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Baby’s First Tooth

Aug 4, 2010 | | 12 Comments


You may have to enlarge the picture to get a little glimpse of Rose’s first tooth, which just started cutting through last Thursday!

Don’t you just love that face? We don’t see it often, just when she is told “no” or isn’t getting her way… In this case she really wanted to chew on the lens cover to my camera. The cute little stinker!


You know, I actually thought about titling this post “My Feelings Exactly” since I am pretty sure I made that same face after finding out how much sinks and faucets actually cost and how little of an allowance we have from the plumber! 😉  Argh! Remodeling is SO overwhelming!!  Nevertheless everything is moving along quickly and it won’t be too much longer before we have our home (and then some!) back again. In the meantime I keep telling myself “It will all be worth it!” EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!

I hope you are all having a great summer!  I have really missed reading blogs and blogging and hope I’ll be able to start visiting more soon!

My Day(s)book :: Under Construction!

Jul 29, 2010 | , | 19 Comments

Outside my window… the siding is almost complete!

I am listening to… the contractors hanging the sheetrock, beginning at about 6:00 am each morning.

I am thinking… about paint colors and whether or not we want to paint the new living room and dining room a different color than the kitchen.  At first we were leaning towards a goldish yellow for the kitchen and a khaki/tan for the living dining room, (though we are also considering some sage/greens), but now I am thinking about just painting the whole thing tan.  Oh!  I also need to pick colors for the laundry room (which will be filled with white appliances and no cabinets – they were cut due to our budget) and the bathroom.   The original rooms of the house and the hallway are all white with “Adobe” in Master Bedroom, “Bone” in the Master Bathroom,  a light green in the kids bathroom, another green in the girls bedroom, and “Honeysuckle” in the nursery.   If any one has a favorite color(s), I’m open to suggestions!

I am thankful… that we were able to find a countertop option within our budget, without having to go with formica or laminate. Apparently our kitchen will have a LOT of countertop space – 78. square feet to be exact! Although I would have liked to go with Quartz countertops, they were just way out of our budget. We will be going with a “Builder’s Special” on Granite. On all the “work areas” we will be using a pretty color called “Santa Cecilia” (isn’t that perfect!) with “Black Galaxy” on our island.

One of the easiest decisions so far has been our backsplash! We were refered by the Granite Store to another tile store and after answering a few questions and showing the lady our granite and cabinite colors she whipped together a backsplash that was perfect.   She didn’t have a sample of the little tiles for us, so I snapped a picture (though I think it looked much prettier in person):

I am hoping and praying… that Hubby will be able to get a little overtime this summer so we’ll be able to finish the flooring and fireplace in our entry and order the extra wall oven.  At this point it is looking like I’m going to have to choose between the two.  Bummer!

I am thinking…  if I have to choose,  I will probably choose to wait on the wall oven/microwave combo and finish the entryway and fireplace.  Especially since all of the brick has been already removed from the walls.   (This has needed to be done since we moved in 10 years ago and my Dad & Hubby “temporarily” secured the brick to the wall with flashing when it started to fall forward!)

Last week:
This Week:
When Hubby was removing the last bricks at the bottom, he found piles of dog food in between the walls?!  I’m guessing that it has been there a LONG time considering we have never even owned a dog! Isn’t that strange?  
We still have a few decisions to make on the fireplace. . . We’ve decided to replace the brick with stone, probably country ledgestone or limestone.  We still need to decide what color stone and much stone we’d like to use.  At first Hubby really wanted to stone the whole wall (which I think would be too much rock), then we thought about bringing it in 18″ on each side, now we are thinking about still bringing it in 18″ on each side and stopping part way up the wall and just topping it with a nice mantle to match our kitchen cabinets.  It has been a hard decision to make! 

From the kitchen… Last week the rough plumbing and electrical were completed and the insulation was installed.  Yesterday the sheetrock went up on the ceiling and the contractors are working on the walls today.  It’s all starting to come together!

Monday:

Wednesday:

From the School Room… I’m still trying to sort through everything that had to come down from my storage shelf, and did sell a few things on Cathswap…  What a mess!  Where ever am I going to put all the new school books that are starting to arrive?!

Living the Liturgical Year at Home… Despite the lack of a kitchen, we are still finding little ways to live the liturgical year at home.  Now if I could just think of something easy for the feast of St. Ignatius on Saturday, which is also Captain’s Baptismal Anniversary.

I am creating… a checklist of things that need to be done when we head to town in a few minutes after I post (finally!) this “day”book that I’ve been trying to find time to work on since Monday! lol!

Noticing that… this new little bathroom that will lead into our new laundry room will be so nice to have as our boys get older.   Especially since it is right next to their bedroom.

(There will be a pocket door (which was installed yesterday after I took these pictures) on this side – of the picture on the right- of the shower, closing the bathroom off from the laundry room.)

Around the house…   Note to self:  When dumping the dirty dishwater out the bedroom door, make sure a frog doesn’t hop in!  Otherwise you may wake up the whole household late at night, just after mopping the floor, when you spot him hopping down the hallway! 

One of my favorite things… paper plates.  🙂

A few plans for the rest of the week:

  • Order the Range/Oven and Hood (still trying to decide which model)
  • Pick up Paint Samples and decide on Paint Colors
  • Decide on Wood Flooring and order the Tile
  • Pick out Kitchen Sink and other plumbing fixtures
  • Move all the furniture out of the entry/living room (they will be working on the sheetrock in there on Saturday, and it won’t be too long before the carpet will be replaced with tile) 

A Picture thought I am sharing:

That would be the Sears Truck delivering our DISHWASHER!!!!!!!!!  I can’t wait to try it out!  I wonder how many things I am going to ruin as I get use to using one?! 

Okay. . . I am off to town with all 6 kids to try and make some decisions. . . (wish me luck!) Then it’s to the Rink for Hockey this evening.  It’s going to be a busy day!

On the Feast of St. Anne

Jul 27, 2010 | , , | 2 Comments

We colored a beautiful picture…

… ate a delicious Watermelon Pie…


… won a gorgeous “St. Anne” Rosary (Thank you Anne!!!!)…

… read a lovely short story, and prayed for the intercession of this beloved saint.
Good Saint Anne, you were especially favoured by God to be the mother of the most holy Virgin Mary, and thus grandmother of our Saviour Jesus Christ.  By your intimacy with your most pure daughter and her divine Son, kindly obtain for us the graces that we seek.  Secure for us the strength to perform faithfully our daily duties and the help we need to persevere in the love of Jesus and Mary.  Amen.

I hope you all had a very blessed feast of St. Anne! 

Ten More Takes

Jul 26, 2010 | , | 8 Comments

I started this post last Wednesday and am just now getting around to finishing up the post. I’ve just had so little time for blogging, not to mention reading blogs and responding to emails. I have a feeling that it will probably continue to be that way for the rest of the summer, though I will continue to try and pop in from time to time.

To be quite honest, it was such a blessing that everything fell into place last Tuesday morning and Captain’s birthday turned out to be such a special day for him.  I am doing better at the moment, but last Monday I had been completely overwhelmed, exhausted, and on the verge of a breakdown.  I do realize that we are so blessed to be able to remodel our home right now, but any extra prayers you can send our way, as we try to make it through the process, would be greatly appreciated!

Anyhow, here are “Ten more Takes” from Captain’s 10th birthday last week:

~ 1 ~

A free Birthday Drink from a local Coffee Drive-Thru!
~ 2 ~
We all had so much fun at the bowling alley.   I was very thankful that it only cost $10.00 (the cost of shoe rental) for five of my children to bowl two games each!  Do you have a bowling alley in your area that is participating in the Kids Bowl Free Summer Program?  I think we will have to make the effort to go back once or twice before the summer ends! 
~ 3 ~
Tuesday is also “Kids Night” at our Applebee’s (all kid’s meals are just 99 cents each), so we headed there for dinner!  (As a family of 8, eating out has become a rare treat!)  We arrived at 5pm, just as my sister, Aunt JoAnn, was starting her shift!
~ 4 ~
During dinner I told Captain that I just couldn’t believe he was already 10 years old. . . Rascal piped in “Oh no. . . Your not going to start cryin’ now, are ya?  Don’t go starting the waterworks!”   And, wouldn’t you know it?!  That was all it took to get the tears flowing!  He can be such a little stinker!!  😉 
~ 5 ~
After dinner Captain and I went to pick out a cake!  I was sad that I couldn’t make him one myself – he had wanted a “jet cake” – but he was SO excited when I told him that Dairy Queen actually makes Blizzard Cakes! They even had his favorite flavor!  Yum!!
Rascal, who couldn’t get past the fact that we weren’t going to decorate the cake, made a lego “10” himself, to add to the store bought cake. 
~ 6 ~
Captain had another surprise when we arrived home with the cake.  It was a last minute decision and Hubby picked it up in between bowling and dinner.  
~ 7 ~
Snuggles LOVED the cake.   However, as soon as his big brother blew out the candles he said,  “Heyyyyy!!  You ruined it, the candles!  It’s MY birthday!”  He was a bit confused! lol!
~ 8 ~

After the cake, it was time to open gifts.  It makes me so happy that my children get excited about receiving books as gifts!  Captain received a number of books off of next year’s book list for World History, including a couple books about his favorite saints! 
~ 9 ~

His final gift was a game he had been wanting for A. LONG. TIME!  
(We were able to purchase this game with some of the credit I earned from those of you who purchase from Amazon after clicking over from one of my links, so THANK YOU!) 
~ 10 ~
At the end of the day Captain said “Thank you so much Dad & Mom.  This was my favorite birthday ever!”  Then he went on to add, ” I say that every year, don’t I?!”   
He is such a wonderful son and we are so very blessed to have him in our life!

Bargain Priced Books

Jul 19, 2010 | , , , , , | 9 Comments

This past weekend I finally had a little bit of time to sit down and start planning out next school year.   One of the things I did was make a wish list of all the books I’d like to purchase for History.  (We’ll be using Connecting With History Volume 3, continuing from Volume 1 and Volume 2.)   It had been awhile since I’d visited Book Closeouts, but I thought I would do a little searching to see if I could find discounts on some of the Living History Books I was hoping to purchase.  I was able to find five titles from our Volume 3 Booklist, a few to save for the next time we study Volumes 1 & 2, as well as some other fun books!    Here’s a peek at my order:  

For this coming year’s Connecting with History Volume 3:

To add to our Connecting with History Volume 2 Collection:

(I bought both editions for my boys.) 

To add to our Connecting with History Volume 1 Collection:

A Few Others I purchased:

And, of course, FLOWER FAIRIES!!!  I’m planning on saving these for Twinkle Toes’ birthday next month (shhhhh) :

I could have kept shopping but I had to stop. 

My subtotal was $65.42 plus shipping and handling of $8.25, but after entering a coupon code (I think it was good for purchases of $65+) I found online (code: brickcity-10 / password: bookcloseouts.com) which took an extra $20.00 off, bringing my total to only $53.57 for 18 books – an average of only $2.97 each!

There are limited quantities available of each book, but I hope some of you are able to take advantage of these great prices!

On the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Jul 19, 2010 | , | 9 Comments

Our Lady of Mount Carmel 
From Catholic Artworks ~ Colored by Captain

The last couple years we have celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at home with a Scapular Cake.  This year, since we are without a kitchen, I thought about buying a toaster oven, building a solar oven, or perhaps making “scapulars” out of these cookies (Anne had a similar idea and her scapulars turned out darling!), but it just wasn’t meant to be this year.   Perhaps we will be able to make the cake as a “back to school treat” in September since Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the patroness of our Home School. 
Nevertheless we had a lovely feast day just the same.  The day started with Mass offered by one of our favorite local priests, Fr. Carmelo.   Our oldest two boys were able to serve Mass, as they do most Fridays, for Father.    Here are a few pictures from the day:
Rascal drew Father a picture in honor of his “Nameday!”
After Mass we headed to the coffee shop and ordered the children Carmel Steamers. 

The boys enjoyed playing Axis & Allies with their friend.

Snuggles enjoyed looking at all the treats!
After dinner we read The Brown Scapular and enjoyed a “Mount of Carmels.”

by Rascal (age 8) 
PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF MT. CARMEL

Most Holy Virgin, Beauty of Carmel, Virgin Flower, forever in bloom, Bright Ornament of Heaven, Virgin Mother of a Man God, Mother of Holy Love, Mother of mercy and meekness, Mother honored above all mothers, be propitious to your dear children of Carmel, and to all those who have the happiness of wearing the holy scapular. O Mary, Queen Beauty of Carmel, and Gate of Heaven, to you do we sigh, to you do we cry. Bless us all, O Mary. Amen.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Pray for Us!

My Daybook :: July 15, 2010

Jul 16, 2010 | , , | 11 Comments

 Outside my window… the sun is starting to set behind the mountain after another busy day.

I am listening to… the hum of the air conditioner.   It’s quite around here right now since the baby is sleeping, Twinkle Toes is reading, and our other 4 children are all at the Rink with their Daddy! I might actually have a few free minutes to complete this post – I’ve started it a few times this week and never got very far!

I am thinking… about colors!  We finally have chosen cabinet, tile and granite colors, now we just need to make some decisions on the stone, paint, and wood floor colors. Oh, and not to mention light fixtures. . .   This has been HARD!

I am thankful… that we have Captain’s (and possibly Rascal’s!) 3rd Grade testing behind us!  I knew that Captain would need a little extra guidance so I scheduled a private testing session for him, but when we were on our way I started noticing he was MUCH more nervous than I thought he was.  When we arrived I told the tester that I was wishing I would have signed both my boys up to be tested together.  She said it wasn’t too late, and that if I wanted Rascal tested she could test him as well, it would just need to be done at the 3rd Grade level as well.  (Rascal technically just finished 2nd Grade.)   I wasn’t sure he was ready for that, but on the positive side, if he did well, I wouldn’t need to have him tested next year!   PLUS, I then had to pay less per boy for the actual testing fees.   Captain was immediately much more relaxed and had a big smile on his face, while Rascal was looking at me wondering “WHAT JUST HAPPENED!” lol!  He was a good sport though and the boys actually enjoyed the testing.   We celebrated with a couple surprises, a trip to the park, and then ice cream at Dairy Queen!

I am hoping and praying… that the boys scored well on the testing.  We will find out in a couple weeks.   At least it will give me a better idea of what we need to focus on next year.

From the kitchen… we are still loving our grill!  If anyone has a favorite recipe (that requires very few dishes to prepare!) I’d love a few suggestions!!

From the learning rooms… stacks and stacks of books! I had to take everything off the storage shelf so the Heating and Air guy can run some duct work along the back wall later this week.   My house is quickly falling apart!

Living the Liturgical Year at Home… it has been so busy around here that our little extra celebrations have been cut way back.  However, tomorrow is the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (one of our favorites, as well as the patron of our Home School) so we are determined to have a little celebration after morning Mass & Benediction!   You can find lots of suggestions over at Catholic Cuisine!

I am creating… Summer Bingo sheets for next week!  So far this has been our favorite summer program yet and it is working just wonderfully for our family.   It *really* helps to keep in mind the schedule for each upcoming week!  Some of this weeks “assignments” included “Illustrate a Picture of Blessed Kateri on her Feast Day” and “Read a picture book about Blessed Kateri to your siblings.”   I guess that is one way to make sure the children are “Living the Liturgical Year at Home” when mom is too busy to keep up with it all!  😉

I am reading… The Well-Ordered Home: Organizing Techniques for Inviting Serenity into Your Life. I’ve been wanting to read it for a long time and need all the help I can get right now.  I was so excited when it arrived in my mailbox last week! Thank you Magdalena!

Our little Rose… wasn’t sure what to think of her first time in a little swimming pool, but she is already standing up (when leaning against something) and LOVES her little RaZ-berry Teether.

Noticing that… Snuggles has not left the house without Woody since his birthday!

Around the house… this week the rough plumbing and electrical went in, which means we are one step closer to having a kitchen again!

There is even going to be a little walk-in pantry in the corner of my kitchen!

On keeping home… Does any one have any tips for me?  I’m starting to feel like a total failure at the moment. . . Our house is such a dusty cluttered MESS!

One of my favorite things… my little Rose and her many facial expressions!

A look at our plans for this week:

Monday ::  A Farewell Potluck for the college bound High School Graduates, including my sisters JoAnn & Mary (the twins).  We are sure going to miss them when they leave next month.
Tuesday :: Bunco (I won the prize for the most wins!) 
Wednesday :: Doctors Appointment (Routine Weight Check) for our little Snuggles (He gained 2 pounds!!) 
Thursday ::  Captain’s State Required 3rd Grade Testing
Friday :: Mass & Benediction followed by a visit to the Coffee Shop for Carmel Frappachinos! 😉
Saturday :: Heating and Air system connected to the addition
Sunday :: Mass and (hopefully!) REST

A Picture thought I am sharing:

This is a picture of the bridge which crosses the river in our little town.
It was taken on the 4th of July as we were getting onto the freeway!

On the Feast of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

Jul 15, 2010 | , , | 1 Comment

Blessed Kateri by Rascal (age 8)

A Child’s Prayer to Kateri Tekakwitha

Kateri, loving child of God and Lily of the Mohawks, I thank God for the many graces He gave you. Help me to be more like you in my love for God and for people.  Give me a great love for the Holy Eucharist and the Mother of Jesus. Make me ready to make sacrifices for Jesus that I may save my soul and be happy with you in heaven.  Kateri, I love you. Always be my friend.

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for us.


Our Family

Sean & Jessica, Captain-25, Ranger-23, Twinkle Toes-22, Chiquita-20, Snuggles-18, Rose-15, Bud-13, Grace-8 and Joy-6 (blog nicknames)

A Little About Me

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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Prayer of Mothers

Father in heaven, grant me the grace to appreciate the dignity which you have conferred on me. Let me realize that not even the Angels have been blessed with such a privilege—to share in your creative miracle and bring new Saints to heaven. Make me a good mother to all my children after the example of Mary, the Mother of your Son. Through the intercession of Jesus and Mary I ask your continued blessings on my family. Let us all be dedicated to your service on earth and attain the eternal happiness of your kingdom in heaven. Amen.


Our Family

Sean & Jessica, Captain-25, Ranger-23, Twinkle Toes-22, Chiquita-20, Snuggles-18, Rose-15, Bud-13, Grace-8 and Joy-6 (blog nicknames)

A Little About Me

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.

My Other Blog: Catholic Cuisine

Please Visit My Sponsors…

This Week's Popular Posts

Shower of Roses Affiliate Links

All About Spelling
All About Reading
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As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Our Advent & Christmas Books

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Looking for Something?

looking-back

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All original photographs and written material are ©2007-2025 Shower of Roses. I'd love for you to link back to me, but please do not copy or take content from this blog without permission. Click here for my Copyright Terms & Conditions. Thank you for visiting!