2011-which was a Marian Tea followed a few months later with a birthday party, and 2012 in the archives.) Since we have been taking a break from Little Flowers this year, having completed all four wreaths, I wasn’t planning on having another tea until a dear friend offered to host it at her home the day after her own daughters Mother-Daughter Tea Party, leaving me to just coordinate the guests, food, servers, games, prizes and favors! It was so incredibly generous of her and her home was decorated beautifully! Honestly I don’t know how she did it, hosting a 3rd large tea party immediately after my groups… May God bless you and reward you, Stasia!
This year I did ask for a small donation of $5 per family, to help offset the cost of a little hostess gift and tips for the servers. I provided the napkins, favors, games, and prizes, Stasia kindly provided her home with all the decorations, tea, sugar, cream, lemon slices and place cards, and each of the other moms was asked to bring one or two of the menu items for this year’s Four-Course Tea.
Following our first course we had a Mother-Daughter Cupcake Puzzle Race while the servers cleared the soup bowls and prepared for the second course.
Our 3rd course this year was the Grapes, Strawberries and Scones with Cream, Lemon Curd and Jam! In past years this has always been our first course, but we switched it around since this course always seems to make a mess out of the plates. It worked out very well, having it after the sandwiches this year.
Our 4th and final course this year was the desserts. One of the mom’s brought little brownies, another brought gluten-free samoas, and another brought lots of tea type cookies which the servers stacked into towers!
This course concluded our tea and the girls all went outside to play The Game of Graces while the moms helped clear and re-set the tables for the tea party that was following our own.
{pretty, happy, funny, real}
The weather has been crazy this week! On Monday we had grey skies… Rain… Hail… Snow… More rain… Blue Skies… Sunshine… Grey skies… More hail… and then the blue skies came back. It is sunny (yet still a little chilly today) but thankfully the blue skies are back. I’m hoping they will stick around! I’m so ready for summer.
Where is this poor little boy’s momma?! He fell asleep half way across the tile floor while I was making pizzas for lunch last Friday afternoon for the kids and our visitors. Poor baby! I wasn’t going to take a picture (proof of what a awful mom I am sometimes!) but my friend insisted. Don’t you just love the drool and his little toes tucked under his bottom. And that little bruise on his forehead? Well, he has started banging his head on whatever is closest (including that hard tile floor) when he is upset or doesn’t get his way… I’ve never had a baby do that before!
Indoor Tea Party Games
In between each course of our tea party, while the servers prepared for the next course, we played party games! I loved all the suggestions that were shared, but since I ran short on time and since we included some new outdoor activities (Bocce Ball, Maypole, and Graces) this year I opted for a couple favorites from last year’s tea party: the Cupcake Jigsaw Puzzle Race and Little Flowers Bingo.
Well this post includes the last of all the games and activities we had during this year’s Mother-Daughter Tea Party! I have a busy day ahead, since we are (finally!) signing papers this evening on our home refinance… Still I will try and pop back in soon to share the last of the pictures from the tea, including all the lovely decorations and delicious food. I hope you all have a blessed day!
The Maypole and our Beautiful Catholic Faith
According to wikipedia, a maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, particularly on May Day, or Pentecost (Whitsun) although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer.
Half of the girls encircle the pole in one direction, each holding a ribbon, and the other half face the other direction. To start, one line of girls is to go in first, the other to go out first. To weave the ribbons, a little song can help:
The girls alternate between going in towards the pole, and under the ribbon of person coming towards them. Then, they go out away from the pole, raising their ribbon over the person moving towards them.
The Game of Graces
One of the games I choose for the girls to play during this year’s Mother-Daughter Tea Party was the game of Graces, as suggested by Eliana. It was so much fun!
Beginning with Bocce Ball {and a few Group Photos!}
Despite a forecast of rain and snow the weather cooperated beautifully, even if it was cold, for our Mother-Daughter Tea Party and we were able to enjoy a few outdoor activities! We started with a game of Bocce Ball in the backyard overlooking a beautiful golf course, as we waited for all of our guests to arrive.
“Bocce ball is a game of Italian origin that two to four people can play in the yard, on the beach or on a strip of gravel. Game balls come in two sizes and the goal, in essence, is to roll the large bocce balls closer to the small “target” ball, called the pallino, than your opponents manage to do. In each round, the player who gets closest to the pallino earns a point. It may seem easy, but the game requires precision and patience. Eye-hand coordination is your best asset for winning this game.” – Ehow
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