Busy Days

Yesterday was a very productive day on the home front (and my only day off). I picked up 22 bags of mulch. My husband assembled a table in the garage and we reorganized our supplies. The children played with the neighbors, dug in the dirt and did some jobs around the house.

Today we went to BJ's to pick up water and sundries. Stopped in at Adoration and made a donation to the Salvation Army. Didn't do any gardening today, like I had hoped. We did spelling in the car and had the oldest read the first chapter of The Boxcar Children, aloud. I also taught him how to look up new words in the dictionary. He'll have to practice that more as his reading progresses.

Will be working tonight, from 7 to midnight.

Week at a Glance

Today, we were able to go to Adoration, procure 1 bag of dirt, 2 tomato cages, a couple of stakes, a spray nozzle and a watering can. The buckets from the bakery continue to be saved for me. Perhaps tonight there will be more waiting.

Here are the goals I have for this week:

Order seeds (Tuesday)
Assemble table and arrange stockpile on it. (Wednesday)
Measure the yard and figure out how much mulch is needed (Thursday)
Freeze the flour I bought the other day. Hopefully there will be space in the freezer. (Friday)

Here are my daily goals:

rosary with the kids
lifting weights to increase my arm strength
daily vitamins
6 bottles of water per day
watch calorie intake (smaller portions and less processed foods)
reading stories to the kids

Cute Sayings VIII

"Mom, if you eat a seed, will a flower grow in your tummy?" - Grace, Age 6

Cute Sayings VII

"Mom, that lady looks just like Mary Poppins!" - Gracie watching The Sound of Music.

After I told her it was the same woman, she wanted to know what her real hair color was.

hahahaha!

Cute Sayings VI

"Mom, see how our knees are bent this way? Turkeys' knees are bent in the back!" - Grace, Age 6

Cute Sayings V

"I want YOU, to want ME!" - Maggie Age 3, who has obviously listened to Cheap Trick way too many times in the truck...

Cute Sayings IV

Gracie was watching me rinse out clothes in the bath tub that were covered with sand and red tide. She said, "I wish we could have a whale as a pet. It could live in our tub."

How to Cook Dinner with a 1 Year Old

Go to kitchen with toddler trailing close behind. Open the bottom cabinet. Grab the frying pan. Close the cabinet as fast as you can. Redirect toddler not to take out all the pans. Put frying pan on the stove (back burner). Go to fridge. Open door and wrestle with toddler from emptying the fridge door contents. Hold toddler's hand while reaching in with the other hand to grab the hamburger. Close fridge door with foot. Open packages. Look up and race across room to get toddler down from top of sofa. Go back to stove. Throw the meat in as fast as possible. Stop toddler from throwing out the sippy cup. Remember you forgot to turn on the burner. Tell older sibling to put toddler down. Toddler runs over for leg hugs, wants to be picked up. Hold toddler on hip. Grab spatula. Toddler leans over to grab cool spatula. Turn him away with body. Put him down on floor. Grab a tupperware bowl and plastic ladle. Set him up on the rug to "cook". Prevent older siblings from stealing his cool new toy. Realize the heat is too high on the meat. Hurry to break up the meat and flip it over. Now... side dish? Stop toddler from throwing all dvd's off the shelf.

Cute Sayings - Part III

‎"mommy, i got wake ups"... that's maggie speak for hiccups.

Cute Things

kids are painting ornaments. maggie (2 years old) paints lilly's sleeve. then says, "i sorry, lilly". how can you be mad about that? lol she's really cute. but the shirt is ruined.

Cute Sayings - Part II

‎"it's the one i ordered, mom!" - elizabeth, age 4, excited about a coloring picture just printed off the computer

Cute Sayings - Part I

"frosty the snowman! and a corn cob pipe and a corn cob pipe!" - maggie age 2, singing her version of frosty

Baby Chris

baby chris (age 1) found daddy's san damiano Crucifix and held it up for daddy. then crawled over toward him. took the Crucifix. kissed it and said "Jesus". after multiple kisses, he finally gave Jesus to daddy.

Audio Files: The Wit and Wisdom of Archbishop Fulton Sheen

The Demonic Today
Angels
Cure for Selfishness
Guilt
Human Passions
Inferiority Complex
Is A Woman An It?
Knowing and Loving
Meet a Perfect Stranger - Yourself
Of Course There Is Incompatibility
Suffering
The Approach of Midnight
Should Parents Obey Their Children?
To Spank or Not to Spank
The Glory of the Soldier
What Holds Us Together?
The Rosary
What Did I Do to Deserve This?

Sugar: The Bitter Truth

I was absolutely riveted by this video because it was explained very precisely, the problems with HFC. I thought i knew a lot about the physiology and effects of high fructose corn syrup and white sugar on our systems, but i learned new facts. Made me even more convinced that our family has to do this for our health. He explains metabolic syndrome (high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease) and how all of them are brought on by our diets. Good stuff!

Parents: Prepare Your Children for Eternity

PARENTS FOR ETERNAL LIFE

So the litany of secularism goes on. Its most principal target is our children.

This then brings us face to face with the gravest duty of believing Catholic parents. They must be convinced that their primary responsibility as parents is to prepare the children that God gave them — for eternal life.

Yes, parents are the primary teachers of their children in all that pertains to the children's lives here on earth. But that is not all. That is not primary!

What is primary? The parents' most fundamental duty is to prepare their children for eternity.

• Parents must, and the word is must teach their children from birth on that God created us to know, love and serve Him in this life in order that our souls may reach heaven.

• Parents must teach their children that everything in this life is to be only a means of leading us to our heavenly destiny.

• Parents must teach their children that while everything in this life is intended by God to lead us to heaven, not everything is to be used in the same way

— Some of the persons, places and things in our life are to be enjoyed,
— Other persons, places and things are to be endured,
— Other persons, places and things are to be removed. Why? Because they lead us to sin.
— Finally, there are persons, places and things that God asks us to surrender. It is an invitation from God to sacrifice what we like in order to express our greater love of God.

• Parents must teach their children that they have a fallen — I like the term "falling" — human nature. We are not naturally prone to do what God wants but what we want.

• Parents must teach their children that if they are going to cope with their natural tendencies to pride and lust and anger and envy and greed, and avarice and gluttony — they need the constant help of God's grace.

• Parents must teach their children that to obtain the necessary light and grace to know God's will and the necessary strength to do it, they need to pray and receive the sacraments.

All of this is locked up in the simple statement that parents are parents for eternal life. God gives them children in this world, but not for this world.

Parents, in God's plan, are to conceive and give birth to, and nourish and educate their children for life after bodily death. After all, the only purpose that God has in having parents here on earth is that they might raise families for everlasting life in heaven.

By Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

Patron Saints for 2010!

I have been doing this for a few years now! I'm just amazed at the patrons for this year, as they are COMPLETELY appropriate. If you would like to find out your patron, head on over to my friend Marianne's blog! The link to email her is on the right-hand side of the blog: http://yourpatronsaint.blogspot.com

Here are the saints chosen for us this year:

Hubby - St. Eustachius and his family, feast day on 09/20!
Me - St. Charles Borromeo, 11/04
Joey - St. Francis of Assisi, 10/04
Grace - St. Lucy, 12/13
Elizabeth - St. Jerome Emiliani, 02/08
Margaret - St. Luke, 10/18
Christopher - St. Angela of Foligno, 01/04

Happy Name Day

Happy Name Day to my daughter, Elizabeth Ann! St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

This morning Joey said, "It's so nice that Christmas is not just one day. It's still Christmas!"

I said, "Yes, Joey! We are party animals, celebrating Christmas more than one day."

He replied, "We are not animals, we are mammals!!!!"

Guess the homeschooling is paying off! :)

What a Wonderful Christmas

Joey declared this was a wonderful Christmas. Gracie told me that she doesn't need any presents, just our family. Then, she gave me a great big hug. It just doesn't get better than that. Plus, I have my cheeky 3 year old, adorable 1 year old and gorgeous newborn son to love up. God answered my prayer to come into our hearts!!