My Daybook :: July 25, 2012
Outside my window…
it is still looking like a campground! The kids have all been having such a fun time camping in the backyard this week. We all slept out in the tent on Saturday night, which made me realize that I am now way too old to sleep on the ground… especially with a nursing baby. Ouch! I am still sore!
I am thinking…
about this morning’s (or I guess I should now say yesterday’s since it is after midnight) doctors appointment. I still don’t have an answer to what is causing my liver to be inflamed, and I will be going to see a specialist soon. I guess now they want to test for some autoimmune disorders. Don’t they know that I don’t have time for all of this? 😉
I am thankful…
that “when God closes a door, He opens a window!” I was recently reminded of that by my Dad’s cousin, after posting on facebook a few weeks ago that I had just found out that the great teacher we had coming to our home once a week this past year (as part of the homeschool charter school we were using) won’t be returning. I also said that I wasn’t sure that I wanted to stay enrolled without her and that I had some decisions to make… Well, within minutes of that reminder, I received an email from a friend letting me know that she had just been hired by our charter school as the department head for Math and Science and that perhaps she could be assigned to our family! I couldn’t have hand-picked a better person to help teach my children!! Not only is she incredibly smart and doing an amazing job of home educating her own children, she is Catholic, and also happens to be one of my Little Flower moms! (And she also reads my blog… Hi Kathleen!) This past Thursday I stopped by the school, and it’s official. She will be our new ES for this coming year. My husband is just as excited as I am, and we feel so very blessed. (Even though we will still dearly miss Cynthia!)
Learning all the time…
I just finished ordering most of our schoolbooks for this coming school year! I still need to make a few decisions for Snuggles, who will be starting Kindergarten, but other than that I am really happy with our plans. The four oldest also participated in their very first online class this past Thursday, learning all about Prizes and Penalties: The Ancient Olympics. It was the perfect way to kick off their Summer Olympics Unit Study! (Thanks for the suggestion, Charlotte!)
Celebrating the liturgical year…
today is the feast of St. James and the memorial of St. Christopher! I have some fun Transportation Themed Snacks, in honor of St. Christopher, patron of travelers, planned for the kids, which we will enjoy while reading The Legend of St. Christopher. Hubby is also planning to make a “Spanish Dinner” in honor of St. James, patron of Spain. I organized a much needed Mom’s Night Out at a local restaurant, but I should be home in time to make the Coupe St. Jacques for dessert. Then, tomorrow, we have the feast of St. Anne, who is one of my patron saints! I’m still trying to decide what I am going to make, but I’m leaning towards some sort of “dessert” with lots of red and green fruits (strawberries, raspberries, grapes, kiwis, etc) representing the colors she is traditionally shown wearing – red for Divine Love and green for immortality. It might be fun to create a whole dinner in red & green! Spaghetti (julienned zucchini for me) and Red Sauce, Garden Fresh Basil and Cherry Tomatoes, Green Salad, and maybe even some sparkling grape juices. Yum!
From the kitchen…
special meals in honor of the saints, as usual!
I am creating…
a list of ideas for Twinkle Toes’ birthday next month… She’s up next, and has requested a “Camp” themed birthday. That shouldn’t be too hard, right?
I am working on…
improving my health. I haven’t been exercising this past week, but I have been eating extra well and taking my supplements. I plan to get back on the treadmill
I am going…
to try and post a few more pictures from Captain’s birthday party in a {pretty, happy, funny, real} post, but just in case I don’t, here is one more that proves that Rose was indeed at the party! 🙂 I hadn’t realized that I didn’t include a picture of her in my original post. I just wasn’t able to get her to take a nap the day of the party and, sure enough, she fell asleep while eating her dinner and the slept right through the whole party! (Pictured from left to right: my brother Brian with Bud, my brother David with Rose, and my sister-in-law and niece)
I am hoping…
that Bud’s 2nd tooth breaks through soon. It is so close! The poor little guy has been miserable lately!
I am reading…
a new blog, after seeing Charlotte’s link. After just clicking over to get the links for this post, I laughed at Barbara’s comment… I too have recently “threatened” my children with giving away half (or more!) of what we own. I’m not sure I could go that far, but I sure wouldn’t mind some extra inspiration!
I am praying…
for Sam and her little Steven Thomas.
Pondering these words…
from an article I read weeks ago on “The Busy Trap”, after a friend emailed me the link. It has been on my mind since, and I have been re-evaluating all of our extracurricular activities for this coming year. Click on over and read the whole article… I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I am listening…
to the baby swing rock back and forth, the air conditioner, and one of my little ones coughing in their bed. I just gave him some cough syrup. It sounds like we have another virus making it’s way through our family. That always seems to happen after I take my kids to the doctors office for their annual well child checkups… sigh.
Around the house…
lots and lots of laundry. How does it pile up so quickly?
One of my favorite things…
the sacrament of Confession! We all went on Saturday evening, stayed for Mass, and then went out to dinner. It was great!!
A few plans for this week…
- Followup visit with my Doctor
- Mail a couple packages to friends
- Celebrate the feasts of St. James, St. Christopher, and St. Anne
- Mom’s Night Out
- Mass on Friday
- Opening Night of the Summer Olympics
A Settlers of Catan Birthday Party and Game Night
This past Friday our oldest son turned 12 years old! I still can’t believe he will be a teenager next year… His childhood is going by way too quickly… He is such a great son, and we are so proud of the wonderful young man he is becoming!
For this birthday he requested a party based on one of his favorite games: The Settlers of Catan! We decided to have a game night and invite a few friends to join us. He does have the extension games for Cities & Knights and Seafarers, but for the party (since some of our guests would be playing for the first time) we decided to just play the original version of the game with the 5-6 player extension. We set up one game at the dining room table and another (my brother brought his game for us to use too) at the coffee table. It was such a fun birthday party… “The best birthday!” as my kids tend to say every. single. year! 😉
I had all sorts of plans that I had hoped to pull together for decorations, but my time was extra limited this past week between doctors appointments and babysitting my niece. I made his “cake” the night before, and then the morning of the birthday/party (while the boys were at Mass with their Dad and the birthday boy received a birthday blessing from Father!) I scrambled to pull a couple things together starting with a “Happy Birthday Banner!”
Normally I use my Cricut to make banners, but I needed something extra quick and easy, so I created the banner using reddish marble hexagons with the font Garamond MT (adding black lines to the edges and gradient color) in yellow. I printed it onto white card stock, cut them out, and punched a couple small holes in the corners for the ribbon. You can download my document here.
As much as I loved this idea to decorate plates (and even purchased clear disposable plates) I ran out of time and just went with red plates and napkins. I did pull out all of my wicker serving baskets and trays, made up labels for our resource card inspired appetizers, and also decorated with all of our Catan game boxes.
Mountains/Ore Terrain: Oreo Cookies or Donut Holes
Instead of an actual cake this year, we decided to make individual cupcakes representing the various hexes that make up the Settlers of Catan board game. Here is the link to the post about our “Cupcakes of Catan.”
Captain was blessed with so many gifts from his friends and family, including such thoughtful and loving birthday cards (and an extra funny one from Uncle Brian, of course, who is always so much fun at Captain’s birthday parties!), Nerf Super Soakers, Gift Cards, and Playmobil toys!
Bud was so cute to watch as he crawled around checking out all of the gifts and playing with the wrapping paper.
Along with illustrating some beautiful cards for their brother, I loved that a few of his siblings had been saving up their tickets all summer to purchase him gifts! Twinkle Toes redeemed 25 of her Summer Bingo Tickets to purchase him the new Lord of the Rings Gandalf Arrives Lego Set, Rascal redeemed his tickets to get his favorite big brother a new model airplane kit, and even Chiquita picked a stick of beef jerkey (Captain’s favorite) from the prize box, instead of something for herself! 🙂
.: Birthday Campout :.
We rarely have sleepovers, but we decided to let Captain ask his friends to stay and “campout” in the backyard!
It was nearly midnight when I finally sent them to bed the tent… I think they would have stayed up all night, had I let them! You would have thought they’d sleep in, but sure enough they were all up at the crack of dawn assembling that new lego set!
Happy 12th Birthday Captain!
Cupcakes of Catan
I’m still working on sorting through all the pictures and creating a post from our oldest son’s 12th “Settlers of Catan” themed birthday this past Friday, but I thought I would pop in real and share a few pictures of his “cake.” I decided that, instead of making an actual cake, it would be easiest to just use cupcakes, representing all the individual pieces that make up the board game. You can find all sorts of versions/inspiration through a google image search. Here is what we came up with for our “Cupcakes of Catan!”
Supplies:
37 Cupcakes
- Ocean – 18 Cupcakes frosted blue, topped with blue sprinkles
- Desert – 1 Cupcakes topped with white frosting, brown sugar, a little blue icing for the Oasis, and a candy (we used a spice drop) for the Robber
- Ore – 3 Cupcakes frosted white, topped with crushed Oreo’s
- Brick – 3 Cupcakes frosted white, topped with Twizzler Cherry Bites
- Wood – 4 Cupcakes frosted green, topped with a pile of Pretzel Sticks
- Sheep – 4 Cupcakes frosted green, topped with Mini Marshmallows
- Wheat – 4 Cupcakes frosted yellow, topped with Honey Smacks
{this moment}
7 Months Old Today…
*photos taken July 15th
Lighting a candle…
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| our blessed St. Raymond Nonnatus sacramental candle in St. Therese candle holder |
Blessings
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| These beautiful roses, sent from a friend, arrived Tuesday afternoon! |
I only have a couple minutes since I am watching my little niece again today and have a birthday party to get ready for tomorrow, but I wanted to thank you all again and give you an update. It was a difficult couple days, as I waited for the results from my ultrasound, but last night the doctor finally called with some good news! Everything looks normal and they didn’t see any liver damage, tumors, or other problems. We still don’t know what’s causing my high numbers and symptoms, but now all the really scary things have been ruled out!
A Simple Caramel Applesauce Crown Cake
Cool for 5 minutes and remove from pan. Cool completely and then top with caramel sauce.
My Daybook :: July 15, 2012
Outside my window…
we headed down to the river Friday afternoon and finally walked the “new” river trail/greenway that we have been meaning to check out for the past 5 years! I can’t believe it has taken us so long… The big kids all rode their scooters, while Hubby pushed the little ones in the stroller and I snapped a few pictures along the way. It had been an emotional week for me and it was just the type of outing I needed to cheer me up!
I am thinking…
about blood tests and doctors appointments. The week before last I went in to see my doctor since I just haven’t been feeling well (on top of the panic attacks I was starting to have I also have been extremely tired – more than I should be even with 7 little ones – among other problems) so we decided to do some blood work. On Monday I found out that my liver counts were really high and I was called back in to the doctors for more blood work and an exam on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday I was called with the various results from the second set of tests… Thankfully I do not have hepatitis, but the other test came back even higher than it did the first week and I will be going in for an ultrasound of my liver on Tuesday morning. Please keep me in your prayers!
I am thankful…
that For Greater Glory is finally playing at our theatre! My Aunt Bridget (who I am so very thankful for too!) came over, bringing along her delicious French Toast Bake for the kids to have for breakfast, and watched all the kids so Hubby and I could go watch the matinee showing. What an inspiring, and incredibly moving, epic film about the Cristero War and Mexico’s struggle for religious freedom! If you haven’t seen it yet, you must!
Learning all the time…
Swimming lessons (and doctors appointments) pretty much took over our life for the past two weeks. We would leave the house just after nine in the morning and not get back home until after two or three in the afternoon. Then it would be time to do chores, make dinner, and get ready for the next day! It was worth it though and all the kids have really improved with their swimming! The big kids all did excellent working on the various strokes, while Snuggles and Rose worked on the life saving skills of learning what to do (roll over onto their back, and getting the wall) after jumping/falling into the water.
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| Snuggles jumping from the diving board, rolling over and floating on his back! |
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| Lifesaving Day 2012 |
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| Graduation Day |
Celebrating the liturgical year…
the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is coming up on Monday! I am hoping that we will be able to make it to Mass in the morning, and then perhaps I will be able to make another Scapular Cake for the kids. Can I do it without being tempted to eat any of it?
From the kitchen…
lots of organic leafy greens, fruits, whole grains, green teas, and all the other foods that help cleanse the liver naturally.
I am creating…
our summer unit study based on the Olympics, still. Our copy of G is for Gold Medal: An Olympic Alphabet arrived and I can’t wait to share it with the kids. It is such a great book! I’ve been working on coming up with a lapbook mini-book or worksheet for each page of the Alphabet book, as well as additional books to read, activities, and even some snacks. It is going to be fun!
I am working on…
creating a clear copyright statement for my blog. This past week I happened to run across pictures of my children and family re-posted on a few out of country Facebook pages and blogs. Despite the good intentions of the blogger(s), it was upsetting and had me questioning whether I want to even continue blogging or not. This has happened quite a few times before, mainly with craft and food pictures, which doesn’t bother me as much, but all pictures are copyrighted and out of respect for me and my family I ask that you kindly ask for permission before using a picture, and wait for me to respond granting permission. Thank you!
I am going…
to postpone this year’s Online Curriculum Sale Blog Hop. I had hoped to have the linky up tomorrow, but I just won’t have the time to host it this week… I think I will just keep the dates the same as they were last year – that should give me enough time to prepare:
I am hoping…
for some good news following my ultrasound on Tuesday, if it is God’s will.
I am reading…
Why Children Matter by Johann Christoph Arnold, which just arrived in the mail! Thank you so much, JenniferAnne!
I am praying…
for God’s grace and guidance.
Pondering these words…
from St. Rome of Lime, which I happened to read in my lovely daily planner as I was writing in my ultrasound appointment for next week:
I am listening…
to my kids yell at Ferdinand to “let go of that poor little bird!!!!!”
Around the house…
new Summer Bingo cards for this coming week. You can find my documents here.
One of my favorite things…
planning our curriculum for each new school year. I am dying to have a chance to get back to finalizing our plans for this coming year… Hopefully I will have a chance soon!
A few plans for this week…
- Celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
- Watch my little niece Tuesday-Thursday (just during the day)
- Ultrasound early Tuesday morning (please say a prayer for me!)
- Playdate with friends Tuesday afternoon
- Well-child check-ups for Captain, Chiquita & Bud
- Celebrate Captain’s 12th Birthday
A little peek at my day…
Summer Bingo {Our 2012 Cards/Printables}
I have been asked by some of you to share my updated version of our original Summer Bingo. I’m sorry it has taken me so long to get to, but on top of not having any extra time online I was trying to figure out how to create a fillable pdf to share with you all and I just don’t seem to have the right software. Instead I’ve uploaded pdfs of my files, along with blank versions… Hopefully that will help get you started!
Small Blank Summer Bingo Card Template pdf:Bingo2
Once again I modified the rules and prize options for my children:
Summer Bingo Rules
You can find a list of ideas for filling the squares in this past post of mine. This year my kids cards are filled with mostly summer school activities and extra chores since I created a separate “Summer Bucket List” that we are working on completing as well.
Our Family’s 2012 Summer Bucket List (plus blank pdf):
Summer Bucket List
Hope you are all enjoying the summer!
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