Blue Knights vs. Little Flowers
Rascal: Mom, I think Blue Knights is SO MUCH more fun than the girl’s Little Flowers.
Me: Why do you say that?
Rascal: Well, because in Blue Knights we get to make really cool things like helmets, shields, and swords, and the girls only get to make a paper.
Right then Twinkle Toes walked into the room and looked at what I was working on and said, “Oooohhh!! Mom!! Can I make one of those, it’s BEAUTIFUL!!!”
At least she liked it! 🙂
Do you ever have one of those days…
… when your plans just don’t work out, and it takes until dinner time to get what you had planned for breakfast on the table?
Today was one of those days! I am happy to say though, after two trips to the store, I was finally able to make St. Teresa’s Bread, and it was SO worth it! Plus, since we had it for dinner, Hubby was even able to enjoy it with us as well! Everyone loved it, and I will definitely be making it again. Yum!!!
Wordless Wednesday ~ Oh Baby!
**This little photo was taken last Wednesday afternoon, after ironically posting about Preggie Pops and Spices the night before… Little did I know that I would be needing them so soon! 🙂
Plans for the Feast of St. Teresa of Avila
Last month while I was looking for ideas to celebrate the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, I ran across a darling St. Teresa of Avila Paper Doll.
UPDATE: Thanks to a reader, here is a new link for the paper doll!
Since St. Teresa of Avila’s feast is celebrated tomorrow, October 15th, I printed the paper doll out onto card stock for my girls. I’m so excited to give it to them… They are going to love it!
Oh! Also in honor of St. Teresa, I am planning on making Pan de Santa Teresa (St. Teresa’s Bread) for breakfast. I just posted the recipe over at Catholic Cuisine. It sounds very yummy and fairly simple… Right now, simple is good! 🙂
Go Vote!!!
My younger sister’s Teens For Life group is currently competing in a Youth Voice Video Contest ($500 prize for their group!) in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary over at My Catholic Voice.
If you have a minute, could you all please sign in and vote, preferably on their video! :o) Personally, I think it is the best of the six options… I hope you all do too! Thanks!!!!
(Voting is only open through the 18th, so go vote now!)
Columbus Day 2008
What a fun, busy, day we had… Here are a few highlights from some of the things we did today in honor of Christopher Columbus and his discovery of America!
Painting “New World” Maps:
Snack time Sailboats:
The boys made a compass… and it really worked!
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| The Sky Is Full of Stars |
I loved how in almost every picture I took while outside,
Twinkle Toes had her fingers in her whip cream, at least before it had melted! 🙂
The children also enjoyed listening to our books about Christopher Columbus, as well as an Audio CD about his voyage, while they painted. They also loved their new Draw Right Now book! I wish I would have taken a picture of one of Rascals drawings today… These books are amazing!
Dinner was yummy, though not quite as planned. I ended up not making a trip to the grocery store (I have really been avoiding grocery shopping lately, for some reason?) so I made a Lentil and Rice Pilaf instead of the Stew. It was a hit as usual, and still combined a lot of the ingredients I was trying to use: Lentils, Rice, Corn, Onion, Tomato (sauce), etc. I just wasn’t able to bake potatoes… Oh well. There is always next year!
Anyway, I don’t know about you, but I am exhausted! I haven’t been feeling my best lately, so if you could offer a prayer or two for me I would really appreciate it. I will do the same for all of you. Right now I am off to bed!
Update: Here are the links to our Christopher Columbus plans along with our recipes for Edible Indian Corn and Chocolate Caliente on Columbus Day. You can also find our New World Explorers Unit Study and Lap Book in the archives for Columbus Day.
The Simple Woman’s Daybook ~ Oct 13th
Outside my Window… it is chilly, but the sun is shining, and hubby and the boys are raking up the fallen pine needles.
From the school room… it is nice being caught up! Since hubby has the day off, we are taking a little break from our regular schedule. I do have a few fun plans though! Tomorrow I am going to try and get back on schedule with Serendipity and Little Saints.
I am thankful… for all the wonderful contributors of Catholic Cuisine! Mary is currently putting together the Fruits of the Harvest Fair, which will be posted sometime today!
From the kitchen… Hot Chai Tea and leftover Apple Crisp from last night! Yum!! On the menu for tonight is Lentil Stew and Italian Bread, followed by Hot Cocoa while we do a little stargazing! 🙂
I am creating… a menu plan for the week.
I am going… to have to make time to go grocery shopping. Ugh!
I am wearing… a long warm gray skirt, black long sleeve top and socks.
I am reading… Collected Little Flower Works by Albert H. Dolan. It is a compilation of 8 popular books on the Little Flower and was published back in 1929! This awesome book was given to me by a friend after Mass yesterday and I *LOVE* it!! Thank you SO MUCH Marci!
I am hoping… to be able to take a trip to the coast soon. It has been *FOREVER*! It is a bit of a drive though, and we just weren’t able to do it today. sniff… sniff… Maybe before the weather gets too awful bad.
I am hearing… Signing Time! Volume 8: The Great Outdoors
Around the house… I still have a lot of clothes that needs to sort and store for the winter, and more winter clothes to pull out! I CAN NOT seem to get the clothing situation under control!! It gets complicated with so many children and no closets so to speak (my daughters just have an armoire and the boys have organizers that we put up against one wall…). I’m plugging away at it though, and I am sure my friends are sick of getting boxes and boxes of hand-me-downs! 🙂
One of my favorite things… is our wood stove which has been warming our home! It has been freezing lately, and I just *LOVE* the coziness of a fire!
- Hubby home for Columbus Day
- Tutor coming Monday – Wednesday
- Bunco on Tuesday night
- Little Flowers on Thursday night
- Mass and Benediction on Friday, followed by lunch with Father
- It is looking like it is going to be a busy week!
Here is a picture thought I am sharing:
We need to plan this years trip!!!
To see more Daybook entry’s, click here.
Columbus Day
October 12th marks the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in America back in 1492. In the United States, we celebrate Columbus Day on the second Monday of October.
We are taking a short break in our current American History Studies to do a quick review of Christopher Columbus.
We will be reading:
- Columbus by Ingri and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire (This is our favorite and my children love coloring copies of the black and white images in the book–as recommended by the publishers.)
- The Columbus Story by Alice Dalgliesh (I have this one on hold at the library!)
- Where Do You Think You’re Going, Christopher Columbus? by Jean Fritz
Thanks Marc for the pictures!! (taken last year)I am going to surprise the Boys with Draw Write Now, Book 2: Christopher Columbus, Autumn Harvest, Weather. I picked up Book 1 at the Conference I attended last May, and it was such a hit that I plan on giving the boys the rest of the Series
For a craft, I’m considering either Egg Cup Ships or New World Maps. (Update: We made maps!)
I also pulled out last years Columbus Lapbooks for review, and I (unless we make a trip to the coast — which I am secretly hoping for since my hubby has the day off!) I will probably deep clean my couch let the children make ships out of pillows like last year.
Enchanted Learning has a number of Activities for children, and I printed off a few.
Since Columbus Day is sometimes called Discoverers’ Day we are going to spend a little time learning about the world as it was in the days of the European explorers.
- Make a Compass
- Learn about the Stars using Stargazers by Gail Gibbons and The Sky is Full of Stars by Franklin Branley
- Talk about the various ways eating has changed since Columbus came to America searching for gold, glory and SPICES using the following suggestions.
The explorers who came to the Americas found the food enjoyed by the native people to be very different from what they knew at home. They had never seen tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes,maize (corn), pineapples, chili peppers, or even cocoa. The vegetable dishes from the Europe they knew relied on parsnips, cabbages, peas, carrots, turnips, and onions. After being at sea and living off of a diet of lentil soup, salt beef from a barrel, salted sardines, hardtack, and other delights, the fresh, new foods of the islands would have been an astonishing change.
In time, sailors brought the New World foods not only to Europe but also took them along when they settled other lands. And, over the years, the Europeans brought olives, bananas, wheat, and sugarcane to the Americas. Now, about that pizza with no tomato sauce: a kind of pizza had been around for over a thousand years before Columbus made his voyage, but that rich, red sauce we know today comes directly from New World tomatoes he discovered.
For a Columbus Day dinner, ask for Mom or Dad’s help to make a meal that shows how the Old World and the New World got together. Here’s a recipe for Lentil Stew that blends Old World flavors the sailors knew, such as lentils and onions, with New World ingredients such as tomatoes and potatoes for a delicious dish. Serve it with a nice loaf of Toasted Italian Bread (for Columbus) or Easy Cornbread (for native peoples). After dinner, grab a mug of Thick, Rich, Spanish Hot Chocolate and watch the stars as explorers did on their long voyages.
I also might use Lori’s suggestion and make Maryan’s super creative Victory Vessels for dinner, converting them into the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria! Or maybe I will make Deviled Egg Sailboats for a snack… For a *REALLY* easy snack, you can make Apple Sailboats, using an apple slice, a triangular piece of cheese, & a toothpick.
While I am talking about American History, if any of you are, or will be, studying Jamestown soon, or for a fun follow up to Columbus just for fun, we had a blast making a Jamestown Replica last year!
Anyways, I better get going.. I hope you all have a great weekend and a very fun filled Columbus Day! God Bless!
And the winner is…
Gymbucks!!
My *FAVORITE* children’s clothing store is Gymboree. I just *LOVE* their clothing. Not only is it *SUPER CUTE,* it *LASTS* forever!! (Which is a huge benefit in a big family!) Plus, often times, the new lines coordinate extremely well with past lines, making it so fun and easy to coordinate my girls. Which I have so much fun doing… 🙂 And they have the cutest dresses with all the matching accessories–which is great since my girls pretty much only wear dresses, or skirts (no jeans)…
Also, Gymboree has the *BEST* sales. Their regular prices are *WAY* out of my budget, but often times I can find darling outfits on the clearance racks at amazing prices. That said, I have $100 worth of Gymbucks burning a hole in my, ummm, purse, just waiting to be spent… I have till the 16th… Basically it equates to 50% off any purchase up to $100.00. I also have a gift certificate for another $25.00 which means, I can buy $100.00 worth of clothing and only pay $25.00! Wahoo!
I just can’t decide what to get… My boys could really use some jeans… But I just love the dresses! I’m leaning towards this one and this one with these super cute tights, since it will go so well with her winter jacket. But I also really like this dress and this coat, and the Christmas Lines are darling (especially these boots) — but not on sale, so it would use up the Gymbucks *WAY* too fast…
Decisions… Decisions…
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