All Saints Scavenger Hunt {A Printable Party Game!}
My Daybook :: Oct 30, 2012
Outside my window…
I hear the leaf blower as my husband cleans up the yard for our party tomorrow night!
I am thinking…
about everything that still needs to be done… So much (that I’d like) to do and so little time! (And yet here I am sitting at the computer… Everyone needs a break every once in awhile, right?)
I am thankful…
that we were able to squeeze in a trip to the pumpkin patch this past weekend. It was a whirlwind of activities all weekend long, but we had a blast!
Learning all the time & Celebrating the liturgical year… We have a light school week this week, as we wrap up our first quarter, so we can focus on celebrating the liturgical year. We’ll be learning lots about the saints, attending mass on Thursday for the feast of All Saints, and the boys will be serving Mass at the Cemetery as always for the Feast of All Souls.
From the kitchen…
dinner is simmering in the crock pot, Chicken with Marinara and Artichoke Hearts to serve over spaghetti with Parmesan Cheese, Dinner Rolls, and Salad. After dinner I am going to start the Pumpkin Cupcakes for tomorrow!
I am working on…
carving this year’s Saint-O-Lanterns! After going to the Pumpkin Patch on Sunday with four of my siblings, aunt, uncle, sister-in-law, and niece, we headed over to my brother Brian’s house to eat dinner and carve pumpkins! Since we weren’t at home, and there were aunts and uncles to visit with, my kids weren’t nearly as focused on carving this year so we only completed three. I have one more all ready to carve and Snuggles and I are hoping to finish it tonight after dinner.
I am creating…
a couple games and a banner for our All Hallows’ Eve / All Saints’ Party!
I am going…
to try and get back to answering emails soon! It has been awhile and I am really really behind (some have been waiting a year or more). I do read every email, but it is impossible for me to respond to them all, as much as I do try. (Often times I am reading on my cellphone and have to wait until I’m on the computer to respond.) FYI: I usually work on answering comments on the blog first, followed by Facebook, emails from friends and family, and then other emails are usually last.
I am hoping…
for the Hadley’s! We attended the 5th Annual Harvest of Hope Dinner, an annual fundraiser for the Hadley Hope Fund, this past Saturday night. Here is an update on their beautiful family and a few pictures from the dinner.
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| 2012 Hadley Hope Dinner © Marc Salvatore |
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| Bud, me and my sister-in-law Meagan (You can also see my Dad just over Meagan’s shoulder) © Marc Salvatore |
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| Kristin & Ann-Marie (dear friends that I grew up with, Kristin was my Confirmation sponsor and is Rascal’s Godmother and Ann-Marie was one of my bridesmaids), Amy (who is losing weight like crazy and looking amazing) and Me (not looking my best!) 🙂 © Marc Salvatore |
I am praying…
for those affected by Hurricane Sandy, for the soul of Barbara Curtis, for my sister-in-law Melissa who will be delivering another baby soon, for my little sister Jamie Jo who just celebrated her anniversary and birthday yesterday and the day before, and for Emily! Oh, and that it doesn’t rain here tomorrow night!
I am (still) reading…
the saint quotes and short paragraphs that my children have come up with to share with everyone tomorrow evening. I will have an extra treat for any of the children that come dressed as a saint or biblical character and have something to share with everyone. (A short paragraph, quote, or even just a coloring page for the little ones.)
Pondering these words…
spoken by St. Joan of Arc, which Chiquita found (all on her own) in her copy of The Pocket Daring Book for Girls and is planning on sharing at our party tomorrow:
I am listening…
to Prince Caspian, as we continue working our way through the 7 Volume Unabridged Audio Set of The Chronicles of Narnia.
Around the house…
I’ve done over 20 loads of laundry yesterday and today and am almost caught up! I’ve also sorted through half the kids clothing, boxing up everything that is too small and pulling out all the summer clothes. What was I thinking starting this project before our All Hallows’ Eve party?
One of my favorite things…
pictures at the Pumpkin Patch! I will be posting this year’s soon.
- Lego Robotics Classes for the older boys (Tues & Thurs)
- All Hallows’ Eve Party
- Mass on All Saints Day, Tutor in the Afternoon
- Annual Mass at the Cemetery for the Feast of All Souls
Our Parish All Saints’ Party and Costume Contest
A week ago, after hearing that our parish was encouraging saint or biblical costumes this year (you had to come dressed as one to be entered in the costume contest), and after our pastor told our children that both he and the assistant priest would be dressing up, we decided to take the kids’s this year to the All Saints Party which was held this past Friday night.
Some of the kids decided to wear the costumes they will be wearing for our party tomorrow night, and a couple decided to use the opportunity to wear a different saint costume! Even though we only had about an hour to get ready for the party they all came together so nicely, and I was glad I didn’t have to choose a favorite!
(all from our ever growing Saints Costume collection!)
I love this picture with four of my boys best friends dressed as Moses, Lazarus, St. Juan Diego, and St, Maximilian Koble, as well as our Pastor and Parochial Vicar dressed as Blessed John Paul II and Venerable Futon Sheen!
{This Moment}
These two were the first place winners for each category (11 & under and 12 & up) at our Parish’s All Saints Costume Contest last night! I’ll be back with more pictures soon. We had such a great time!
All Saints’ Day Party Games :: A Saintly Jigsaw Puzzle Race!
My kids are getting so excited! All Saints’ Day is coming up next week, which means our Annual All Hallows’ Eve Party is just around the corner. Last year our family decided to host a “small” party at our home, instead of the carnival style party at the parish hall, and it was such a blast! Despite feeling slightly (okay, very!) overwhelmed with everything that needs to still be done, I keep reminding myself that it actually was pretty easy to host and I already have so much ready, left over from last year! I just need to work on cleaning up the house… 😉
This year, in addition to the All Saints Bingo, St. Isidore’s Pumpkin Roasting, and an Outdoor Flashlight Scavenger/Treasure Hunt that a friend is helping coordinate, I’ve been trying to come up with a couple more new games. Since the Cupcake Puzzle Race was such a hit at our Little Flowers Tea Party, I thought it would be perfect!
My goal was to find a couple 100 piece puzzles representing either saints or biblical figures. I ran across some made by EuroGraphics and decide to go with Jesus the Fisherman (with the apostles!) and David & Goliath. (Other options included Daniel and the Lions and Moses.)
I opened up the boxes and was very pleased with the quality – the puzzle pieces are very durable and should be able to withstand many little fingers! At the party we will probably break the kids that are interested in playing into groups of 4, but this afternoon my four oldest broke into two teams to give it a try.
They each choose a puzzle and I set the timer. I couldn’t believe that, 18 minutes and 24 seconds later, it was a TIE! (I think at the Little Flowers Tea Party, with more people working on the puzzles, we completed them in about 12-15 minutes.) They had so much fun and are looking forward to playing again with their friends!
If you want to try this out, and don’t want it to take quite so long, any 24 Piece Puzzle set would work as well. I’ve also pulled out a few of our simple Catholic Puzzles for the younger children, or to have quick timed races.
Oktoberfest/Costume Party
I tried my best to convince the kids dress up as the 7 dwarves, and I could go as a (non-Disney) version of Snow White, with Hubby dressing as Prince Charming The Huntsman. But they wouldn’t go for it! 😉 I had a couple girls, one in particular, that just didn’t like the idea of dressing as a boy dwarf! In the end, I liked their idea better, anyways.
The four oldest decided to dress as Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy from The Chronicles of Narnia. Edmund even had an injured lip from being hit by the White Witch! They even decided to dress Bud up as a lion to represent Aslan.
My (Post-Trauma) Daybook :: October 23, 2012
Outside my window…
it is COLD! It went from summer to winter pretty much overnight here in our little corner of the country. My kids are walking around the house this morning wrapped in blankets wearing scarves, hats, and mittens!
I am thinking…
it could have been worse… it could have been worse! 😉
I am thankful…
for all of your prayers, encouragement, advice, and support! May God reward you!
Learning all the time…
We just re-read the story of St. Apollonia and the Martyrs of Alexandria, after Charlotte mentioned praying for her intercession on Facebook while we were on our way to the ER on Thursday night. Reading about the early church martyrs really puts our own little challenges into perspective…
In Alexandria, Egypt, during the reign of the Emperor Decius, there lived a holy virgin named Apollonia.
Apollonia had spent her whole life serving God. Now that she was growing old, she did not take time to rest. She bravely risked her life to comfort the Christians in prison when a persecution began.
“Remember that the suffering will not last long,” she would say. “But the joys of Heaven will last forever.”
At last, Apollonia, too, was captured. When the judge asked her name, she courageously said, “I am a Christian and I love and serve the true God.”
Apollonia was made to suffer greatly because she would not give up her Faith. First, all her teeth were smashed and then pulled out. That is why we pray to St. Apollonia when we have a toothache. The saint was then told that if she did not deny Christ, she would be thrown into the fire.
Apollonia was not afraid. She chose to die rather than sin.
When the pagans saw her heroic action, many of them were converted.
Celebrating the liturgical year…
We watched the canonization of St. Kateri, and the other six new saints, this past Sunday on EWTN online! It was beautiful! Snuggles and I had made Indian Corn Cookies to celebrate. I was going to make Hawaiian Teriyaki Burgers too, but we ended up going with quick and easy pizza instead.
From the kitchen…
goodies from Trader Joe’s! Friday evening I went to town to do a little grocery shopping (and pick up that rug) with Twinkle Toes. I heard that Trader Joe’s was finally opening last week, but had I known that Friday was their OPENING DAY I probably would have waited. It was so packed! It was fun though and we brought home quite a few goodies, making the super long line worth the effort! Right now I am enjoying a hot cup of Joe with hazelnut creamer and some chocolate hazelnut biscotti. Yum!
I am working on…
plans for our All Hallows’ Eve party that we will be hosting next week! Ay yi yi…
I am creating…
Costumes… Costumes, costumes, costumes! And here I had thought I was pretty much done with planning costumes for this year! We were invited to a last minute “Oktoberfest/Costume Party” this past Saturday at Rascal’s godparents home. We’ve actually never gone to a “non-saint” themed costume party, and the kids all thought it would be fun. Costumes were required, for the adults too, and the kids all really enjoyed coming up with costumes. Snuggles came up with a Peter Pan Costume with an old costume/shirt of my brothers, a belt, his green moccasin slippers, and some brown capri leggings from his sister! Oh, and a “sword” made from green Duplo Blocks, which, apparently, are not Legos! All he asked was that I make him a hat… Our events from Thursday and Friday didn’t leave much time for creating costume accessories, and Saturday morning I spent relaxing, baking cookies with my littlest ones, and blogging. Just before we left for the party Snuggles asked about his hat. Whoops! It’s amazing what you can do with a large piece of craft foam, scissors, a stapler and a red feather! He was a very happy little boy Peter Pan!
I am going…
to take the kids to our Parish Costume Party this coming Friday night. After our late night out on Saturday the kids went to the late Mass on Sunday with Hubby. I was still working on recovering from the panic attacks, so I went to an early Mass by myself and then came home to rest. Anyhow, the kids came home talking all about the upcoming party at the Church. I was excited to hear that they are encouraging Saint Costumes (you must be dressed as a saint to qualify for the costume contest) and the priests will even be dressing up! Our pastor is going to be dressing as Blessed John Paul II and Fr. M is dressing as Fulton Sheen! It should be fun.
I am hoping…
to start my Christmas (and birthday – we now have two in December!) plans and shopping soon. I’d like to have it all completed by the first Sunday of Advent, which falls on December 2nd this year. With timing flying by as quick as it seems to be, that is going to be here in no time.
I am praying…
for Rascal, and for Kelly.
I am (still) reading…
and loving, We and Our Children: How to make a Catholic Home (the new reproduction of the work originally published in 1954)… Here is my favorite quote from what I re-read this week from Chapter V on Security – Fear of Danger:
“Life will never be painless for our children, try as we might to spare them. We are foolish to think that we can. And it is wise not to waste time trying. We can bend every energy to giving a child the full measure of God, and in the end with His help they can learn to accept and bear, and one day find joy, in whatever assaults their sense of security will have to endure.”
Pondering these words…
spoken by St. Francis de Sales:
even if your whole world seems upset.”
I am listening…
to The Horse and His Boy. We own the 7 Volume Unabridged Audio Set of The Chronicles of Narnia and the boys started listening to it again last week. I just love audio books and this is such a well done set!
Around the house…
I am determined to find some new rugs for our tile floors. A couple for my kitchen, and a new one for the entry/living room (the old one that we had in there fell apart). I picked up the one I had considered at Costco over the weekend, and it is just a little too small for the kitchen. Does anyone have any suggestions for me, on where to start looking?
One of my favorite things…
my beautiful new bookmark, purchased from The Fig and Thimble.
- Mom’s Night Out at a new restaurant I’ve been wanting to try!
- Lego Robotics Classes for the older boys
- Tutor on Thursday
- Saints Costume Party at our Church
- Trip to the Pumpkin Patch
- Hadley Hope Fundraiser Dinner
- Carve Saint-O-Lanterns (and post a link-up at Catholic Cuisine!)
Tooth Trauma
Subtitled: C is for Crazy, Crying, Chips, Crowns, Caps, Cuts, and my Children taking the Alphabet Path Completely too far…. They better Cut it out, if they want to Continue! 😉
Thursday night was crazy… I’ve definitely had some traumatic moments in my life, but nothing has ever affected all our children like what happened on Thursday. The day started out completely normal. I posted about our Kindergarten activities for the letter B, I spoke with a friend on the phone, my kids worked on their schoolwork, we picked up the house, and then the tutor came from 1:00-6:00. She actually even took the boys to their Lego Robotics class for me, where they had their picture taken for the local paper! However, just after 7pm I posted on Facebook that “We could really use some prayers right now…” before heading to the ER.
After the tutor left, I started making dinner while my children completed a couple science experiments left over from the last couple chapters of their science course.
After completing our 2nd experiment, we headed back into the house and into the kitchen so the kids could all add the results and conclusion to their journals, just as Dad/Hubby arrived home from work for the day. The kids and I continued to discuss what we had just learned. I was sitting on one of the bar stools talking to the kids. Captain was holding the baby on one side of the island, Twinkle Toes was standing at the end, Chiquita had skipped off to the school room to find a pencil, and Rascal was standing in between the island and the sink. (In the very spot, I will add, that I had *almost* purchased a rug for a few days before, but didn’t want to spend the money… Still upset with myself for not buying it!)
Of course, even when they are talking, boys don’t hold still for very long… Lifting himself up between the sink/counter and the island, Rascal swung his body forward. As he swung back to “land” he slipped and went down, face first, onto our hard tile kitchen floor. He had been looking at me and talking to me at the time. I was about to say “Don’t do that.” but by then it was too late… Blocked by the counter and totally helpless, I saw his face hit the ground as a tooth flew out of his mouth, his head bounced before coming back down and hitting again, this time chin first, while the remaining dagger of a tooth tore through his bottom lip.
His initial response, grabbing his mouth and trying his best to shake it off, was “Ooh, that hurt!” before noticing the blood gushing everywhere.
By that time I was around the counter and praying that he was okay and that I had imagined the tooth bouncing out… I kept thinking “Are there any baby teeth left in the front??? Please let it be a baby tooth!!!”
Everyone came running to the kitchen. I had him open his mouth while my husband went to get a rag to help with all the blood, and, sure enough, he was missing more than half of his top front tooth. I told him to open his hand, there was the rest of the tooth, which he had somehow managed to catch! I couldn’t help it, I started crying. “Oh, NO! Your tooth!” which set everyone else to crying… He was crying, saying he was “so sorry…” Captain who was already holding Bud started crying along with the baby… Twinkle Toes and Chiquita started crying… Snuggles started wailing… and Rose must have thought “enough of all this” since she just looked around at everyone crying and headed back to here room, climbed into bed, and went to sleep without dinner. It was traumatic to say the least!
I called our dentist who asked a few questions before telling me to put the tooth in some milk and take Rascal in for stitches. He would see us in the morning…
We drove in to town and instead of stitches they ended up glueing Rascals lip back together. Apparently stitches would have been too easy to mess with and pull out right there on his lip, and glue is working much better for these sorts of injuries. He was also given a prescription for antibiotics to prevent infection from the “Human Bite” and his lip should heal in about 2-3 weeks.
By the time we got home everyone had calmed down… It did make me smile when Captain told me that Snuggles laid in bed, while we were at the Doctor’s, and cried, “I just NEVER wanted this to happen to ANYONE!!! First it happened this summer to Big Michael, and now it has happened to (Rascal)!” All of the kids were so sad for their brother. ♥
*Big Michael is the 14 year old grandson of our friend/swimming teacher, who broke both of his front teeth this summer doing a back flip off the diving board… I was surprised Snuggles remembered, but he loved meeting “Big Michael” who was up visiting.
Friday morning Hubby took everyone to Mass, while I headed to the Dentist with Rascal and the baby. Rascal, being the good sport that he always is, decided to wear his new “Hockey” shirt. (So much for me worrying about the boys losing teeth playing Hockey… It happened anyways, while doing schoolwork with me!)
We did discover that one end of a nerve was exposed and it will take time to tell the extent of the damage, and whether or not the tooth can be saved. (Basically his tooth could possibly start to turn black within 3 months to 3 years.) He will probably end up needing a root canal and/or a cap or crown. The dentist was able to glue the tooth back together for now. We also found that there was still another piece of the tooth missing, which we then x-rayed his lip to make sure it hadn’t been embedded. (Thanks be to God, that it hadn’t!) The dentist told us that in a couple days the tooth would hopefully be rehydrated and blend in (better) with the original tooth.
Of course, we still don’t have dental insurance (we are in the process of applying but it won’t take effect until January, and we had already managed to wrack up a ridiculously huge bill between the Orthodontist and Dentist the past couple months, before this) but it will all work out somehow.
“B” is for Blueberries, Bubbles, Bibles, and Blessings!
We were busy, busy, busy, having a blast with the letter B Along the Alphabet Path the past couple weeks, so brace yourself for another extra long post!
Bumble Bees with painted Blueberries and grass at the Base
Snuggles colored this picture from My Book of Letters last school year…
I pulled out the rest of the activity pages for the letter B…
I asked Snuggles to color the sky gray and the b his favorite color (which happens to be blue) and he went on to “finish” the picture by coloring the grass, tree, and bat as well. He even colored the moon white. He was determined to cover that page with color!
He went on to sounding out the names of four pictures and figuring out which three began with the sound “b.”
Snuggles loves forming the letters with Wikki Sticks!
When we were at the craft store looking for fleece for the Blanket, we also ran across a “Nemo” themed piece of scrapbook paper that the kids all thought would make a perfect Background for Snuggles’ A, B… Seas Ocean Box! After gluing the page into the box, he also added dots of white paint with the end of a pencil to create “bubbles.”
Mix 2 cups water with 1/2 cup dishwashing liquid and 1 teaspoon of sugar in a shallow baking pan.
Dip the tip of a straw in the bubble liquid and blow bubbles. The straws were fun, but Snuggles especially loved the bubble makers we made from pipe cleaners. This was such a fun and simple experiment!
Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats
Pop! A Book about Bubbles
The Big Dipper
I posted the instructions and additional pictures from this craft here: Angel Art for A Week.
I posted the instructions and additional pictures from this craft here:
B is for Blanket :: A No Sew Fleece Tie Blanket Tutorial
B is for Building, Boat, and Busting the Burglar! 😉
For the letter “B” I pulled out this little lego set for Snuggles to Build a Building, Boat and a Bad Guy/Burglar, getting Busted! 😉
Brushing paint on Building Blocks
Snuggles was Burn out on this after painting a few blocks… I took over the project. 😉
B is for Blessings
“Look, Mom, I’m reading it first, before I take a bite out of it! Oohh! B-b-b-bite starts with B!!”
Taking advantage of the letter B theme, we finally Began Snuggles’ Bible Narrations and Picture Study for this year. We are reading the New Testament Stories from Classic Bible Stories: A Family Treasury. (I decided to wait on the Old Testament since our whole family will be moving on to Ancient History next year.) After I read the story to Snuggles’ he narrates it back to me and then illustrates a page in his book based on the picture provided.
This week we made a cover for “Snuggles’ Picture Book of Saints” using another Self-Adhesive Laminating Sheet to protect the page after it was glued to the front of his book.
), St. Benedict (An Alphabet of Saints), and St. Brendan (S is for Saints) we also read a few picture books about these saints:
The Holy Twins: Benedict and Scholastica
I Believe: The Nicene Creed
Brendan the Navigator
Bernadette: The Little Girl from Lourdes
Brigid’s Cloak
The Life of St. Brigid: Abbess of Kildare (Not Pictured)
Saint Brendan and the Voyage Before Columbus
Of course we had to read about Pope Benedict too, and the sacrament of Baptism!
Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat
Max and Benedict: A Bird’s Eye View of the Pope’s Daily Life
The Fish in the Fountain: A Story of Baptism
I also had ordered a copy of the new book Be Saints!: An Invitation from Pope Benedict XVI but it’s on backorder and hasn’t arrived yet. Hopefully it will arrive in time for All Saints Day!
{pretty, happy, funny, real}
{pretty}
Our science experiment for the Letter B was making bubbles using the directions in Apples, Bubbles and Crystals: Your Science ABCs.
{funny}
Snuggles really loves school this year, at least that is what he keeps telling his Daddy each night. Hearing that makes all the extra work totally worth it!
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