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