Quick Takes for Sundays

1. So, how about that? We made it! It is finally the last day of February and we cruised along the month doing just fine. Praise God that tomorrow is March 1st. Only 2 more weeks till we turn the clocks AHEAD one hour! Yeah!

2. It seems that the hot topic lately is us, stay at home moms, are feeling that we are being a tad bit overlooked. We have taken notice that those "pat on the backs" and words of affirmation are far and wide between. This is not new to us. We even get used to it after a while. But there are times and moments that it seems to creep up on us, esp. during these dark and dreary months. I have had several conversations about this in the past week, that leads me to have a hopeful frame of mind that... Spring is right around the corner! These dark winter months are tough on lots of people. Feeling overwhelmed, feeling behind on school work, feeling inadequate in being able to make it through yet another week! I am so thankful about how honest other moms have been about telling me how they are feeling. (Thank you friends!) We can easily forget to be a support for one another in these times. I do think we are all ready for the sun, the warmth, and the outside play times!

3. We watched 1/2 of the movie called "An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving" and we just finished the other half now. It is based on the short story by Louisa May Alcott, the famous author of Little Women. All my children enjoy that one too. Of course my girls are loving this movie (my 4 and 7 yr old girls!) and my boys are tolerating it very well. They are such good sports! It was a family movie night last night full of cushions off the couches, sleeping bags, ice cream pops and memories. (Whoops!-we forgot the popcorn again!) These Saturday nights are our favorite nights to spend together!

4. I am a bit behind on getting the lessons planned out for this week. I do know that there will be some tests for my older students and trying to wrap up yet another quarter in the school year. For my younger ones, we will be focusing on the letter O this week. Any ideas to share?

5. A terrible thing happened yesterday morning while I was out shopping and going to confession. The door on our washing machine was closed a bit too roughly and it is now not closing and locking properly, therefore not working at all! I am sure you can only imagine how uncomfortable I am about this situation and how I may become a bit frantic if the workers, who we will call early Monday morning, cannot get here as fast as they can.

6. That's it for now. Time for a quick cat nap then family game time!

Happy Sunday and God bless you,
Mary

Hard Core Confessions

I woke up to slightly snow covered streets and driveway this morning. This threw me off, totally, b/c I began to make sausages, bacon, eggs and English muffins (my hubby's favorite and I love to spoil him w/good food!) and had a great big breakfast with the family. It was wonderful till I glanced at the clock.

This cooking extravaganza, in turn, threw off my weekly scheduled outing to food shop. This great money saving store opens at 7am and I am there at approximately 7:15am every Saturday morning for the past few weeks.

Not today. I did not arrive till about 7:45am, which meant I HAD to get a whole week long food shopping list checked off and checked off fast, if I wanted to get to 9am Mass. This was my goal, but it did not happen. So, my back up plan was to get to the 12:10 Mass and get to confession before hand.

(Why am I telling you all this? You'll see...)

By the time I got to the Church to get to confession, I had to wait a few minutes. Those lines for confession are so awesome and so annoying at the same time!!! Awesome that there is a LINE for confession and annoying that I have to wait. I waited and as I did... I thought about this particular Church that I do not go to regularly... "They are great-they don't see you at all-they don't know you-they are quick-and boom!~ Confession is done!" (BTW... this was thought with all great love for the Sacraments!)

But we all know it sure makes us feel better if the confessor does not necessarily know us and besides, being it quick gives more time for other things.

What I am trying to say is that God really put me in my place.

I was trying to downsize this great Sacrament of Confession.

I was making light of the merciful power of Confession.

And was I in for a surprise!

This priest stopped me in my tracks at the 3rd sentence I said. He started asking me questions. Lots of questions that are deep. He talked to me as though he truly knew what I needed to hear.
(BTW, I still do not know who this priest is...but I will pray for him in thanksgiving.)

Truth be told...Between my sniffles and tears running down my cheeks, I needed to be spoken to like that. Harshly. Straight forward. Bold. No if's, and's or but's.

The good Lord knew my intentions for confession were not right on and HE let me know.

In fact, it was the most difficult penance I have ever gotten. (Even at that, it was not that bad at all but comparing it to what it could have been, but it was by far, tops.) It was a good thing Mass was following that confession.

How dare I, this lowly little housewife and mother, take for granted Forgiveness. Mercy. Love. And for that I am truly sorry. And I do think that HE knows how sorry I am.

God bless,
Mary

Lent Calender-Easy! Just Print!

I am so excited that I found THIS great Lenten Calender!

I was hemming and hawing on doing one this year. I did one last year and I had to do it a few times over for it to fit the paper! Then I made Holy Week a week early! It was a bit of a mess and we all laughed a lot about it...which I guess is good-laughing at oneself! I did not want to mess up this year again and I have been trying to figure out a way to show how long the 40 days actually is. My little ones don't have that concept yet and keep asking if the 40 days is over and if Easter is here! Haaa haaa!

So, that site is my remedy- THANK YOU for doing that fun calender for the rest of us art-illiterate folks, this year!!!

We are also doing a Lent Bean Jar-each sacrfice and/or good deed we do, we place a BEAN in the jar and on Easter, the good ol' Easter Bunny changes the jar from kidney beans into Jelly Beans! My kids are loving this idea and are working hard on filling up that jar. To my surprise, it is filling up quickly in only one week. I wonder if the Easter Bunny would mind a few jars! My 3 year old has been grabbing fist fulls of beans and putting them in...I don't have the heart to correct him-it is so cute! (duh, Mary! that is the reason the jar is filling up! haaa haaa!)

With each Lent and each additional child, I am learning not to get over zealous about Lent with little ones in our house. No matter where we look, there is ALWAYS a sacrfice to offer our good Lord. Our crosses we bear are sometimes...right in front of us....but these crosses are our ladders to Heaven.

Dear Lord, please help me to accept willingly and lovingly the crosses You give me. Only You know how much I can endure. You give me only what I can handle. Thanks for reminding me. Lord, let these crosses allow Me to praise You and Love you. All for Your Greater Glory!

God bless,
Mary

How can I top this post?

Go HERE and watch it!

This is to all the mommies out there...you'll see and understand.
I encourage you to go watch it!

God bless,
Mary

Quote of the Day

"There is no sin or wrong that gives a man a foretaste of hell in this life as anger and impatience."
-- St.Catherine of Sienna

Week of the Letter N

Letter N is for:

• St. Nicholas


• Narwhals


• Nickels


• Necklaces


• Isaac Newton info

Hidden Letter N worksheets

Coloring pages of St. Nicholas

Coloring page of a Narwhal

Reading:

My First Book of Animal ABC book by Margaret Tarrant- we LOVE this book!

An Alphabet Book of Catholic Saints by Brenda and George Nippert



Listening to:
Peter Pan (Neverland) book on CD (if I can find it!!!)

We...may...even...watch...some:
Peter Pan (Neverland)


Eating:
Nuts
Newtons fig bars
Nibbling on carrot sticks
Lots of Noodles!

That's about it for Now! (heee heee)

God bless,
Mary

Toy Review Tuesday

It's...Toy Review Tuesday!
Felt Boards!

Pros:

• Quiet game to play solo or w/others
• Portable-in car/van long trips is great! Some even come w/a handle for little ones to carry along
• can make your own felt pieces or use the ones they provide
• low cost and last a long time
• not that messy
  

Cons:

• pieces can get lost
• does not entertain for a very long time (at least w/mine!)
  

Go HERE to my friend, Sam's blog, for more toy reviews!


God bless,
Mary @ Cheerios

Growing icicles

Kid #1 holding up a very huge ICICLE the other day:

"Mom, I gotta take it back outside so it can grow some more."

HAAA HAAA!!! :)
God bless,
Mary

Quote of the Day

"If something uncharitable is said in your presence, either speak in favor of the absent, or withdraw, or if possible stop the conversation."
--St. John Vianney

Too Popular

My oldest is an avid altar server at our parish every Sunday at the 8:30am Mass. We don't push it on him, he freely wants to do it every single Sunday morning. He started to serve back in the late Spring/early Sunday. As you can imagine, people now notice him as the young little altar boy who carries the heavy cross. (So fitting I think...that's another post). Not to get too proud, I take the comments that other moms and grandparents say of my young man. He dresses nicely with a shirt and tie every Sunday. Why? B/c his Daddy does and "that's just what good Sunday clothes look like. Why wouldn't you wear your best to Church?" (as he says). I sure wish more thought like that!!! You'll find him running into the Church at 8:29am just to make sure he can serve. Very adorable. Very sweet. Pretty amazing. He, pretty much, wow's me.

On the short way home today, he tells me that:

"Everyone knows my name. I mean, they say excuse me and hello and good morning and they actually say my name too. A lot of people know me, Mom. But....there's one problem. I don't want to be that popular, ya know."

Once again, I am in awe. My sweet baby sure is turning into a humble young man.

God bless, Mary

Grateful for the Ordinary Miracles

I was listening to the song, Ordinary Miracle by Sarah MacLachlan. Have you heard it before? It's one of those songs that tugs at your heart. Sometimes just a little and a tear falls, but sometimes a whole lot and you better get a box of tissues. Do you know what I mean? That little tear just fell a few minutes ago because I was thinking about the prior post I wrote yesterday morning. I hope it did not come off as complaining. I fear that it did and for that I am sorry. Life is life. Life can be super busy and complicated at times that we loose sight of all that we have been given. What we need to be thankful to God for.

It was precisely this song that reminded me of all those mornings that I mentioned about in that post yesterday that I am, indeed, grateful for.

I thank You, God, for my husband, my children, my family.

Thank You for those messes b/c one day there won't be any to keep me busy cleaning up. Thank You for the loudness b/c all too soon it will be too quiet. Thank You for all of it b/c one day there will be no more. Thank You for today. Thank you for the time with my children.

I am extremely thankful to You for my wonderful, loving, nurturing, thoughtful and giving husband. What a mess I would be in without him and his desire to place his family before his own needs and wants. What an incredible man. What a life I am grateful for. Thank you. Thank you. Thank You dear Lord.

Thank You, dear Lord, for these daily ordinary miracles You place in my life. May You keep reminding me of them everyday.

God bless,
Mary

How DO you DO IT???

Showered? Check.
Prayed? Check.
All ate breakfast? Check.
Brushed teeth? Check...at least for me and a few, so far!


"C'mon all, we have to do this and that and this and that before the piano teacher comes!"

I pick up all the duplo blocks scattered on my living room floor...
just to hear all the pots and pans being played with. I think this is a good idea to keep my little ones busy so I can finish cleaning up those duplo blocks...
We finish that and upon entering into my kitchen, I find ALL my pots and pans laying on the floor and my little one in the cabinet...
smells a bit stinky now, so off to change a little one...
hear some crying and then laughing...
go see and find small Lego's all over the den/playroom floor...

"Do I have to wear a dress today, Momma?"

"Don't forget to brush your teeth!"

"Please put on new, clean socks!"

"Stop that fighting right now. If you don't have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all."

"Are those clean or dirty? Put those dirty clothes in the laundry basket."

"Come little ones, let's pray..."

"What are all these crumbs on the kitchen floor?"-oh, the toaster was played with, of course!

"Someone please bring me the vacuum?"

"Wipe your mouth-there's still jelly around your lips from breakfast this morning."

"No, breakfast is over. All done, kitchen is closed. Wait for snack time."

"I need some laundry help around here. Any takers?"

"Why are you crying? Can't you play nicely together?"

Sometimes when I read over what my morning was like in a short hour time frame...or less.... (see above!) ...Even I wonder...HOW DO I DO IT?! (The answer is highlighted above, folks..that's how.)

God bless,
Mary

You're so cruel!

Lent is hard work.
Especially hard work.
Especially on day #2.
****Especially for a certain 6 year old little boy in my family, saying this under his breath as he is persevering through Phonics this morning:

"Man, I really did not mean to actually give up bubble gum for Lent."

"I mean, not the whole Lent."

"I really wish I did not give up bubble gum."

"This stinks. This just really really stinks."

****Then a certain sly 7 year old sister says to ME, loudly and sternly, "Mom, can I have some bubble gum during school work?"

You should have seen the face on a certain 6 year old.!
The nerve of her! Arrrr!

Siblings can be soooooooo cruel!

To let you know, I did NOT cave in and give anyone any bubble gum today. I didn't have the heart to make my son's Lent- giving -up any worse than it had to be!

There's always tomorrow....

God bless,
Mary

Week ???- Letter M

"Week ???- Letter 'M' Week!"

As you can see, I have lost track of what week we are in with my younger kids as we follow along with "Along the Alphabet Path"! I just noticed that I have not posted on any since the Letter 'C' week! Whoops! Family + School + Life caught up w/us and finding the time to post about it was not that...important and then I forgot all about posting it for a long time. (So sorry!)

So, we are back in it and working on the Letter M this week:

-We have used our clay to create the capital and lowercase letter M's.
-Practiced air writing the letter M.
-We have used alot of our Mittens this week with all our snow we have gotten. Yet not as much as down yonder but we'll take the 5 1/2 inches we got yesterday!
-We are working on some Mazes and Maps.
-We are avoiding Muffin Mix in our pantry till Sunday!!!
-Eating and eating and eating ---Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras or whatever you want to call it in your neck of the woods~!
-With that eating, we've been munching on too many M&M's earlier this week-hey, those day after Valentine's day sales get me all the time!!!

Reading:
If you give a Moose a Muffin!
An Alphabet of Catholic Saints
The Missing Mitten Mystery
The Mitten

Listening to:
Glory Stories: St. Martin de Porres

Watching:
UP- I know, it does not start with an M but it's such a great Movie! It ranks up high along with our family fav's: The Incredibles, Cars, and Ratatouille!!!

God bless,
Mary

Quote of the Day

"Don't give in to discouragement. If you are discouraged it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own powers. Never bother about people's opinions. Be obedient to truth. For with humble obedience, you will never be disturbed. "
- Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from our family to yours!

We wish you the joy of Jesus' deep love today...reminding us how deep His love is for each of us, how much He did for us, and continues to do for us every day. May we grow closer to the One who loves us so much!

This morning I told my family that I hope I can get to see my first Valentine today. They all looked at me with curiosity. I told them, no it was not Daddy. "What?!?!?!" They all responded. I told them it was Jesus who I am talking about! I hope to get to Mass later this morning and even adoration, I HOPE! They were a bit confused and so I gave them the example that just as we draw a heart and then color it in, it is Jesus who drew the heart and Daddy and I fill it in with our love! (Not sure where that came from-but they loved that idea! Thanks Holy Spirit!)

Happy Valentine's Day to my love, my sweetheart, my best friend-

life is just better b/c you are in it!

I thank God that He spoiled me and gave you to lil' ol' me.

Can you believe God gave us 6 beautiful children!?!? WOW!

In every hardship and every joy that we have encountered and will encounter...

I thank God that you are right beside me loving this journey we are on.

May we get to our final destination, Heaven, together!

I Love YOU so very much!

Aren't those the cutest Valentine's pics my kids colored? I love them!

Happy LOVE LOVE day!

God bless,
Mary

Our Average Meal

• 2 pounds of carrots
• 5 pounds of potatoes
• 2 pounds of meat
• 1/2 gallon of milk
• 2 packets of gravy
• not much of any leftovers left-over!

And...our oldest is only 9! Oh my dear... It's a good thing I trust that God will and always does provide for us!!!

God bless,
Mary

GO USA!

I am so glad that I decided to can the idea of going out. Yeah, the kids missed a great time, I am sure. They would have made Mardi Gras masks and had a blast and I would have had some great conversations with other moms. Okay, I have to admit those 2 parts makes me a weeeee bit sad... BUT I got two affirmations that it is okay that I had to say no. It was a great sign to me from up above that it is okay. Everything will be okay. They will survive. It is no big deal.

So, instead my kdis have been wrapped up in writing letters to their cousins who live out of state. This is super to a homeschooling Momma b/c little do they know but....they are practicing spelling AND handwriting AND grammar AND english ALL AT THE SAME TIME! Yeah! They also had a chance to color some great Valentine's Day pics that I will post on St. Valentine's Day on Sunday! So, check back then, ok?

On a different note...I am aware that it is 4:55pm on a Friday night and I have absolutely NO plans for dinner, as of right now. As you can see...I am enjoying some 'blogging' time right now! Funny how my priorities need a little help. SO, I must go.

I have decided to make THESE for dinner tonight. Yummy! They are in honor of Canada-kind of like the Canadian Fluffy Pancakes that lots of people know. I am sorta improvising here.

We are so excited to have the Olympics start tonight! yeah!

GO USA!
GO USA!
GO USA!!!

May God bless the USA!!!

God bless,
Mary

Things...just....change....

Interesting...5 years ago it would not even bother me.

Even 2 years ago, it would not faze me.

Hey, even just a year ago, I would be happy and willing to.

Okay, I have to admit that even just 6 months ago, I would be counting the days till we went.

But today, now?
Noway.
Nope.
Nada.
Nay.

Just the thought of bringing all 6 kids to a function for an hour and 15 minutes and having the older 4 go to their monthly virtue meeting and chasing after the 2 little ones is completely and utterly overwhelming. I guess it is true that things just change. I am afraid that I have entered into the "I might just be getting old" thoughts! Oh well!

God bless,
Mary

A Donut Cake!

It is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes today! My kids got the privilege of watching The Song of Bernadette, which we are about 1/2 way through. Amazing that they still enjoy those black and white movies! Don't let IMAX fool you! haaaa haaaa!

Anyway, while they watched, I made a bunt blue cake to celebrate this feast day and also my 4 year old daughter's middle name day- Bernadette!

When she saw the cake, her eyes lit up with happiness and joy and a big smile across her face....saying "Oh Momma! A donut cake! I knew you would make me a donut cake! I knew you would!!!"

How precious she is to respond with such gratefulness for making a DONUT cake! I love it!

God bless,
Mary

Baking and Babies

Okay, so the beginning of Lent is only like...6 days away!!! ouch! Are you ready? I am thinking about the 3 parts and what my family can do: almsgiving, prayer and fasting. I'll be posting some thoughts on that next week, God willing.

I have been racking my head of all the things in our kitchen that we should be making to just get rid of the ingredients....ya know, so it lessens the temptation of eating all those sugary, and selfish treats during Lent-the time to be offering up!!!

So today, I am resolving it to an official "BAKING DAY"!

• I have loads of brown, nasty looking, frozen bananas in the freezer-there are my banana breads.
• I have 2 zucchini's left-there are my zucchini breads.
• I have a box (yeah, I know the box kind!) of cake mix-hum...Feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes! How appropriate! I think we'll add some blue food coloring for the cake, and watch the CCC movie of St. Bernadette and Our Lady of Lourdes. (If I can find it!) We'll be celebrating Mary today!
  
• I also have some frozen blueberries- there is my blueberry muffins-maybe the snack today to celebrate Mary-blue was her favorite color as my kids attest.


• I have some frozen chocolate chip cookies-our dessert after lunch today!


• I am sure I have more...I will have to look.

Okay, so there you have it. I have my baking list. But the reality of life is that I will be super impressed if I get even ONE of these baked! We'll see what life brings today. Lord, help me to be flexible and to do Your Will, at every moment, every present moment I have. I submit to Your calling me, whatever it is. I love You, dear Jesus.


I will leave you with a few pics from the last few days as we were enjoying the little snow we actually got! It only ended up being about an inch and a 1/2! It was predicted a whopper of blizzard of maybe 15 inches but we got NOTHING! Why is it our DC friends get all the fun?

Grrrrr...


So, here is one thing that we've been up to passing the time of snowdays...

BEFORE & AFTER SHOT OF MY BABY'S FIRST HAIRCUT! HE DOESN'T LOOK LIKE MY LITTLE BABY ANYMORE:

GOD BLESS,

MARY

Wednesday's Why?!?!

It's one of those days when every single pencil just does not sharpen. No matter what. What is up with this?!!? They were new pencils and I sharpened them, then the lead breaks off, sharpen again, lead breaks, sharpen etc...you get my point (or not! haaa haaa).

So, what kind of pencil do you recommend? Ya know, a pencil that actually sharpens? Ugh.

God bless,

Mary

Funny things kids say

Still laughing about what my 3 year old said to me, as he was playing 'house' with his siblings:

"Mom, we are now going to 'Mc-Barbies'!"

Do you get it? Haaa!
It is a mix between McDonald's and Arby's (which he calls is Barbies!)!!!

How funny- these kids are hilarious! Man, I needed this laugh this morning. BTW, I am making my 2nd pot of coffee-we'll see if this second one does the trick!

Off to schooling. Pray for me, please, to be calm, happy, and flexible to God's Will as we encounter yet another school day. It's been kinda rough, to say the least. These winter months always are tough!
God bless,
Mary

Volcano Science Project

We are so excited to show you our pics from our Volcano science project that we have been working on for a month now. My big boys-age 9 and 6 have been diligently working on it-using plaster and painting it. They have been learning about volcanoes and now we had it erupt this past week. It was so cool and so fun!

And below is the little video clip of the volcano erupting. I find the "ooooooh's and ahhhhhh's!" so hilarious-so cute! Here it is:

God bless,

Mary

Quick Takes-Sunday Edition

It's been a few days since I have posted anything. As you may have noticed (or not! heeeheee!). We have just been busy with life-going places, doing things. Time flies by and those small free moments that do come along, I don't think to post or I can't seem to think at all of what to post about!

That's the great thing about life-it's always changing, different seasons of life all the time.

Once again, I think I will be putting up a "Quick Takes" post. So, here it goes...

1. My boys are in desperate need of haircuts- the shaggy look over the ears is not cutting it in our "military style hair" in our family! This will be on my list for today.

2. I am coming to the conclusion that we may just have way too many books. It's hard to acknowledge this fact since my children LOVE to read books, be read to, and to look through them. For a long time, I have been pushing this fact out of my mind and accumulating more and more books. How can any homeschooling momma turn away free books? Well, I may not turn away any offers still, but I am going to make up some bags for me to give away to others!

3. Our parish is collecting "soles for souls" --old and used shoes to be sent to Haiti-isn't that a great idea? We have so many shoes-yet another reason to declutter!

4. Talking about decluttering and giving away....have you heard of the "40 Bags in 40 days" idea during Lent- to give away a total of 40 bags of stuff? I find this very intriguing but wonder if I have enough gusto and enough stuff to give that much away...I wonder what God is asking of me and I am glad I have more days to think and pray about it until the beginning of Lent.

What would you do? Would you have enough pizazz to give away 40 bags?!?! Oh, tell me please...I may be inspired to do it too!

5. As you can see...I am on the computer at 8:30/9am this morning which means that...yes, we are still going to separate Masses this week. I think we may try to get back together for next Sunday.

6. My (now!) 3 year old has informed me that after "asking God lots and lots of times for another baby" that God said "Yes!" and that "God will put that baby in Momma's tummy soon." That sounds pretty good!

7. This week I am going to try to put together a post on our schooling. I have been asked to so that may be just enough to get me to actually do it!!!

Happy Sunday and may God bless you and your families abundantly!
God bless,
Mary

Happy 3rd Birthday I-Man!

Happy 3rd Birthday to my I-Man!!!

I love you, big bear! My Big Boy!

You are my teddy bear,

always ready and willing to hug and squeeze and hug some more.

You are such a joy from the day you were born.

You have helped others to realize the power of Love by just being you!

Others are smitten by your look of love, your smile, your sweetness.

You love to be where the action is, where the others gather.

You are rarely ever every by yourself!

You know your numbers and your ABC's b/c of hanging around your big sisters and brothers always.
You are a fast runner and can't wait to run the Labor Day race with your siblings.

Quite frequently, I can find you sitting quietly and looking through books, as as you say "reading books"...of course a sibling is in close proximity!

You are always willing to be the little buddy to do errands with-and you behave so nicely too! (which of course, makes others even more smitten!)

We thank God that He chose you to be in our family-

what would we do without you?!?!

We love you!

Did I say how much I love little kids' birthdays?

(Before the age is older and the hype of the super expensive gifts!).

• I love how giggly they get.
• How pleased they are by just saying "Happy Birthday!"to them.
• The way they hold up their pudgy fingers to show you how old they are now.
• How entertained they are by 4 jars of NEW play dough (thank you A-M-M!-we love you!).
• When asked what they want to eat for their birthday lunch, they ask for peanut butter and jelly! So easy!!! Yeah!

Happy Birthday to my I-Man-I love you!-Love, Mommy
God bless,
Mary

Another reason it is a blessing of my 'big' family!

SNOW!

AGAIN!

God bless,

Mary

Quotes to ponder

"If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are."
-Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta


"Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to heaven."
-Pope Saint Pius X

Lego Contest

Some joys of homeschooling include hearing my children challenging (in a positive way)each other in making boats that float out of Lego's then trying them in the "pool" of our bathroom sink. (This is being done without any prompting by yours truly. Truly.)

Educational? Yes.
Creative? Yes.
Fun? For sure.
Early? Definitely! Way too early!

God bless,
Mary

Mint-y Breath

One of the things that I have been using to keep the kids more focused and more into their school work is gum. Yup, gum. Amazing how the little piece of chewy gum keeps them going and going. There is bound to be some article or study on it but I don't have the time to go look for it right now.

(FYI-I only give it a few times a week and it only lasts a short while till they complain it is too hard to chew. Oh, and I am proud to say that they really only know of mint tasting gum, none of that strawberry -kiwi -pina -colada- strawberry- daquiri -kind! haaaa haaaaa)

This morning my 7 yr old says to me that she is glad she did not brush her teeth this morning.

Watching that I do not freak out at this comment, I say "Oh really, honey? Why would you say such a thing as that?" (with my nice, calm and in-control smiling face ;))

To which she responds "Well, chewing this mint gum is just like brushing our teeth with the mint toothpaste. Right, Momma?"

Okay, I get it.
I just hope she has not been using this technique for too long.
Either way, I have some serious work to do on this topic and the importance of good habits!

I got it. Off to go do it, now. It is 1:45pm but at least she will have clean teeth now! ;)

God bless,
Mary