New Year's Eve 2009-God's way

(BTW...yesterday was my 500th post! wow! ~~yippppeee!)

On another note...how sad am I today.....?

My hubby and I had plans to go out on a real date this morning-kind of a brunch date-ya know, when we are actually awake! We have been waiting for this time alone to spend not so much as parents-as the Momma and Daddy- but as husband and wife-buddies & best friends- having uninterrupted with the love of my life. These dates are far and wide between and we need this time together to nourish our relationship (I know you know what I mean).

But then....just 10 minutes ago, it started to do THIS...that 'old man winter' got us again. We are pretty bummed...but it is that time of the year. God's Will be done. My hubby is so sweet that he bundled up our 2 year old and took him with him to go get a yummy coffee for both of us from our favorite town coffee shop. We have to celebrate somehow! Isn't that so sweet?! Funny how a cup of coffee years ago would mean nothing...but now it is considered so incredibly thoughtful! How times change and it really is the small stuff that matters, esp. with our spouses. Those small things make all the difference. All the difference.

So, for today... back to the drawing board in high hopes for another date hopefully soon.

And also for today, we'll be hovering around papers with many to do lists and full of our family and personal goals for this new year of 2010. Have you done your goals yet?

Happy New Year's Eve 2009!

God bless,
Mary

Toy Review Tuesday

Homemade Play dough!!!

I got this recipe from our town kindergarten teacher and I have to say... it is the BEST Recipe ever!

Here it is:
2 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar(in spice isle)
2 cups water
2 tablespoons of oil
food coloring of choice

• mix together flour, salt and cream of tartar
• mix together in separate bowl the water, oil and food coloring. Add to flour mixture.
• cook mixture on low heat until dry and gummy.
• cool a little and knead w/hands until soft.
• Have fun!

We just made red play dough yesterday and my kids are still playing with it. It keeps well and long in an air tight container.

Go HERE to see more toy reviews ;)

God bless,
Mary

Get yourself to confession!

"While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not despise these sins which we call "light": if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap .What then is our hope? Above all, confession...."

-St. Augustine

Easy and cheap school idea

Here is an easy and inexpensive way to learn grouping, colors, and counting. Just buy a bag of colored goldfish and get a muffin cooking tin. You're all set! Wahla! My kids loved this activity :)

God bless,
Mary

Were we really like this?

Today our weather is unseasonably warmer than usual-it is 46* right now and was 53* this morning!

My hubby is ambitious to take the children on a bike ride today and said it would be perfect timing for me to get dinner ready and tidy up the school closet. I thought it was a good idea too!
(You can see I am doing just that right now, right?! heeee heee).

I did convince my kids that they do actually need their heavy coats on. And I hid some hats and gloves and passed them over to my hubby on his way out. As I watched out the window, to my amazement my 5 year old son is without a coat and just a sweatshirt. .."But Mom, I don't need a coat~I'm not cold!" And also my usual skirt/dress wearing daughter also says "But, Mom, I don't need to wear jeans~I'm not that cold."

Was I really like this when I was young?

Oh, the pains of motherhood.
"Are you sure you are warm enough?" I yell out, hoping they would run right in and acknowledge that I may know a thing or two and just maybe I am right.

Instead, they all hopped in the van and drove away.
I KNOW that they are not going to be warm enough and I know they will be C-O-L-D!

Someday they'll learn...maybe when they have children of their own, I guess.

God bless,
Mary

Merry Christmas 2009!

(I will have to write more later, another time, another day!-too much to write about now!!!)

Merry Christmas to you and your family!!!

May God bless you with the peace, love and joy of Christ today and forever!

God bless,
Mary

Christmas Eve 2009

Christmas Eve is here!

Advent flew by this year, for me at least.

Where were you this morning?
We were at the doctors and filling prescriptions.

My lil sweet baby has a "horrible, terrible ear infection with a bulging disc. If we waited one more day, it'd of burst." Can you believe that? So, that was the reason he was up from 1am-9am AWAKE the other night. No matter how many children one mommy can have, illnesses are always tricky. I told the pediatrician how horrible I felt that he was in so much pain and I felt horrible that I waited till today to bring him in. He reassured me that it must have happened in the last 24 hours and not to worry and he was glad I brought the lil bambino in. What a great pediatrician we have! We love him so and are so grateful to God for him!

My in-laws just left after a short but very happy and memorable visit... with gifts of course! My 3 boys got remote controlled cars and a remote controlled truck for my oldest.

"This is the BEST day ever!!!" they all exclaimed. (Just you wait till tomorrow kids!!!) and my girls got a stencil and make- up- doll -thing and a leap frog toy that teaches (in a fun way- I love these educational toys!!!). Grandparents are great!

So, what is your husband doing right now?
Is he there too?
Is he out shopping, like mine is right now?

It never fails, no matter how many times every year I tell him throughout Advent that he should go out to shop, or stop at this or that store before coming home, it never changes. My hubby always waits till Christmas Eve -ha! Funny thing is....so did MY DAD and so does my father- in -law and my brother and just about any other male I know of! haaa haaa! LOL! Men!

We are also planning to bake cookies today-probably sugar cookies that the children can decorate and some chocolate chip cookies too! yum! Have to make them for Santa-we can't forget Santa's cookies!

Best go now. Thanks for the prayers the other day. We are all on the mend-Praise God! And in time for Christmas!!!

I wonder what time my kids will actually go to sleep tonight!?!? I have LOADS of presents to wrap since my one whole week the kids have kept me busy being sick! The joys of parenting around Christmas time! I love it!

God bless,
Mary

Toy Review Tuesday

Toy Review Tuesday

Wooden Blocks

--all shapes and sizes, but especially those big natural wooden blocks we all used to play with and learn with in kindergarten centuries ago! (yikes...that makes us all feel o-l-d! sorry!)

Pros:

all ages can play

boys and girls love to play with them

even moms and dads and grandparents love to play with them

kid tested-mother approve

Cons:

heavy and can be used as a dangerous weapon (just sayin'!)

takes up lots of room to store them

Why did it take me so long to post about these? I have no idea. What I do have to say is that these are just about the best toy around-my 1 year old and even my 9 year old still plays with them. They can create doll houses, garages, apartments, towers, spaceships for Star Wars figures etc...

My kids play with them every single day-even many times a day. We got our huge stash at 2 different tag sales but for a very cheap price of like 10-20$! compared to what stores sell them at! A dear friend gave us her stash that started us off when my oldest was only about 1-2 years old and I have been adding to it every since, wherever I see them at tag sales.

Go HERE to see more!

God bless,
Mary

Setting the mood

I can't seem to put the video on this post but HERE is the link---it's setting the mood for Christmas in our house today. Hope you enjoy it too!
God bless,
Mary

This song

THIS POST is what I have been listening to today. Amazing song. Amazing words. Amazing artists.
Thank You Jesus for loving me. I will continue to hide in You. I find my refuge in Your wounds-that is where I find salvation. May I love You evermore every day.

God bless,
Mary

Pweeeeeeease?

From my almost 3 year old this morning after yet another nasty night (what in the world does he have to be sick 3 nights in a row?!? yuck. poor lil guy.)

He says to me with a pale face, big blue eyes and a head of messy brown hair:

"Momma, can I pweeeeeease have some ginger ale in my tummy?"

To which I reply "My sweet lil boy, yes oh yes."

God bless,
Mary

Please pray

Can you spare a prayer for us?
I'd really appreciate it.

My youngest 3 have some nasty stomach bug for the last day or so and it continues... I hope that the rest of us do not get it; but if we do, I pray it is fast and gets out of this house quickly! Christmas is approaching so soon and we are expecting family from out of state.

Loads of laundry, lots of cleaning, lots of throwing out in the trash, lots of ginger ale, lots of oyster crackers and saltines. Lots of not so good stuff.

BTW...20 inches of SNOW is expected over this weekend and it is 20* right now!

We put up our Christmas tree this morning and the lights are on it, along side 2 children on the couch with buckets next to them. Despite the sicknesses that are abounding, the Christmas songs are on and the spirit is a movin'!

Make the most of your weekend getting ready for Jesus' Birthday!

God bless,
Mary

Small Successes and STUFF!

WOW! I just realized that I am very close to a landmark number for blogs! I am 10 posts away from post #500! Wow! That is incredible! Hope you are enjoying it as much as I am.

Okay, back to the show... (heeee heee)

I have to post this b/c it struck me so very funny.

You will find my 4 year old daughter and my almost (about a month and a half from being 3!) 3 year old son playing together. Sometimes not so nice- siblings! - and other times wonderfully- so good together that it would knock your socks off! Yesterday was one of those days.

The afternoon after nap time can bring a very crabby (that is being nice) almost 3 year old or can bring a very rested and fun loving 3 year old. One never knows. In fact, I am bit overwhelmed with anxiety sometimes as I walk down the hall to get this munchkin up, not knowing which I will encounter. Ya know, typical 3 year olds.

Yesterday was a terrific day-in the morning we went out with some friends for a 'school field trip' to a museum to view creches and nativities from around the world. Getting ready for Christmas plus a beautiful sunny, but cold, day (meaning roads were clear!) and a day that I just knew was necessary for us to get out and about to learn. It was just the 'get outside of the house' type of day. So, we went.

Apparently, that was a superb idea b/c this particular child has a need to be with the people. Really. He is a real people person. (More on that another day, another post). It was just what this little guy needed b/c when he woke up, it was as if he won a million dollars! This kid was so full of joy and happiness! I loved it! He went off to play with his 'bigger' sister (by age, not by weight or height!). They played so lovely together for a ridiculous hour and a half. They had their little family they were taking care of: a stuffed elephant and a stuffed bear. It warmed my heart to see them together, talking, playing, enjoying each other's company so very much.

Then I had to laugh and could not stop, as I heard him say to his 4 year old sister "C'mon, girl! Let's go!" It cracked me up and I was hysterical! Just thought you'd laugh too.

On to the real reason I wanted to post but was sidetracked by my funny kidos...

Good Job Moms!

...over at Faith & Family Live- click HERE.

1. I committed and actually made the attendance for my oldest son (and I) at an astronomy class! Sounds sophisticated, huh?! Heee heee! Another local homeschooling Dad is offering an astronomy class and about 8-10 kids are involved in it. It was great, my son absolutely loved it. He is quite a student and loves a good challenge and loves to learn. I am so glad that we can help and provide him with this! Thanks be to God that this is happening for him!

2. I am trying to be ahead of the game and plan the children's outfits for Christmas. So not to leave the decision making and finding clean clothes on Christmas Eve. So far, I have only 1 outfit picked out but I am getting to the rest -5 more- hopefully today!

3. Success is having time....uhm, rather, making time to talk with my hubby. We both know and believe it as such a priority in marriage and making it a point to be united in everything we are doing. this requires hard work and I am so grateful we had some great talks this week....albeit at 5:30am...but nonetheless, they happened!

So, what are yours? check out more at the link above.

God bless,
Mary

What kid thinks like this?!

My oldest has been studying multiplication facts these past few months and now we have entered into division. It took us a while to get into division b/c I kept telling him that he really needs to master and know well his multiplication facts b/c division really is just inverse multiplication.

He is working on a division drill worksheet to work on his speed and accuracy with the facts.

Then he has an "Aha! moment". (Didn't Oprah use this term a lot?! I don't know...but anyway...)

He looks at how there are 4 columns totalling 44 problems. He notices they are all numbered. Then he proceeds to tell me that they are providing him the answers to this worksheet.

"Look, Mom! They are giving away the answers!"

Do YOU get this?
It took me a minute but yes, I also see it!

What is ever to become of my big buddy~?!?!
Gotta love this kid!

God bless,
Mary

Golden efforts

Okay, so this is really funny...

Our 4 year old daughter was coloring the same picture that her 7 year old sister was coloring- pics from THIS LINK. Obviously, she is younger and still learning how to stay in the lines etc... so she exclaims: "Mom, my picture is nasty. It is so nasty!"

HA HA! How could I NOT laugh!?!? Poor thing. FYI-she did persevere and kept trying!

Isn't that what we are ALL called to do?!

We mess up, but not to be discouraged....we keep trying and trying.

All these efforts are worth gold in the sight of God!

God bless,
Mary

Moooooooo cow

We've been trying to teach our baby (who is almost 15 months!) some words other than just "Dadda" and "Mom Mom"-isn't that one cute enough? No, he does not say the popular Momma but "Mom Mom"! Too cute for words.

This morning we were working on some animal farm lacing from Melissa & Doug (pssst... FYI-great toy for a small child in your family!). He loved holding onto the cow and I was teaching him how to say "Mooooooooo" and he was trying and trying. My oldest came over and tried to teach him too then stopped mid-sentence with a very profound comment. "Mom, ya know...your name and the moooo of a cow are so similar. But, of course you look nothing like a cow, Mom."

Well, thanks big buddy. That was the most terrific polite comment that I have heard in a long time! ha! LOL!

God bless,
Mary

Happy Our Lady of Guadalupe feast day!

"Am I not here, I, who am your mother?"

-Our Lady of Guadalupe said to St. Juan Diego

We are reading THIS. (do note the price-do you see that? Yes, it is actually a 10-pack for that price! Man, I love good deals!)

We are listening to THIS.

We may color THIS.

We are thanking God for Our Lady of Guadalupe!

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
God bless,
Mary

Snow

We've been really enjoying the snow lately.

Well, let me re-phrase that. My kids are really enjoying the snow-sledding down our front hill. and making snowmen and snow forts.

I, on the other hand, am not too keen on all this laundry that I so quickly forgot as I got all gitty when I saw this white stuff falling. To say I am a little behind on the laundry is an understatement!

That being said, there is something so peaceful and so joyful about this snow. It is pretty, well...before it gets all the dirt and oil and sand splashed on it. It is fitting due our season and location we live in. But, even though I know it will snow and we all expect it to snow, it still shocks me how much stress and energy it takes to dress and undress 6 kids, constantly, all day long. It wears me out just thinking about it!

Of course I had to make sure to document these days so here are some pics. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do taking pictures!

Here's hoping you are having a wonderful Advent chock full of graces and sacrifices as we await Jesus' birthday!

Let us pray for one another to be always open to God's Will no matter what the cost. For in that, the peace and joy that nothing can compare to is found.

God bless,

Mary

Get holy already, will ya!

Have you been HERE lately?

What are you waiting for? It is chock full of great articles/features/links to everything Catholic families need to get holy.

So, c'mon and start getting closer to Christ as you venture in this Advent season!

HERE is a link to an article about our attitudes and managing Advent anxiety. It's totally worth the time to read.

God bless,
Mary

Candy-cans

I don't think I will ever get tired of hearing my 4 year old daughter use the word "Candy-can" for these:

It is so precious and so is she!

Happy feast of the Immaculate Conception!

God bless,

Mary

Tonight for dinner?

Do you think it is a bad scary thing if I made a dinner tonight called "Shipwreck Casserole"?

And...do you think it should be mandatory to eat too?

Just askin'.

On a side note, does anyone have a recipe that includes browned ground turkey mixed with tomato soup? (uh hum, I was planning on making chili or tacos or even Sloppy Joe's, but I am way lacking on some ingredients -bad food shopping on my part. Do YOU have any ideas or recipes to share? It has to be quick-dinner is in 2 hours~!)

God bless!
Mary

He visited us last night

Good ol' Saint Nick, that is. He even left us some yummy golden coins in our shoes! I took a picture but have not uploaded it yet...keep looking back, I promise I'll have it up soon!

Look HERE for the best site of all for all the info on St. Nicholas!
Doesn't THIS look like an awesome movie!?!?
HERE is the trailer movie for it-I can't wait to see it!


St. Nicholas, pray for us!

God bless,
Mary

Overheard this morning...

...while 3 of my kids were sitting on a huge pile of clean laundry (why, oh why is it always a pile of clean laundry?! well, anyway...)

My almost 6 year old son (Kid #3) was saying to 4 year old (Kid #4) daughter:

"If we ever have another baby, that baby will be your buddy. But for now, your buddy is Jesus, okay?"

How incredibly sweet, huh?!?!

We have a buddy system in our house-most 'big' families have them-basically b/c without this system, things would not go as smoothly, or just would not get done. In our family, we rely on the bigger kids to help out their little buddies with a few things:

• shoes on/off
• getting them drinks/water
• helping put their clothes away
• helping them w/a few of their chores
• holding hands while crossing the street or going to Mass or the stores

I have seen my bigger kids blossom w/responsibility and see them realize how important they are in our family. Of course, sometimes the whining abounds but for the most part, it really does work out just fine.

The buddies see themselves as special friends, special helpers to one another. Seeing them 'buddies' absolutely melts my heart and I hope and pray they always have this special bond between them. Always.

God bless,
Mary

Birthday Wishes...

to my wonderful husband! Happy Birthday! We love you so much!
In honor of your special day, I sat down w/ the children at breakfast this morning and asked them a few questions. Here is what I recorded; it is quite funny!

What is Daddy's favorite color?
T-green and blue (b/c his name is the same as mine!)
L-Green
M-maybe all the boy colors
I-Blue
K-Green

How old is Daddy?
L-8
M-20
T-80
I-3
K-36

What is Daddy's favorite thing to do?
M-run and go to Church (I think!)
L-Church
T-play star wars
I-play with the kids
K-maybe his favorite thing to do is to go to Heaven!

What is Daddy's favorite food?
L-Cheerios
T-pizza
M-everything!
I-syrup
K-double fudge brownie cake with chocolate icing and chocolate mint ice cream on the side

What is Daddy's favorite book?
M-a running book
L-a running book
T-Bible
K-Bible
I-a 'going' book (???!)

What is Daddy's favorite team?
T-NY Giants
K-NY Giants
M-NY Yankees
I- Going (???!)
L-a football team

What is Daddy's favorite place to go on vacation?
M-Familyland
L-a running track
I-"Family-lamb"
K- Familyland
T-go see a NY Giants game

What is Daddy's favorite chore?
M-raking leaves
T-being good to God adn in charge of the house
K-cleaning out the gutters
L-sweeping
I-raking leaves

Happy Birthday honey! I love you so much! Thank you for doing all you do for our family. Thank you for working so hard for providing for us. Thank you for loving us with such tender and compassionate and forgiving love. Thank you for always having a willing heart to do what is right, no matter what. Thank you for always giving your best in all aspects of your life, esp. to us! We love you! We thank God for you. You continue each day to give us the best of you.

We hope you have a wonderful Birthday!

Love, your wife

Dig my new screen saver pic?

Yeah, I know you really dig it too! (?!?!?) Gotta love those boys. Star Wars boys, that is, requested this pic as my screen saver. How could I possibly say no?

God bless,
Mary

Psssssst...

Psssst....It's almost my 1 year "Blog-aversary" as other bloggers call it! Yep, on December 9th, it will be one whole year! So....whatta gonna get me??? (heee heee-jk)
God bless,
Mary

Toy Review Tuesday

Hexabits

Aren't they cool? I found them at a really cool toy tag sale in mid Novemeber and they are a hit for my kids from age 4 to 9 (even I like them!).
(BTW, I got all my Christmas toy shopping done for my kids at that really cool toy tag sale too! yippeee!)


Pros:

• be creative


• can make whatever


• make designs


• takes a long long time to click them altogether but it does not seem to bother my kids a bit (a hexabit! heeee heee)

Cons:

• super small pieces that little babes can choke on ;(


• can get easily lost and sucked up in the vaccuum

Go HERE for more toy reviews!

God bless, Mary

Just because I haven't posted pics lately...*updated*

My knight in shining armor...

Babysitting...

The birthday cake for my 9 yr old-he requested it!

The best gift-Star Wars Legos-where to start...

THE science experiment-making the volcano w/the boys:

It seems like these pics are the 'boys only'-no reason why, but of course that means that I will need to make a 'girls only' post of pics too-stay tuned, that will be for another day! :)

God bless,

Mary

Advent thoughts and ideas

Advent 2009
Advent comes from the Latin adventus, meaning "coming" .

A few years ago on December 19, 2007, at the General Audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Auditorium, the Holy Father reflected on the Season of Advent and the justice we await. Check HERE for more. I found it to be very inspiring and uplifting and perfect time to read it as we enter into this Advent season.

I don't know about you but for me, I always want to have all my Christmas shopping done prior to Advent. This year, that is half way fulfilled! I also aim to declutter my house of unnecessary bothers and distractions from what Advent is really all about. For the last few years, I kept trying to remember to buy purple cloth to hang over our statues and holy images/pictures...but I usually forget and this year is no different! Oh well, there is always next Advent or Lent! ;)

During Advent, I try to refocus and create a season for prayer and reformation of my heart and soul. I look at it as the perfect time to examine myself...to dive deep into my soul and clear out all that holds me back from the joyful anticipation of remembering and celebrating Jesus' birth. How am I getting ready for Him? What can I improve on? What can I do better? What needs to change?

We do have a little Advent calender, that hopefully we will remember to open up daily. I taped it to our refrigerator as a helpful reminder!

We also have our Advent wreath out, which is sooooooooooo much better than last year! I think I remembered the last few days of Advent to actually get it out! heeee heee! :)

HERE is a link for a bunch of great ideas for Advent.

Have you signed up for THIS yet? "Fun, free and easy for your Mom"!

Last year, we worked on an 'Advent Penance Jar'. Did you know that Advent is a lot like Lent, in that it is a penitential season full of hope and great anticipation? In our jar, we had a bunch of folded up little pieces of paper in the jar and on them were daily extra duties (little sacrifices) that each of us chose to do, and we tried to do them joyfully too. As much as it was fun and encouraging to do last year, I don't think it will work for our family this year.

So...I am thinking of some other ways to make Advent really powerful but it has to be really simple too! Do you have any ideas to share? Please leave a comment, it'd be great to find new ideas-thanks!

The Gospel passage from today's Mass was so very fitting, I had to include it with this post: It is from Luke 21: 25 - 28, 34 - 36
25
"And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,
26
men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
27
And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28
Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
34
"But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare;
35
for it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth.
36
But watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of man."

Happy Advent! May you and your family enjoy it as you prepare your hearts for Jesus' Birthday!

God bless,
Mary

Happy 9th Birthday Big Buddy!

My oldest child turned 9 today.

Yep, I said it. 9. As in 9 years old.
WOW! Those 9 years went pretty fast!

Last year we celebrated his 8th birthday ON Thanksgiving and he was delighted to eat a big fat turkey for his birthday dinner meal. This year, he was not disappointed since we all know left over Thanksgiving food is extra delicious the day AFTER Thanksgiving, right?!?!

We surprised him by taking a 2+ hour trip down to visit my parents and my sister, hubby and 3 children. These cousins are the best! They have constant FUN the entire time we are together. Anytime and anywhere we get together. It's the type of match where this Momma and Daddy (uh...me and my hubby) actually get to sit, talk and relax while the giggles and joy abound in close proximity.

But, it was cut too short.

Hotels are just too expensive and due to the plain ol' fact that we all cannot fit into one hotel room and get this-actually sleep. And we'd be quickly found out and legally we cannot all be in only one hotel room so that would mean 2 hotel rooms. Nope, not for just a night, b/c we all know that little children and hotel rooms do not mix for a good restful night sleep which does equal lots of crabby munchkins the following day.

All that being said, we had a fantastic day and decided to drive home when it was still light out so that little ones could nap and big ones did not fall asleep (that would include us too! the parents!).

Getting back to wishing my oldest a very Happy 9th Birthday! Yipee! This is the last birthday he will have before the double digits-that will be a BIG birthday party!

Kid #1 got street hockey set-2 sticks, balls, pucks, tape-and it is the perfect thing to do in our big basement! He loves it and so does my hubby! We also got him this Star Wars big book, which he cannot read enough of!

Being the lego fanatic that he is, 2 new Lego sets for his birthday, he did both of them under 2 hours. (Look here for what I am talking about.) This kid amazes me! He has quite the gift of engineering and making these Lego sets-they say for ages 8/9-14. Good ol' grandparents came through and bought it for him. (Personally, I think they are quite expensive so that is why I get them from tag sales!) But he has been eyeing this specific one for almost 2 years ... so to say he was a bit excited and thrilled and full of happiness is an understatement!
He got this one too from his godfather. He also made it in under 2 hours too! Amazing. I am in awe.

That is what sums it up about how I feel about this big guy on his 9th birthday.

I am in awe of him.

Really.

He is extremely talented.

He is very smart and learns things very quickly.

He is an awesome altar boy.

He is very sensitive to the poor, homeless and hungry in our world. We were talking about the corporal works of mercy the other week and he had an idea that he just needed to talk to our pastor about. So, I called and made the appointment and he went right in and talked with him. He wants to collect clothes for the poor and homeless for our local St. Vincent De Paul Society. He made a box to collect items in and the following Sunday, Father mentioned it at the end of Mass. I am so very proud of him!

He is determined.

He is athletic-enjoys soccer and football the most.

He is full of energy.

He is sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

He is helpful to his siblings.

He loves art and drawing.

He loves creating and building things with Lego's and k'nex.

Did I mention that he has lots and lots of energy?!!

He loves to read.

He plays the piano so well for the songs he is being taught and even without any piano music!

He enjoys cooking and baking cakes and brownies. (yum!)

He loves to create science experiments.

He has dug numerous ditches/pits/trenches in our backyard.

He is very very strong! No joke-he can even pick me up...although I really would rather him not-I'm afraid he'll hurt his back!)

He knows how to treat girls/women.

He has asked and deeply is convicted that God is calling him as a missionary priest (probably a Franciscan) in the Philippines. He has constantly said this since he has been 7 yrs old. I am in awe.

See? I told you...I am in awe.

God is so good. I am so very thankful and grateful to God to have placed this awesome 9 yr old in our family. It surely would not be the same without him. He is such a gift!

He has such beautiful soul and has taught me so many things.

He never ceases to amaze me.

Happy Birthday big buddy! I love you tons!

Love, Mommy

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have to throw this picture out to my blogging pals. It is just so cute and funny!!!:
We're working on having an

"ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE"

today!

To God, we are so very thankful!

God bless,
Mary

Busy Cookin'

Let's see...

• Carrots. Done.
• Sweet Potato Pie. Done.
• Broccoli and Cauliflower casserole. Done.
• Stuffing. Done.
• Turkey. Not done. Not till tomorrow for the sweet smell of Thanksgiving! ;)

I love getting most of my cooking done the day before!

Happy feast day of St. Catherine Laboure!

Have a happy turkey day too in case I forget to blog!
God bless,
Mary

Finally!!! Here I am again!

It has been almost an entire MONTH of

no computer...

no emails...

no outside life-line ...

for this stay at home momma.

What a whirlwind it has been. But, alas, we are back and in business with this blog and with retrieving many, many, many emails. Do you want to take a guess at how many I had? I bet you won't even be close to how many downloaded last night.
Go ahead, take a guess, I dare you!

I'll wait....

Okay, so did you guess?
Are you ready for the answer?
Just the thought of this number totally freaks me out.

Here it is: 22,500+ emails!
Isn't that just sickening?

Loads of emails were somehow retrieved from the year 2008. Interesting ...I thought I had deleted them and emptied my trashcan or recycled them (whatever this computer lingo is!). So, how in the world did they show up again? To me, that seems quite scary! eeeeeek.

Another reason why I big time missed this big electronic buddy was that my children do some courses online for schooling. So, now we are set back a bit and that is just not cool. Besides being thrown off of school b/c of the chicken pox and my daughter's hospital visit both in September, things were off to a rough start. Oh well, there is nothing to do about it now so I am praying and hoping we keep plugging away as much as possible and we'll re-evaluate after the New Year. Wow, 2010 so soon.

Last week, my wonderful hubby and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary!!! We were planning this night with my in-laws babysitting. My hubby surprised me and we were able to get to our parish Mass at 6:15 and even renew our wedding vows! Our priest was awesome-he even got out the 2 white kneelers in the front of the altar for us. It was so special and meaningful and quiet too!!!! (heee heee!)

We then went out to a terrific restaurant and had a delicious meal-we ordered the same thing-nothing new here! We tend to do that-our tastes are so similar!!! It was a great but way to short time to spend together over a nice glass (or 2!) or pinot grigio and a big glass of Guinness for my hubby. We JUST started to relax and then had to come home. We are planning on going away for a short weekend in the Spring...God willing -it will be a miracle if we can pull it off!

So much to blog about but not enough time...God willing, tomorrow, I can post more and maybe even some pics if I can figure out how to download them on this new computer.

Glad to be back in "Blog-land"!
God bless,
Mary

Computer update

Hello all...Hope I have not lost some faithful readers of my blog!!!

Update is...computer is totally really completely dead and the somewhat nice people finally believed us that it is really completely totally dead. So, now I am waiting for a NEW computer to arrive sometime this upcoming week.

What would YOU do if your computer unexpectedly crashed and died...and you were without one for 3 weeks or more?

I'll tell you what I did:
Had some type of flip out, then went into denial, then went into some type of 'detox' off my computer, then acceptance, and now the wait for a new one.

There has been so much going on and so much I missed and wanted to blog about. So be it.

But one thing is certain: Our lives are so wrapped up in these electronics, it is crazy. I pray that I can be wrapped up in Jesus ever more.

Not sure when I can blog again...hopefully soon!

Oh, I love good deals and went to a toy tag sale where I got ALL the Christmas presents for my kidos! How excited am I!!! I thank God my kids do not watch all the junk on TV-they are still okay with gifts not in their boxes-they are so sweet and so grateful. Thank You God for them and thank You for giving me the gift of responsibility of teaching them such things. All things for Your praise, for Your glory!

God bless,
Mary

No surprise

Weird News: Why does it NOT surprise me that 2 children just ran in to tell me that their brother is hanging his underwear as a flag in the backyard?!?!

Good News: Hey, at least it is not in the front yard!

God bless,
Mary

p.s. you might not hear from me for a while...again...my computer really is dead. Dead. Totally dead. We do have warranty but of course we have to fight long and hard for them to believe us. Please say a prayer that we get a computer! this one that just died was only 1 year old! argh.

p.s.s. Oh, also can you say a lil prayer for me to have patience? waiting for a computer to be fixed (and waiting and waiting and coming to the understanding that it is dead~!) and not having any link to the 'real world' outside of my bubble is quite annoying! Thank you so much~

p.s.s.s. I guess it would help to understand how I am writing this blog w/out a computer?! Husband is home sick. Yup, never a dull moment here....I'll tell ya...

I'm baaaaaaaaack!

Hello! It has been a very long 6 days without my computer. Yup, it just died on the spot last Wednesday night. I realized during that time how much I depend on my little tech friend for so much. What was the weather?-I'd ask myself, puzzled without being able to find out super fast. We have no digital, so that plus no computer was ahhhh! so difficult! I had to resort to the good ol' radio news and weather-and I had to wait for it! 8 on the 8's!

Anyway, it is really good to be back.
We are all well and healthy.
It gets dark by 4:50pm and that stinks.
We got 2 new (to us!) tables-1 dining room and 1 kitchen.
The kids played their last soccer game of the season on Sunday.
My camera erased the last 100 plus photos since August 4th, 2009-boy, is that terribly annoying.

The funny thing is that leading up to the big crash of my computer, it was on my heart the whole week to figure out a way to cut down on the computer use. God has a funny way of telling us things, sometimes.

Goodnight and God bless. God willing, I'll write more tomorrow! :)
God bless,
Mary

Too many rainy days leads to...

"Mom, I really hope summer comes again."

(heee heeee!)
God bless,
Mary

Toy Review Tuesday

MASTERMIND Do you remember this game?
This was one of my favorites from my childhood and you can imagine my delight to find it at some tag sale last summer.

PROS: We all love to play this game-all ages, Moms and Dads too! We can play solo-one against one; and we also play in teams. It helps with recognizing colors and memory and it is FUN!

CONS: The only downside is the small pieces for little ones to find and into the mouth they go.

Go HERE to see more:)
God bless, Mary

Short Lived Joy

My 2 year old asked me:
"Mom, can I have some green beans?"

My oh my! I could not believe my ears. "Really, honey? You'd like some green beans?"

Oh what a good mother I am! My kids are ASKING for healthy food! Yay for me.

...until his sibling corrected me "Mom, he is asking for jelly beans."

Oh well. That joy was short lived.

God bless!
Mary

The Run

Not sure why I did not ever post this-probably forgot with how our month of Sept. turned out.
Remember? Let's try to forget now! Anyway...

I aboslutely LOVE this pic-the Labor Day Race in 'our' nearest big city. The 4 runners in my family-my hubby ran the 20K-great time and beat his last years time. Nice job! My 4 'oldest' kids ran the kids' run-my 8, 7, 5 and even my 4 yr old.

My 4 year old on the right was soooo cute. Mind you, the rules were the child had to turn 4 by the race on Labor day and she did-only a few days prior! AND the 4 and 5 year old were getting over the chicken pox so they the crusted over little spots all over them. What a sight they were!

The race began and the kids all ran, tumbled over each other and then ran( heee heee)...but she did not budge. She just stood there with her Daddy next to her. Once all the kids were out of sight and around the corner, she looked up at Daddy and stated "Now, I am ready!"

A girl after my own heart-not one for competition!!! ;)...just like her Mommy. Definitely not like her Daddy with competition!

Being so unbelievaly cute and so very small!, the newspaper got a shot of her and it made the front page of the sports section! She was, officially, the 3rd from last. Once she began to run, though, she did not stop for the whole 1 mile run! We are so proud of her!

God bless,
Mary

Yummy recipe for granola bars

Here is the recipe for “Wholesome Granola Bars” and I just made a batch now adding in Choc. Chips like….and I think that my kids will never go back to them w/out the choc. Chips once they have them!!! ha ha!

Here it is:
1 ½ cups granola
1 cup oatmeal
¾ cup dried cherries or craisins or raisins-whatever you want
½ cup flour
1/3 cup of flax seed
1/3 cup of wheat germ
1/3 cup nuts-almonds-any kind of nuts
½ teaspoon cinnamon-I put more in b/c my kids love cinnamon
2 egg whites
1/3 cup honey-I put more in b/c my kids love honey too!
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons vege oil

Line bottom and sides of 8x8x2 dish w/foil and spray the foil
Mix it all together and press down into dish w/foil
Bake at 350* for about 20-25 mins till light brown-may take longer.
Use foil to remove bars
Slightly Cool and eat them! yum!!!

God bless and happy baking today!
Mary

Quote of the day

"Lord Jesus Christ, pierce my soul with your love so that I may always long for you alone, who are the bread of angels and the fulfillment of the soul's deepest desires. May my heart always hunger for you, so that soul may be filled with the sweetness of your presence"
- Saint Bonaventure

Falling into fall

I love to see my kids hard at work. I
mean, real hardworking things like...raking leaves.
Somehow the mix of the smell of pumpkin muffins and the sight and sounds of crunching leaves are sweet to my heart right now.

Fall is here to stay, for a little bit.
Rejoice in God's blessing!

God bless,
Mary

Small Successes- Be Real!

Small Successes for this week:

1. I have been fairly consistent with wearing my skirts I told you about HERE. To my surprise, it seems to be going well! I have found that I can still do all I used to do and I feel much more girl-y too :).

2. Being the solo parent this week has tested me and I would like to think that I have loosened up and chilled out about a lot of small stuff. Yep, don't sweat the small stuff!

3. I had friends over, totally last minute-which means the laundry was still piles and piles high and toys strewn throughout my house. But guess what? I didn't care and she didn't either! We laughed, we bonded, we talked. It was worth all this messy house had to offer and I'd do it again in a pinch.

'Being real' is my new motto. I can keep striving for perfection daily and acknowledge my busy reality along the way. Easy as that. Real is real.

Go check out HERE for more successes from other moms

God bless!

Mary

Quote of the day

Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.
--Unknown

Play Babysitter!

This morning, my 2 year old walks by and says: "Mom? See? I am the babysitter." And there he was looking so very adorable and pushing 4 dollies in the blue stroller. This little guy loves to play dollies and be the daddy with his 4 yr old sister as the mommy. Way too cute for words.

I absolutely love it!
And it will end way too soon.
I know it.

God bless,
Mary

Toy Review Tuesday (Mom's Toy Today)

Who said that "Toy Review Tuesday" had to be only kids' toys?! (Hope you don't mind, Sam!!!)

Here is my top toy lately:

I took this picture before it got so cold so now it is filled up with fall and winter coats and boots! It is absolutely perfect for us!

I got it from a lady who was selling her house/daycare and moving to NY. It was the deal of deals-she paid $320 including s/h and sold it to me for only $50! It is 5 years old and as sturdy as can be! I have been praying for us to get one-hoping to get it installed in our mud room/laundry room...but this is even better!

I kept asking God and asking Him to give us one and he sure did! Prayer is so powerful-never underestimate the power of prayer!

It is this Momma's favorite toy right now :)

Go HERE to see more toy reviews!

God bless,

Mary

Quote of the day

"Ask Jesus to make you a saint. After all, only He can do that. Go to confession regularly and to Communion as often as you can,"
- St. Dominic Savio

Happy Feast day of St. Isaac Jogues!

HERE is a link for some info on this great Saint, St. Isaac Jogues, a Jesuit missionary priest martyr... and the others we are celebrating today!

We had planned to visit THIS PLACE today, but it did not work out as planned. God is so good b/c we were told through our home school group that they are having a field trip to a local convent! I am so thrilled! I have wanted to bring my girls to this particular one all summer, but it did not work out till now. God's timing:) They will have Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, the Holy Rosary recited, talks, videos and games. There will also be arts and crafts for the younger ones (which mine will love to be a part of). Thank You God for providing us this great opportunity!

We'll be reading parts from this book:


Happy Feast day of St. Isaac Jogues!

I wish I could have found some fun coloring worksheet for my children to color. If anyone knows of a link, please leave it in the comment box-thanks!

We will be try to do a bit of 'acting' with our Indian dress up clothes and I am sure that there will be some disagreement with who that ONE person will be to be St. Isaac Jogues! It could be worse things they will fight over!!!

God bless,

Mary

The Changing of Seasons-leaf style

God bless,
Mary

Our Friendly Visitor!

Look what we found perching up on our window sill! Isn't he cute!?

Well, it wasn't as nice as it sounds...he did end up flying full speed into our window twice before sitting still for 20 minutes recovering from his slight concussion!!! And he sure is cute! My kids had a blast studying him so up close. Talk about a great school lesson in birds.

God bless,
Mary

Snow?

What in the world?

It has been snowing for the past 3hours and it is enough for me to want to move down South tomorrow.

Do you know how annoying it is to gain about 4 loads of laundry in only 1 1/2 hours?

Coming from wet jeans and wet sweatpants? Wet socks and wet sneakers? Wet 'heavy winter' jackets and wet hoods from hoodies and wet cuffs of those hoodies?

Right now, my kids are making their first snowman of the season and sledding down our front yard hill.

October 15th.

If this is any indication of how our winter will turnout...I will pass.

I've had enough of winter and it is not even winter yet.
Good thing for good hot chocolate.

God bless,
Mary

Happy Feast day of St. Teresa of Avila

I love this saint! One of my favorites!

HERE is the coloring page for St. Teresa of Avila, which we'll be doing today :)

God bless,
Mary

What happens when I'm not looking

Here is what I saw out my front door. I ran to get my camera and STILL caught my 2 year old in action!

Do you see my older daughter trying to restore my lovely purple (oh, I love that color!) mums?

Do you see my younger daughter, just looking on?
And get this! What I heard her say what hilarious...she kept saying over and over again, with such intense feeling and sort of authority "Stop it! You are killing Mommy's plant! Stop it!"


Here is the finished product, hoping that I would still be happy with what's left of it.
For the record, no, I am not happy.

But, it sure is cute how they 'tried' to fix it, huh?!
God bless,
Mary

School Pics

What we are up to these days...

A good amount of this...

and even more of this...(Math-U-See is grrrrrrreat!)
LOTS of worksheets, coloring, and arts and crafts galore to liven up my kitchen walls:
A whole lotta rolling around-great energy release and favorite recess activity!:
Lots of fresh air with this little bundle of love who I am running after always... He is crawling, not yet walking, and goes everywhere! His favorite is spending time outside whenever any of his siblings go out, he crawls the the back door and sits there, yells or cries to get our attention!
Happy schooling ;)
God bless,

Mary

Alphabet song-'their'way

Overheard at school yesterday morning:

"It goes like this...ABCDEFGHIJK--ellow-menow---P"

Gotta love this!
God bless,
Mary

Toy Review Tuesday

LEGO'S!
I can't say enough great things about them!!!

All my children LOVE them. In fact, we were at a Blue Knight club meeting last week and to the side were a box of Star Wars themed Lego's. Sure enough, my boys went right over to them, by passing the table where they were to go for the club meeting! Many boys were there right besides them! We had to pull them away from them!

Recently, I bought off of craigslist this great Lego table, in the pic above. It is priceless! Worth every dime I bought it for! It was a terrific deal, costing me only $10!!! It is big and bulky but homemade and extremely sturdy and with my house of boys-I need toys to be sturdy! I think we'll be hanging onto this table and all our Lego's for a very long time.

All ages really do like Lego's. My friend told me that her brother in law plays with them and displays them.

I even find myself playing along side of my kids too :)

God bless, Mary

Ray & Kid-Bits

Do you know of Dr. Ray?

HERE is the link to the archived radio shows of his "The Doctor is In". I have found his advice out of experience (since he is the dad of 11!) a great source of help and laughter! So, I thought you would too! He is on that radio channel via the internet link every day form 1-2pm.

HERE is the link to his 1-2 minute Kid-Bits- short, sweet and to the point. Just what I can listen to, here and there, when I find those few minutes of 'Momma free time'!

God bless,
Mary

Hurry! Only 2 hours left

to enter in to win this:

A $40 gift certificate to Tastefully Simple?

Go check out HERE-only 2 hours left to enter in!!!

Here is a yummy CROCKPOT APPLE CIDER BUTTER recipe:

CROCKPOT APPLE CIDER BUTTER*
*Do the first 1/2 of the recipe the night before so you are ready to finish it up during the day*

16 c. any kind of apples- washed, cored, unpeeled, and chopped
2 c. apple cider
2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
A dash of ginger, nutmeg, mace and (if you have it)allspice to taste

*Put the apples and cider in crockpot. Cover and cook on low heat 10- 12 hours.

Then puree in a food processor or blender.
Put apple mix to the crockpot and add the sugar and spices. Cover and cook on low heat 6-10 hours.
After, carefully pour into mason jars or previously used spaghetti sauce jars and close tightly-seal them up.

FYI-Apple Cider butter can also be cooled and put into freezer containers and frozen for several months.

Makes 4 pints of yummy Apple Cider Butter!

God bless,
Mary

To be loved and forgiven...is a wonderful thing!

My 2 year old, lately, has been well...a 2 year old.

With that age comes quite a lot. Some kids fly through this stage; others have a very hard time. I think that this stage lasts till at least 4 1/2 (but that's just what I think ;). My 2 year old is currently pretty high at the ranks of his outbursts, outrages and tantrums. I always say it's a real good thing he is so cute when he has his moments! We all are trying to use our patience but even that at many times, is lost b/c of a 2 year old! How do they do it?

They drive us totally loony and before you know it, they are the sweetest things on the face of the earth. There are not many things that are as sweet as a 2 year old apologizing, right? The sweet face, those sweet words, the little body that is yearning for the touch and words of forgiveness and reconciliation. My heart melts. Hugs abound. Forgiveness granted.

Then...
He's at it again.
And this love cycle continues.

The love that Jesus lived and died for is wrapped up in spending a good few days with a 2 year old, I believe.

Some of the joy that I see in all this is watching how my other children react to this particular 2 year old. Get this-they do the same thing. They loose their patience with him and react to him, sometimes (well, a lot of times!) with not such nice actions or words. But they are buttered up quickly by his warm attitude of his desire to be loved and forgiven.

Amazing that this relates so much to us, as adults, as children of God. So many times we get out of whack and have an adult tantrum or a flip out or some "Why me?" moments. We drift away from God, thinking that there will be some peace and happiness away from Him. Hopefully that time away is not long and we return to Him.

Thanks be to God for confession.

Thanks be to God for His forgiveness as we have that same desire to be loved and forgiven again and again.

Can you tell I've been to confession today?! ;) Have you? If not for a while, I recommend you get there:) What do you have to LOOSE? That's right, nothing. So, get in there. I promise you will not regret it.

HERE is a brief answer to: WHY GO TO CONFESSION?

God bless and have a great weekend!!!
Mary

Wanna hear something funny?

Yeah, I know you do. And you can laugh at me all you want.
Mind you, I am battling some nasty case of allergeeez (as my 2 yr old says it) and I am in a fog.
So, here it is:

Tonight I went out shopping, as per my routine when I am stressed out and overwhelmed-completely different subject... but ANYWAY... I was out tonight and went to one of my favorite places to shop as of lately, the good ol' Goodwill Store. Man, they make these stores look real GOOD!!! heee heee. Really!

So...I walked in and went right over to the area of long skirts (what I have been trying to wear more of lately-and that is, uh...another completely different subject for a completely different post on a completely different day!!!). To my shock, I found 2 jean skirts and 2 black skirts. Surprised that the size 10 looks like it will fit me-yay for me! I pick it up in my arms and glance over the size 16 which I know will fit me...yay for me, well, not really. Whatever. Anyway, before I know it, the time is 8:50 and the store closes in 10 mins. I quickly found a "Connect 4" game for only $1.99 and a game that was still in it's original wrapping for a bday party gift coming up! That was 2 great finds!

I gather my items and check out thinking to myself "Wow, that was a bit more than I hoped to spend."

As I looked at my receipt, I realized that I never did try on those skirts! Ha ha!!! I find that very funny! What a total fog I am in! But get this, once home, I tried on those 2 skirts and to my surprise and delight, they BOTH fit!!!
What a winner this night was ;)

Good night and God bless,
Mary

You won't find this in Heaven

As I am cleaning up the kitchen, my oldest is doing his spelling assignment. As always, this youngster always finds time to think (that, which, I usually cannot seem to find any time to do!! Hee hee).
Anyway, here is what he says. Out of the blue (not uncommon with him ;)), he says:

“Mom, I guess there’s no "Star Wars" in Heaven. Ya know why? There’s some bad people in these movies and there is only good in Heaven. So…I guess we gotta watch all the "Star Wars" we can, now on earth!”

Not to disappoint this sweet boy and his correct way of thinking, I will be caving in to let him watch some more Star Wars today.
Just because.
Wouldn't you???

God bless,
Mary

Small Successes- It's Thursday!

How about that? It's Thursday already! Here are my small successes:

1. I started (again!) reading "The Family Manager takes Charge" by Kathy Peel (BTW, great book chock full of practical ideas) and made a list of things that I can do on my cleaning day (Fridays usually). This is huge for me b/c now I can really have a plan instead of saying to one child "Here, take this Windex and clean the windows" or to another "Please vacuum the rug"-not that those are not helpful, but now I have a list that entails much more and I am excited to see the outcome;)

2. I worked really hard on biting my tongue and holding back my words to my loved ones, when I was tempted to lash out and defend myself or get that last word in. Now that I am writing this, I am not sure that my loved ones would agree that I tried... but I did!!! ;) I wish I could do this more often but I'm a work in progress!

3. I encouraged my hubby to go on an all day Catholic men's conference in our state last Saturday. That would mean that I would have all 6 kids to my complete parental control once again, making it 6 days without a break. But I would not want it any other way. Not only did he have an amazing time and over 1,000 men went...he came back rejuvenated and full of zeal to continue to be that strong head of our household-our provider and protector of our family!

God bless,

Mary

Family Field Day Trip

This is what we're doing today:

God bless,
Mary

Fall Joke ;)

Joke:
Knock, Knock...
who's there?
Leaf.
Leaf who?
Leaf me alone!!!

heee heee!!!
I thought this was the perfect Autumn joke!!!
God bless,
Mary

Toy Review Tuesday

Lincoln Logs!!!

Pros:

• good for boys and girls


• my boys love to build and play Knights and Indians with them


• easily found at tag sales


• I used to play with them when younger-solid toys that last a LONG time


• Not too expensive, depending on which ones you get

Cons:

• possible choking for little children


• messy


• easily lost and then thrown out


• can be expensive, depending on which ones you get

If you want to see more toys on Toy Review Tuesday-go HERE.
God bless,
Mary

Apple Pickin'

We went apple picking last week as I mentioned in another post. Here are some pics:

We had so much fun, but the best fun was b/c our Pop Pop was there with us!!!!

God bless,
Mary