The day has finally come, I think.

Could it be? We may have a nasty visitor with us for a while. We'll have to wait around and see within the next day or 2....and hopefully will find out at the doctor appt. for early tomorrow morning. If it is true-just imagine...6 kids with it going around from one little body to the next little body to the next one. If it is going to happen, I pray it passes quickly and not a week between children. Do you have any idea how long we will be quarantined for? Oh dear. Please, I could use some prayer.... or 2....or 50! Thanks a bunch!
God bless,
Mary

Wanna bowl?

1. Get a bunch of little cereal boxes.
2. Set them up as pins.
3. Grab a ball.
4. Set up in the hallway.
5. Let's go bowling!

So, that is what we're up to. What are your plans for today?!
God bless,
Mary

Menu Plan for breakfast & lunch

I realize now that I did not add in the breakfast and lunch schedule for our menu that I posted last week HERE. I didn't need to write it down for me, b/c we have it pretty much memorized but for the sake of my 10,000+followers of my blog (heee heee!) I will add it in now.
I keep it pretty simple and easy. It is our routine to have breakfast together along with our dinners. We see it as yet another way to keep our family unified.

Breakfast:

Monday: waffles and banana or yogurt

Tuesday: cereal and blueberries/strawberries

Wednesday: eggs and bagels, sausages and fruit

Thursday: cereal and fruit

Friday: oatmeal and yogurt

Saturday: eggs and bagels, and sausages

Sunday: chocolate chip pancakes and fruit

Lunch:

Monday: PB&J, pretzels, cut up carrots

Tuesday: mac and cheese

Wednesday: PB&J, pretzels

Thursday: tuna sandwiches and cut up veggies

Friday: grilled cheese, cut up carrots and cucumbers w/ranch dressing

Hope you find it useful.
God bless,
Mary

Happy 4th Birthday Sunshine!

Happy 4th Birthday

to my sweet sunshine girl!

(It was actually yesterday, 8-29!)

We love you and so happy that God placed you in our family! You are such a big girl now! You wanted a real 2 wheel bike (even though it needs training wheels) and God provided for you on Your Big Day! We found one-a great deal at a tag sale that we went to. See? May you never doubt that God will give you all that you NEED. You kept knocking, you kept asking for that bike-and He made it happen :) I love to see how God works in our lives and in our family. There are so many miracles daily. Mostly small ones, but let us not waiver from seeing these miracles. You bring so many people so much happiness. You are truly a ray of sunshine from the 'Son'!!!

You like to snuggle.

You like to do big kid puzzles.

You enjoy just sitting down and coloring for a long time.

You're already beginning to read! (Thanks to Daddy!:))

You really like your dollies-Kelly and Mary.

You enjoy school work with Mommy.

Your favorite color is Yellow.

Your favorite animal is an elephant.

You'd rather wear a t-shirt and sweats ANYDAY over a dress.

You make sure that no one thinks you are a baby and you're not shy to tell them so!

You are pleased with the small things in life, like a butterfly or a good book.

You have a small selected group of clothes that you are happy to wear everyday!

You don't need 10 presents to make you happy-

just that coloring book from your grandparents made your day special!

You are eager to help out around the house.

You're full of cheerful spirits!

You follow your big sister around everywhere.

You like to be 'twins' with your big sister.

You don't like to be the center of attention.

You don't mind going off doing your own thing, while there is a party going on.

You enjoy roughing it up in the woods and don't mind getting dirty,

and you are quick to run in to wash up!

Everyone needs to have a sunshine daughter in their family

and I am so thankful that God put you in ours!

I love you!

May you always grow closer to our Lord Jesus, and always take a hold of Mother Mary's hand. I love you sunshine!
Love, Mommy

Do you see something wrong with this?

There is a special little girls' 4th Birthday tomorrow, August 29th. She truly is my little sunshine. Do you remember what happened 4 years ago on this day? I can remember it like it was yesterday (that is a big deal for me! My memory is the pits, as you may know). Exactly a 1/2 hour AFTER my sunshine was born did it hit and we were watching the news. Don't ask. I guess for Baby #4 and thereafter, the TV tends to go on much quicker after giving birth! ha ha. Well, for the following 3 days I was glued to the TV news and on every station was coverage of this nasty and terrible disaster. In fact, the nurses would come to me for hourly news updates!

Now, onto what I meant to JUST write about (but you know how a Momma's mind works! Constantly multitasking)...

After lunch a few minutes ago, we were discussing birthday gifts and my older children were convincing this special birthday girl on what would be a terrific gift and what would be the best birthday breakfast meal (chocolate chip pancakes) and the best birthday lunch (McDonald's-uhm, I don't think so but I may cave in- she is so darn cute!) and then my oldest says, with a serious face: "Mom, can you kill me?"
You should have SEEN MY FACE! as I said "WHAT?!"
And he answers "Yeah, so that way I can go to Heaven! That would be the best gift EVER!"

Okay, so I guess we've got his religion class up to par. But, I do think we need to focus a bit more on The 10 Commandments! Specifically #5 and #4 too!

God bless,
Mary

So... I am loved

Apparently, I do have at least a single person out there who reads my blog, asking me what happened to my blog and when I am going to return. To be loved...such a good feeling! I love ya too, sista! (so...when's the BIG DAY? This is a shout-out to my dear long time amiga).

ANYWAY...
Since I have been asked to post on my list, here are a few to post about today. More will come in the next few days. Before I start, I have to say that it was quite a relief to not have to think about this blog. I do love to blog and jot down all the funnies that happen in my life but I did begin to realize that I was living my life with-out being fully there. I kept asking myself if this or that was blog worthy instead of being 100% attentive to my children and our daily life. But it really does happen, to a lot of bloggers, I think. It was good to let go of the worry of not having a post for a day or struggling to put in a post at the moment instead of taking care of the crying child or the laundry or the dinner. It was nice to let go for a bit.

I think I'll take another break mid-Fall too.
But I am back in business.
So, start checking back daily, ok!?!? :)

I am about 1/2 way done with that check off list that I told you about. Not nearly as thrilled to only be 1/2 way done, but nonetheless...at least I am 1/2 way there.

Funny, I got a call on the phone from this pregnant momma telling me I was completely nuts to let go of my 2 yr old's nap! So, since she knows way more than me and has experienced way more than me, I must obey!

Let's see...
CHECK: Naps are still of the essence around here and the best thing I found out is that I put him down for a nap in the morning and most mornings he'll sleep then and wake when he is good and ready instead of me putting him down after lunch and having to wake him and THEN having to love this grouchy bear of a child. It makes for a super long afternoon but with a cheer filled child. That makes all the difference.

CHECK: Meal Planning 101 for our family:
Sunday: a roast or chicken-Marsala, chicken cacciatore, rotisserie chicken w/potatoes and veggies and salad; rolls
Monday: spaghetti and meatballs w/corn or Burrito w/lettuce & refried beans; salad; rolls
Tuesday: “Breakfast dinner”-eggs/bagels or cc pancakes or french toast and sausages
Wednesday: Pizza or baked ziti w/green beans or Chili w/cheddar cheese and rice or noodles; salad; rolls
Thursday: Chicken quesadillas w/salsa/lettuce/ & refried beans
Friday: Fish/potatoes/veggie or tuna casserole; salad; rolls
Saturday: hot dogs/hamburgers, chips/pretzels, corn on cob

I know, not so very healthy...but somewhat kid friendly and key word EASY. This is the first week of this so called menu deal, and I goofed already. Didn't have enough chicken for the quesadillas so I put in cheddar cheese and rice instead...and we did not have anymore salsa so we used good ol' ranch dressing. We used the salsa for the roast in the crock pot that I made on Monday instead of Sunday (I switched those days). Oh well! Live and learn. We are very blessed to have no food allergies in our family which is quite amazing! At least none that I know of, anyway. Thank You God! We have a few friends who have children with severe or somewhat severe allergies so I count this as a huge blessing.

Want to know more? Check back in the next few days.

I was all ready to post a pic but this blogger is not letting me! oh, the nerve!

Oh well, that means bedtime for me. Good night!

God bless,

Mary

C-Ya!

Hi there. I'm feeling a little bit

preoccupied about many different things lately and need to get in order. Such as:

• Weekly meal planning/menus.


• Food shopping list and how to lower our weekly spending on food.


• Daily school schedules.


• To keep or let go of a 2yr old nap (eeek!).


• Creating a more fun and organized school area.


• Working out a more healthy way of eating -full of protein and less of sugar and artificial colors and additives.


• Figure out a way to attain more consistent sleep.


• Better sleeping habits for my baby and us. The thought of it is just wonderful.


• Find a way to deal with my allergies with some local honey, herbs, and a whole lot of claritin and sprays (or should I say "Ala-geeeeeez" and my 2 yr old cutie says it every time I sneeze, which is a WHOLE LOT!!!)


• A date with my husband (that we need oh so badly! Waaaaaaaaay overdue!)

• And lots of pool time. Laughs. Fun. Hopefully the pool is the perfect outlet for the release of this stress.

Lord, I place all these concerns and worries into Your Hands. I cannot do any of this without You. Please be with me and inspire in me those answers to this list of things to get in order (aka stress). Help me to answer "Yes, I come to do Your Will" and "Thy Will be done, not my own". With You, all things are possible. You are my strength. Amen.

So, I am signing off of the blog for a whilet to work on this list above. And I might be brave enough to tell you about it and post pics too!

God bless,
Mary

Toy Review Tuesday

Thanks SAM for allowing me to join in on your "Toy Review Tuesday". Since most of her advice on toys (and parenting! Thanks Sam and Rob-they are expecting #12 in a few weeks!) came from them both, I hope I don't duplicate any toy reviews. So, for this Tuesday, one of our all time favorite toys are the wooden tracks or Thomas the Train wooden train tracks. Even if they are not the classic Thomas brand, they all seem to fit in together. I get them at tag sales or freecycle or from friends.
This pic is not of our Thomas the train wooden track set but it's close to it.


What I like about Wooden Train Tracks:

• All of my kids love them-from age 1 to 8 (so far!) and when our older cousins visit or Pop-Pop comes to play-these are a great toy for all ages :) This is one of my favorite things to play with my children-that is, when the baby is sleeping!
  
• Very easy to put together


• Create many different track designs


• boys and girls BOTH like to play with them


• All the wooden train tracks fit together-not just the Thomas brand

What I don't like about Wooden Train Tracks:

• They were made in China- now, before you all go nuts on me...I know the deal w/the lead paint issue. As long as my little one does not chew on them or eat them-or any of my kids-then they are okay w/us. Good handwashing and so far, so good!


• Pricey $ for the big complete sets but like I said-if you ask around and see at some tag sales, you might find them like I did :)
• We once had a Thomas the Train table but would you believe it? My kids broke it! I know, no shock here... I told you that we would be a terrific bunch of kids to test toys so why aren't those toy companies hounding me w/phone calls yet?!?!

Thanks Sam for letting me join in. If you want to join in too just send Sam a note on her blog!

God bless,
Mary

I'm meeting his needs

...now can't he meet mine?

It is quite hot and humid around here...ya know, summer! We've been so blessed with not much hotness or humidity these past 2 months. Lots of rain (yuck) but the humidity was just not there most days. Well surprise!-it's here now. Letting my children out to play as early as 7:30am is a must if they are to get any type of fresh air and energy out and so this Momma does not get too loony.

My big kido #1 walked in and said "Oh, this is like paradise in here with the A/C!"

I am glad you are happy big guy!

But...can you do me a favor, please?! When I ask you to put a netflix in our mailbox and you say yes (thank you!), and when I ask you where are your sandals (since you have to cross our road to get to our mailbox), please don't answer me "uh...I don't know." and off you go barefoot.

Your Momma worries, ok?

About nails in the road! or broken glass! or dog poop! or very hot blacktop! So next time, thanks for obeying me and don't forget your shoes-"or else!" Love you!

Now I am off to play Battleship. Oh, the joys of summer and of boys. It never gets old.

God bless,
Mary

The most important person on earth

A mother is the most important person on earth.

She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral.

She need not.

She has built something more magnificent than any Cathedral -- a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body.

-- Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty

I just love this quote!
God bless,
Mary

Happy Assumption!

This link has tons of great ideas and don't forget about this one I told you about a few days ago!

Here is some info too.

So...go celebrate! :)

Blessed Virgin Mary, Pray for us!

God bless,
Mary

Feast of St. Maximillian KOLBE!

Happy Happy Day!

Happy Feast of St. Maximillian Kolbe! We love love love this Saint!

I took my oldest (so fitting, huh?!) to Mass this 7am Mass today and now to celebrate still...we're off to the beach!

God bless and stay cooooooool,

Mary

Feast of the Assumption ideas

How could I write anything MORE than what Jessica did? Go check THIS OUT! It's chock full of great ideas for tomorrow's big feast day. Thanks Jessica!
God bless,
Mary

Small Successes- It's Thursday!

Way to Go, Moms!

1. We had a little family reunion this past Saturday at my house. It was a great day. Lots of fun, lots of laughs, lots of memories. It took us close to 2 years to have 10 of the grandchildren together under one roof. Lots of sadness saying good bye too. Small success was that I had everyone here and I did not freak out! I cleaned and organized only as much as a momma with 6 little ones could and I did not fret. Good for me!

2. I called Daddy home when I was sick. I try not to disturb him at work but the other day, I could not go on. It was an allergy attack like no other. I could not function. Could not think. Could not keep my eyes open. Poor me and Daddy came to my rescue. He is a trooper~! Then the following day- I got hit with mastitis! ouch! I did not call him home that day. Instead, my 8 year old made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Amazing when the children step up and kick it up a notch with what they can do. What a crazy health week it has been for me.

3.This morning was a bit unsettling with the kids acting up in all sorts of ways. My father in law was on his way over when I even threatened to call him and tell him not to come. I did call but he came anyway. Sweet talker that he is. Actually I am glad he did. The kids acted better and it's a rainy day so it was good to have him here. Small success here is being flexible with finding out God's will and being okay with God's will.

God bless,

Mary

...or else!

Those powerful words that my own parents used on me (very much so!) are powerful still as they come out of my own mouth...

"You better get this done OR ELSE!"

Amazing how they make these little bodies move much quicker to get chores done. Or fighting to end. Or yelling to stop. Or obedience to take precedent.

Maybe I should use them on me to keep me on schedule around here.

So for now, I'm off the computer...or else!

God bless,
Mary

Happy Feast of St. Clare of Assisi!

Happy Feast day of St. Clare of Assisi!

In speaking of Eucharistic Adoration, St. Clare said, "Gaze upon Him, consider Him, contemplate Him, as you desire to imitate Him."

We will have to dig up our Catholic World Mission's Glory Stories to listen about to about St. Clare today!

“Place your mind before the mirror of eternity! Place your soul in the brilliance of glory! And transform your entire being into the image of the Godhead Itself through contemplation."- St. Clare of Assisi

Happy Feast day! Have a great day!

God bless,

Mary

I can't sleep

Argh. I am up right now but was sleeping. You see, I went to bed about 9:30pm -good for me! Aren't you proud? Then awoke at 10:15pm to a crying child. Child goes back to sleep but I remember to get up to take my antibiotic pill. You see, it is one of those pills that I have to take for mastitis I got last Thursday/Friday. If any of you know what I am talking about, you can sympathize w/me, right?! For those of you who don't-count your blessings!

ANYWAY, these pills I have to take at ridiculous hours b/c it is either required that I take the pill 3 x/day either 1 hour before I eat a meal or 2/3 hours after a meal. Who does this doctor think I am to remember exact hours????

So I am a bit behind on pills and have to take them at odd hours. Those hours are middle of the night hours so at least I know for sure I am free from any meal! ha!

ANYWAY, I took the pill with some water. Obviously not enough water b/c right now the darn pill is lodged deep in my throat! Very uncomfortable. I have been trying to just use my saliva and a cough here and there to move that thing but nope. That pill is very happy to keep me up. I have downed about 3 tall glasses of water in hopes of pushing it, moving it, shoving it, anything I can do. Nope. Nothing. So, to keep somewhat upright and using some gravity techniques, I am sitting upright at the computer drinking more water and what else but BLOG about my adventures in taking prescription pills. Oh, the horrors!

Okay, that's about it. I am going to spend some time 'surfing the blogosphere' and in great hopes that my baby doesn't lunge himself up and over my hubby while I am out here!
God bless,
Mary

My boy is so smart

This morning, my 5 year old dressed up like THIS says to me:

"Mom, see this? This is poison ivy. You don't want to put it in your mouth and eat it. That's not good. But, say you see a bad guy. You go "Here, eat this." and ya know what? He'll die!".

To think I have 4 of these testosterone filled little bodies. Oh dear.

Boys will be boys.

They are Momma's reall life superheros!

By the way, he was dressed as THIS all yesterday too! If you could only see the faces on people as we took our afternoon walk! It was hilarious!

God bless!
Mary

This boy must be really hungry

After breakfast my kids are usually very good about putting their plates and bowls into the sink and bringing their cups to the counter. Occasionally I have to give a reminder. For this, I am so very proud of them. At others' houses, they do the same and others notice as well. This makes this Momma real proud!

Well, today, we all forgot to clear off our table and got occupied with other tasks to be done...when I overheard my 5 yr old son at the kitchen table about 2 hours later:

"Old and soggy cereal. Just the way I like it."

For me, I will pass on that, thank you.

God bless,
Mary

Reminder

Did you remember to start THIS last night?

God bless,
Mary

Good Job Mom!

It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that.

1...To start, a small success is remembering to do THIS today! and not one day too late!

2...Pathetic, I know but I finally got curtains and actually hung them up in my boys' room! We've only been living here oh, almost 10 months!

3...I finally got around to putting my lesson plans from Seton for my 3rd grader. It was sitting on my kitchen counter for a month!

So...what did you do this week? Go tell Faith and Family Live!

God bless,
Mary

Joke

Got a joke for ya-

"How did you know the flowers were tired?

-They were in the flower bed"

HAHA! I made it up all by myself!
My kids LOVED it but I guess it is a wee bit cheezy. heee heee
Do you have any to share? We're always ready for a good laugh :)
GOd bless,
Mary

Lost lego dude in my toaster

How come we have such a thing with Lego's being lost somewhere?!

Argh!

I just spent the last few minutes trying to find a lost Lego dude in our 4 slice toaster.

Don't ask.

Still can't find him. But at least we got all the crumbs out.

And there were a lot of crumbs, let me tell ya.

Now all I need to figure out is if I should attempt to use this toaster.

Or should I just trash the thing?

What to do, what to do...

God bless,
Mary

Happy Feast of St. John Vianney!

Happy Feast Day!All of my kids are up right now waiting for breakfast so I best go now! More to post later...
God bless,
Mary

It's Here!!!

It's Here! yahoo!
My big Birthday!

Happy birthday to me. 33. Yes, 33.

Wow. I can't get over that I made it to 33 already. I have an awesome hubby. 6 children. 3 houses. 3 towns. 1 state. 3 cars. 2 vans, the second one being a super big 15 passenger van. short hair. long hair. short hair. long hair. back to short hair again! Let's see, what else...I feel like I could write and write but time is not on my side lately, not necessarily a bad thing.

So, the scoop on my birthday gift---I wish I could post a picture of it from Amazon but...if I do then I see the price and if I see the price then my hubby will not be happy. (Like the if...then clauses?! heee heee).

So........I got an awesome new digital professional camera, with a nice zoom lens and the pictures come out sweet! I am trying to find the time to learn about it all but I will have to be satisfied with a little at a time :) I love it! It is super light and compact and just what I wanted. I love taking pics esp. of my kids and I want to capture all these kiddie moments before they turn into adults!

My hubby was so creative in giving me the gift. First he gave me a very light box and I really had no idea what it was until I read the note:

"Happy Birthday! Hope this helps keep your new camera dry."
or something like that.

So, he runs back to our bedroom and comes out with a bigger and heavier gift and I opened it and saw my sweet camera! Yippee!

So, I am off to take the kids somewhere I can take new pics of them...not sure exactly where yet. I love the beach. Maybe there. Or the park. Or near some pretty flowers. Or taking a hike.

Once I learn how to download with my new camera, I'll post these pics. It may take a while so keep checking back, ok?!

Oh, how can I forget to mention my great tag sale finds? I got a big sturdy lego table without the legs (which is the way I wanted it) for my kids (did I mention they LOVE legos?!) for only $10. Funny thing is that I was JUST looking to buy the lego boards and found them 2 for $9.95 and this table came with 9 all glued to it. Did I mention also that it is very strong and sturdy?! It was homemade with some great talent, I'll tell ya. ALSO, another great find was 25 cents for clothing-all sizes. This is great! I was so pleased to find them too! I got some great name brand and well made shorts, skirts and shirts for 25 cents a piece! No stains, no rips. Nothing. I figured it was just the same as a consignment store so...why not?!

As for today, my children asked me what they could get me. I told them the best gift would be a day without fighting. Without yelling. Without crying. Peace, happiness and love, baby. I hope it turns out to be not a bunch of wishful thinking.

Either way, Happy b-day to me! :) 33!
God bless,
Mary

Girls just wanna have fun

Do you want to see 2 little girls in such delight with great big smiles and happy demeanor?

Go ahead and tell them that they can organize Momma's old jewelry box and put all the jewelry into the new one (I got at a tag sale for FREE, uh huh). Go ahead, I dare you!

Now I'm off to take delight in them taking delight!
Gotta love these girlie girls!
God bless,
Mary

My gift!

Oh yeah! My hubby could not wait 2 more days so he gave me his bday gift to me tonight! I love it! I will post about it later or tomorrow when I have more time!
Let's just say..."Camera 1, Camera 2"

God bless!
Mary