Oktoberfest/Costume Party

by | Oct 25, 2012 | , , , | 27 Comments

This past Saturday Rascal’s godparents, who just came back from a trip to Germany, decided to host an Oktoberfest/Costume Party.   They served German wursts, German potato salad and sauerkraut.  Everyone was asked to bring a German food or dessert to share, and dress in fun, modest and not scary costumes!   After our crazy couple days, I had to keep it simple and just picked up Pretzel Slider Rolls and Apple Strudel from Costco, but it was so nice to get out and visit with friends! 

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.

Isn’t he just the cutest little lion ever? 
As I mentioned in my Daybook, Snuggles insisted on dressing as Peter Pan and came up with most of his costume on his own!  Our little Pixie (as we affectionately call this petite youngest daughter of ours) dressed up as (a modestly dressed) Tinkerbell.   
Now to finish preparing the Saint Costumes for this week’s Costume Party at our Parish, and our upcoming All Hallows’ Eve Party on the 31st here at our home!

My (Post-Trauma) Daybook :: October 23, 2012

by | Oct 23, 2012 | | 27 Comments

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.  

The martyrs greatly desired to shed their blood for Christ.  And what do we do for Him?  Are we strong enough to stand a little suffering for His love?  

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:

“Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, 
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.

This week’s plans…

  • 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!)
A little peek at my day…
The kids helped their Daddy stack firewood yesterday, since he took the day off work.   Even with the trees that he cut down, we still need to start looking for a couple cords of dry firewood for winter.  Everyone is ready for a fire in our wood stove!   

Tooth Trauma

by | Oct 22, 2012 | , , | 29 Comments

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.

Note:  These pictures were posted with permission, but they may come back down if Rascal changes his mind. 
I ended up having quite the panic attack (post-traumatic stress?) Thursday night.  I am still giving myself a hard time … If only I had had dinner ready, if only I hadn’t required the kids to complete their science assignments for the week, if only I had bought that rug which would have softened the fall…  I need to cut it out!   I can’t change anything.   God allowed this to happen, and our little guy will be okay.   {deep breath… sob….}   It’s just so hard to see your children hurt…  I’m trying to not be so hard on myself, and pray to St. Apollonia, patroness against tooth problems, for her intercession!

“B” is for Blueberries, Bubbles, Bibles, and Blessings!

by | Oct 18, 2012 | , | 14 Comments

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!

.: Letter Introduction & Formation :. 


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!

.: A, B… Seas & Storybook Science :.


B is for Background and Bubbles

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.”

B is for Butterfly Fish and Broccoli Coral

B is for Bubble :: Bubbles without Troubles

The suggested experiment in Apples, Bubbles and Crystals: Your Science ABCs was all about 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! 

I posted a few more pictures of all the kids blowing bubbles outside here.

We also read the following:   

Zipping, Zapping, Zooming Bats 
Pop! A Book about Bubbles
The Big Dipper

*I’m so Blessed to have help with reading all the Books!!  Big Brothers are the Best! 

We also went on a field trip to a local Planetarium we learned all about the Big Dipper – in addition to lots of other Constellations that we were able to search for as we drank Cocoa on Columbus day during C week!

.: Arts, Crafts & Additional Activities :. 

My Blessings Tree

I posted the instructions and additional pictures from this craft here: Angel Art for A Week.

B is for Beaver Blanket (and Brothers!)

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.  😉

UPDATE:  An Alphabet of Catholic Saints :: B is for Blocks


One thing my boys never burn out on is reading (or listening to) their Billy and Blaze Books! 



.: My Catholic Faith :.

 B is for Blessings

I pulled out one of our lovely picture books on Blessings by Neal Lozano, illustrated by Ben Hatke:  
B is for Blessings 
we beg God to send
On our food, work, and play, 
~ on parent and friend.
Be a Blessing
Be a Blessing is the theme for this week’s Writing ABC’s on Little Hearts by Pondered In My Heart. Snuggles colored the picture and added it to his book.

“Look, Mom, I’m reading it first, before I take a bite out of it!  Oohh!  B-b-b-bite starts with B!!”

B is for Bethlehem Blessing

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.

♥ Just Beautiful. ♥

B is for St. Benedict

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.

This week he asked for a St. Benedict coloring page.  Using the same technique as last time (I’ll try and share the directions for this soon), I converted the image from Picture Book of Saints into a Pencil Sketch and added text.

Here is the link to our documents if anyone would like a copy:  

In addition to reading about St. Bernadette (An Alphabet of Catholic Saints), 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!

.: A to Z Recipes :.

Blueberry Buckle

While the Blueberry Buckle Baked in the oven we read a couple of our favorite Blueberry Books:

Bread, Butter and Blackberry Jam
… to enjoy while reading Bread and Jam for Frances!
I posted the directions here. 
 “C” you again soon! 

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

by | Oct 18, 2012 | , , , | 2 Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~


{pretty}

Our science experiment for the Letter B was making bubbles using the directions in Apples, Bubbles and Crystals: Your Science ABCs.

{happy}

 
The big kids were all very happy when Snuggles’ brought out the “results” for everyone to test.

{funny}

Snuggles was not too happy when he put his mouth a little too close and got soap all over his tongue… Yuck! 
{real}

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!  

Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment

B is for Baking Bread

by | Oct 18, 2012 | , , | 3 Comments

One of the “Recipes” we came up with for the letter B Along the Alphabet Path was our “B” shaped Bread served with Butter and Blackberry Jam to enjoy while reading Bread and Jam for Frances!

For this Baking project, I totally cheated and just purchased a package of frozen Rhodes White Bread loaves.  I also purchased some Blackberry jam, but you could go with Blueberry, Boysenberry, Black Raspberry, Black Cherry, Triple Berry, or….

Note:  You could also make a much smaller version with three frozen dinner rolls, but we were aiming for a BIG B!

Defrost three loaves of bread (five come in one package) on a baking sheet, coated with non-stick cooking spray (we didn’t do this, but I never have problems with anything sticking to my stones).   Cover with plastic wrap, also coated with cooking spray to keep it from sticking to the dough while rising.   Let dough rise for 4 to 7 hours, until soft enough to work with.

Carefully remove the plastic wrap.  Roll out the dough to create three long round pieces for the letter B.

If you can’t seem to roll them out long enough, just swing them around a little bit!  😉 

Arrange the three loaves of bread dough into the shape of a capital B.   

Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Bake bread for about 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.   

Be sure to check on the Bread and watch it get “Big!!”

Let cool and brush the top with melted Butter, if desired.  

Slice and serve with jam.   Snuggles, of course, refuses to eat any sort of jam (it’s just “Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter” sandwiches for this picky little eater!) but he loved his white Bread with Butter!

My Blessings Handprint Tree

by | Oct 16, 2012 | , , , | 3 Comments

One of the themes we studied Along the Alphabet Path for the letter “B” was Blessings. And what a perfect fall time theme, with Thanksgiving right around the corner!   At first I was going to have him get started making this year’s Thankful Tree, but since I didn’t have quite enough time for that I came up with this quick and simple craft.   He had made something similar for his Valentine’s Day Cards earlier this year, he just made fall colored “leaves” and added a few of his “Blessings” to the “Branches!”

My Blessings Handprint Tree


Supplies:

  • Construction Paper 
  • Finger Paint (Brown and various colors for the leaves)
  • White Paint Pen
Directions:
1. Cover hand and arm (up to the elbow) with brown finger paint.   With fingers spread apart, press against paper to form the tree and branches. 
2. Using various colors of finger paint and your thumb, make leaves for the tree.
3.  Let the paint dry.
4. Write five of your blessings on the branches of the tree with a white paint pen.  (Have mom help with the writing, if needed.) 
I’ll be back with more of our “B” themed activities soon! 

My Daybook :: October 15, 2012

by | Oct 15, 2012 | , , , | 13 Comments

Outside my window…it’s raining… it’s pouring… We finally had rain for the first time this weekend, since Captain’s birthday in July. It had been one of the ten driest periods in our area’s recorded history!

I am thinking…        
that it was really ironic to drive Hubby to the airport and watch him fly off to another fire assignment in the rain early Saturday morning.   He is in Estes Park, Colorado at the moment, though it looks like this fire will be turned over to a smaller management team and he will either be coming home this week, or assigned to another fire.   We’ll see!

I am thankful… 
that the colds that the kids have had never turned into more than runny noses.  As for the poison oak on the back of my leg, that is another story…  I guess I am just thankful I have plenty of intentions for which to “offer it up!”  😉

Learning all the time… 
We begin the letter “C” today Along the Alphabet Path!   I have so many more pictures to share for “B” and hope to start on those soon – these Alphabet Posts are a lot of work to pull together!  This week we will be reading more about the Election Process for History and the big kids are all moving on from Whales to start learning about Seals & Sea Cows for Science.

Celebrating the liturgical year… 
This coming Sunday, October 21st,  is the Canonization of Blessed Kateri!  (How perfect for the letter C!)  We will be using these lesson plans, along with picture books about Blessed Kateri.  I already had planned to tie in (Indian) Corn, and hopefully we will be able to watch the canonization online.

From the kitchen… 
Pan de Santa Teresa for breakfast, in honor of today’s feast of St. Teresa of Avila!

I am working on… 
checking off all the orange boxes in my binder as we get close to completing our first semester this school year!   I did go back and upload my modifiable documents for all of you who asked for them, and anyone else that would like to save a little time making your own.

I am creating… 
that craft I mentioned last week turned out so cute!  I’ve decided to make more to give away as Christmas gifts, which means I will have to wait to share pictures.  Still, I’m dying to show it to all of you!  It will be a good lesson in patience.  😉

I am going… 
to need to order some more Craft Parts.

I am hoping… 
that Rose’s hair grows quickly. She decided that she wanted to add “bangs” and “layers” on Friday, while I was at Bud’s check-up.   She was very sad, since she “thought it would look pretty-uh!”  I’m blaming Hubby (who she caught cutting his hair earlier this week, even though he said “Don’t YOU do this!”) Hallie and Amy! How did Rose know that bangs are so trendy at the moment?!  😉

My hairdresser told me to bring her on down and she blended it in as best as she could.  That, combined with a cute little owl clip, made Rose much happier!

I am praying… 
for safe travels for my husband, the upcoming election, and our adorable little goddaughter who celebrates a name day today! 

I am reading… 
I love the books on parenting and celebrating the liturgical year that were written by Mary Reed Newland back in the 50s.   How to Raise Good Catholic Children (revised/edited edition) and The Year and Our Children have been on my bookshelf for years and were very instrumental in motivating me to begin celebrating the liturgical year in our home.   When I saw that We and Our Children: How to make a Catholic Home, a new reproduction of the work originally published in 1954, I had to order a copy!

Pondering these words…
on The Rosary from We and Our Children: How to make a Catholic Home:

“Long-term promises are wearying, and Our Lord warned us to beware of fretting too much over tomorrow.  “Sufficient unto the day….” One Rosary at a time, in other words. Then if a child remarks to you, as one of mine did recently, “You know, Mother, I don’t always exactly like to say the Rosary, and sometimes I think that when I am grown up and don’t have to mind you any more, I won’t say it,” you can laugh.  You can laugh and tell her with confidence that she needn’t concern herself now about whether or not she will say it when she is grown.  If she will say it now, one day at a time, asking for the grace to love it and say it well, Our Lady will fill in what is lacking.  If we work hard to help them meditate its mysteries, and give them the sense of its real power, then we are teaching our children not only how to say, how to pray the Rosary – but, best of all, how to use it.”

I am listening…  
to the sound of rain drops falling on the roof.  It’s especially loud here in the schoolroom, as well as in the entry living room and boys bedroom, with the open wood beam ceilings.  We are enjoying the weather, but I am hoping it clears back up for our All Hallows’ Eve Party at the end of the month!

Around the house… 
piles of clothing as I try to pack up the summer clothes and prepare for fall.

One of my favorite things…  
moments like this:

This week’s plans…

Lego Robotics for the boys, Orthodontist Appointments, Tutor, and hopefully a trip to the Pumpkin Patch next weekend, if the weather is nice!

A little peek at my day…

State-by-State Baking :: Louisiana Beignets

by | Oct 15, 2012 | , | 0 Comments

For the state of Louisiana, the 18th State, the girls read P is for Pelican: A Louisiana Alphabet  before completing their Notebook Pages.

Louisiana Notebooking Pages
by Twinkle Toes (L) and Chiquita (R)

As soon as the girls read the book they knew that they wanted to make Beignets!  Right away I emailed a friend from Louisiana and asked for her favorite recipe.  (Thank you Aimee!)  The recipe she shared was so easy!  We didn’t get around to actually making them until this past week, but, oh boy, did they turn out yummy!
“B is Beignet,
Sugarcoated doughnuts
served piping hot and sweet.
Children love to eat Beignets,
What a yummy treat!“

Louisiana Beignets

Ingredients:
Rhodes Frozen Dinner Rolls
Oil for Frying
Powdered Sugar

Directions:

Thaw dinner rolls according to directions. When they’ve risen to the size of dinner rolls, heat up canola or vegetable oil in a frying pan. Using kitchen scissors, cut each roll in half and then poke a hole in the center for even frying. Fry until golden brown on each side and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar.

Resources we used for this State Study:
P is for Pelican Teacher’s Guide (pdf)
Other Posts of Interest: 
Oktoberfest/Costume Party

Oktoberfest/Costume Party

by | Oct 25, 2012 | , , , | 27 Comments

This past Saturday Rascal's godparents, who just came back from a trip to Germany, decided to host an Oktoberfest/Costume Party.   They served German wursts, German potato salad and sauerkraut.  Everyone was asked to bring a German food or dessert to share,...

My (Post-Trauma) Daybook :: October 23, 2012

My (Post-Trauma) Daybook :: October 23, 2012

by | Oct 23, 2012 | | 27 Comments

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...

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.


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