another one bites the dust

Two streps forward, one strep back.

chocolate cherry scone mix

A friend of ours gave us this package of chocolate cherry scone mix as a Christmas gift. I was saving it to make until a special occasion. This morning seemed to be that day I was waiting for. I thought it was very fitting to use my new heart shaped bowl from the Target $ section to mix the batter. It was just so pretty I had to snap a picture.

This same friend and her husband host a St. Valentine's Day party each year. For a week or more, she lovingly prepares delicious desserts to serve. When you walk into the warm glow of their home that night, you are met with the smiles of great Christian couples, you smell the yummy aroma of chocolate, sugar, and hot coffee. She has been doing it for years and she said she got great advice once, "You pick a holiday and every year host a party." She says Christmas is so booked with things to do, but that not many people throw a party for Valentine's Day. I happen to think it is brilliant.

What do you do special to celebrate the Special Day of Love?

just sayin'

I love days that I get to spend in front of the sewing machine creating stuff.

giveaway

A few years ago, I was given an envelope containing a handful of pamphlets from the 1960's called "The Mother's Saint" about St. Gerard Majella, patron saint of motherhood, mothers, and expectant mothers. I was asked to share them with Catholic mothers that I knew who might appreciate them.

Life happened.

The envelope got covered up and forgotten.

Then two weeks ago, I was cleaning off one of the many cluttered surfaces and found the envelope. I remembered the request that was asked of me to share with Catholic mothers and so I decided to share them here in a giveaway.

Please leave a comment on this post if you are interested. If you are not local or do not know me personally, please leave an email so that I can contact you. There are ten pamphlets, so if I receive more than ten comments, I will get my kids to help me draw names out of a hat.

wordless wednesday

in which mom finds out that we don't really wash our hands when we said we did

Today I started the dreaded once a year task of scrubbing dirty hand prints off the door jambs and the wall going up the stairs...

... and then I see this.

100 mile challenge

I'll try anything once.

After seeing it on a blog while looking for the cartoon below, I decided I would challenge myself to walk 100 miles. I have no concept of how long this will take. I will just be amazed if I actually complete it.

I will allow myself to count 'real' walked miles as well as 'elliptical' miles. So, the fact that I walked 2 miles yesterday and did one mile on the elliptical this morning, I am already 3 miles into it.

But as is the case with any "ceremonious event", let's hold all the applause until the end.

a small morsel from my equally as small and quirky brain

I was texting someone today and was using the T9 option ... did you know that

needs

&

offer

are "spelled" the same on the numerical "keyboard"?

wordless wednesday

busted

So after Mass tonight we went to Dairy Queen for dinner and a dipped cone. We just had three of the five kids: 1, 4, and 5.
We were about midway through our cones when you-know-who closes his eyes in complete and total enjoyment and says, "Mmmmmm, mmm. This cone is damn good."

I couldn't even make this stuff up if I tried.

wordless wednesday

sweet victory

WAR EAGLE!

ugh

Hell hath no fury like a

toddler who woke up on the wrong side of the nap mat.

a simple thing

After a day with the word "Mommy" whined at least a thousand times by an I-don't-feel-good-3-year-old while I am trying to keep everything together (my sanity really):

pick the kids up on time, can't be late to fiddle lessons, pick my fiddler up on time, break up so many after school arguements, two injuries, and King's phone call "I just left Atlanta and will be home after 6:30" on a night that I had hoped would be a very special Epiphany celebration....

...... imagine the wings my heart received when my little butterfly boy came in and said with such enthusiasm, "Mommy Mommy guess what I just saw?!?!?! An airplane that just disappeared into the clouds!"

Who cares if that made 1002 times I heard my moniker?

That was purely God's grace running through the door at a time when I needed it most.

ours... how was yours?

Happy Epiphany.

The Three Kings.

Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh.

I know I should be celebrating, and perhaps later today our family can honor today's special feast day at dinnertime. But right now my heart is heavy. The kids are all back at school and I am missing them. We had such a beautiful Christmas. On Christmas Day we went to Mass at 9 a.m., which was just beautiful. So nice to get away from the anxiety of the world and stop to praise God for His Plan of Salvation in the Christ child. We were all so relaxed when we got home from church, King and I decided we would just make Christmas dinner the next day. So peaceful. In fact, there were not as many fights as I was expecting (could it be that one of my lectures stuck?).

They slept,

they ate,

they pitched in to help without TOO much eye rolling,

but most of all they played.

A lot!

Number 1 was perhaps the most significantly different person. From the time she got out of school until really just this morning, she was so happy. We didn't get that sullen teenager act that she has been lugging around for so long. In fact, at times, she was downright manic with laughter... teasing with the younger kids, wrestling, tickling. She was so much fun to be around. (Thank you, God!)

Number 2 was in football-watching heaven with his dad around so much. King took off several days the week of Christmas as well as the week before New Year's Eve. He also really enjoyed the "big gift" that we bought with the money from grandparents. It is a 3-in-1 table: pool, air hockey, and ping pong. With the help of King's brother and father, we put it up on Christmas Eve. He was the one to discover it "hiding" there in the new room. I wish I had've video taped his reaction, but here is a picture of it. You can see that #5 is holding her ears from all the noise!

Number 3, my absolute middle child, was a trooper this Christmas break as she had 4(!) teeth pulled. She was amazing. We went for the oral surgery consult (they wanted to give her anesthesia) and I mentioned that it "sure would be nice to get it out of the way today". The doctor said, "Well, I could do it today if she was ok with just laughing gas." Perfect! Kept us from having to go back again and I was more than happy for her to NOT have anesthesia! Monday she got fitted for an orthodontic appliance (Herbst for those "in the know") and got a mini set of braces on her four front top teeth. Sadly, the next day she and her little sister were diagnosed with strep.

Number 4, my five-year-old, discovered chess. The desire we saw in him to master the game and win was amazing - surely a very good characteristic that will do him nicely when applied to other areas of his life in years to come. He would cry with such sadness in his voice when his queen would get taken, but never did he say "I quit." He and I even played online chess against the computer and WON! He was giddy with excitement. Nevermind that it was set at the easiest level: "Silly" At one point he had two queens and he couldn't be more thrilled. (Note: It makes a mother happy to have a son who has such a strong desire to protects his queen. Very good character trait.)

In fact, Number 5's strep bacteria went one step further: Scarlet Fever. It is a little trying having to deal with a child who feel so badly and forgets that she still needs to have manners. She has been very cranky and demanding with a very short fuse. *sigh* This, too, shall pass, eh? She had so much fun, though, being surrounded by all her older siblings, and Mom, and Dad! We even had some cousin time. She was very happy to have all kinds of Hello Kitty stuff and princess dress ups in her stash from Santa.

Sweet.

So, here I am getting back into the daily grind, but I will try to make sure that tonight's celebration will include prayers that 2011 will be filled with the same beautiful peace we received on Christmas Day!

addicted to ladders: where's the next rung?

Why is it that when someone goes through a major transformation or big change in their life, they leave their old life and their old friends behind?

I know the entertainment biz is filled with people like that, but I suppose people from all walks of life fall prey to it. From the strike-it-rich homeless man who finds himself famous, the small town girl who quickly rose to the top with her talent, voice, or beauty, the athlete with an incredible gift, or the mom who came up with a brilliant product that no one can life without. I suppose that after awhile, seeing someone from their past reminds them of their "old lives"... a life they are ashamed of?

I don't suppose it helps that the media feeds the "15 minutes of fame" concept. All the reality shows that flood the pages of TV Guide, shows like Oprah, even seemingly insignificant programming such as QVC (the rebirth of Joan Rivers) help stoke the fires of fame and glory.

I dunno.

All the fame, fortune, and glory can be used for good, this is true. A person would have to be incredibly diligent about staying humble and living God's will. But more often than not, I think Satan uses it for his own cross-purpose of God's will. The "instantly famous" often become addicted to the next "high", the next rung of the ladder, but with Satan's scaffolding, there is nothing at the top. Many who are climbing find that when they take that "top step" they fall way down into an abyss.

And who do you think is there waiting for them at the bottom? The same folks who were there all along.