Half a Dozen and More Productions

Sometimes the Baby Eats Crayons

2012-01-27T11:27:00.001-05:00

For those who may think my lucky children live in some perfect utopian home schooling home, there are days, like today, when I wonder why in the world I do this. In a five minute snippet the baby dumped out all the crayons and pencils from one of the pencil boxes and sat under the table happily eating crayons. The 9 year old sat and stared at a simple two step math problem without writing a single number on her paper because she still hasn't memorized her times tables. The 5 year old finished his math, but then proceeded to ask his typical endless stream of requests for video games, movies, and food. He had breakfast 15 minutes ago. The 12 year old, bless her heart, has learned to block it all out, and just continues to plod away at her algebra.

I do believe, in the end, it is all worth it, but sometimes in the muck of it all I dream of sending the kids off to school. Unfortunately, I'm sure the baby would still be eating crayons.

{P,H,F,R} It's Cold Out There

2012-01-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

These photos were taken nearly 3 weeks ago on a trip to frozen over East Canyon Lake, Ut. The kids had a blast walking out onto the lake. It was amazingly beautiful and bitterly cold!

{Pretty}

Our lovely almost 19 year old.

This is "K", she's Skoshi A's BFF and her parents graciously allowed her to make the trek with us out to Utah. She flew back to Maryland two weeks ago with our oldest daughter. We miss her so much. I loved her pretty, sweet smile in this photo.

{Happy}

Skoshi A has a true sense of adventure. She could not wait to get out on that frozen lake. She is fearless!

{Funny}

You never know what kinds of expressions you might have captured until you get up and upload your photos. These candid, funny faces of Lil' Wingnut

and Special K are priceless.

{Real}

Did I mention the bitter cold. Lil' Lamb, wasn't too sure what we were up to. This is his "What the????" face.

Where's the Love

2012-01-25T15:41:00.001-05:00

(Lil' Lamb at 11 months)

This post may seem a bit on the self-pitying side, but my baby doesn't love me. He loves his daddy, he loves his brothers and sisters, and he especially loves Skoshi A, or Junior Mommy. I'm just a milk cow. His love for me only extends as far as meal time. The rest of the time he prefers anyone but me and it's patently unfair. I only provide 24-hour-round-the-clock-7-days-a-week care to him and what do I get? A slap in the face. This little guy is a brute. His idea of playing with me is to slap and pinch and then get all offended when I tell him to be nice. It's really starting to hurt my feelings. That, and at my age, it's becoming increasingly unlikely I'll be able to "replace" him. C'mon, Lil' Lamb, where's the love?

Musical Rant

2012-01-24T09:38:00.000-05:00

We have happily found a parish that suits us. The priest is wonderful and was completely unafraid to preach the Truth on Prolife Sunday. He wore a traditional cassock and a beretta and spoke church architecture and communion rails. We felt right at home.

My only quibble with the new parish is the music. The Gather worship book should be out and out banned. The music is uninspiring and many of the lyrics are just theologically muddy. Down the aisle processed our very traditional appearing priest and deacon to a most insipid and tediously difficult contemporay piece that almost none of the parishioners could sing. It was truly off-putting. Really, no music at all is much better than bad music. Sometimes I believe Catholics have forgotten the wonderful spiritual benefits of sacred silence. Do we really need to sing meditation hymns?

It may have been rude, but I did ask our priest if the music for the 9:30 am mass is more traditional. He assured me it is. Thank heavens for that, otherwise I might spend most masses praying for charity toward the musical director. Sigh. It really has been too long since my last confession.

Neighborly

2012-01-23T17:41:00.000-05:00

Utahans are downright friendly people. Wingnut and I cannot get over it. Everyone is so helpful and nice, it has really caught us off guard. It's not that Marylanders are unfriendly, I just think Utahans take it to another level. I am not incredibly familiar with any of the tenets of the Morman religion, but I am familiar with their deep love for family and family life, and so I'm guessing this love extends to their neighbors.

We lived in a nice neighborhood in Maryland and knew many of our neighbors by name, but the hospitality we have received here has been amazing. On our first day here it snowed several inches. Our neighbors took it upon themselves to plow our driveway and shovel our walk for us. A couple days later one set of neighbors called upon us to introduce themselves and brought along two loaves of freshly baked bread. That same night more neighbors called and brought homemade maple glazed cinnamon rolls. The next night another family brought chocolate chip cookies. Talk about a warm reception! Each offered their help in any way we could need, gave us their home phone numbers and welcomed us fondly. It was truly as if they were welcoming Christ, himself, into their midst. What a wonderful example they have all set.

Lord, help me to be a kind and good neighbor. Help me to welcome and love others as you welcome and love us. Amen.

Delivered

2012-01-20T09:49:00.003-05:00

Moments of Grace Baby Boy
born January 20, 2012
at 7:58 am
19 inches
5 pounds 7 ounces

It was a rough go for mom and baby. The sweet boy's heart rate began to drop with each contraction after mom was put on a pitocin drip to get labor going just before 3 am. Last I saw they were heading for a c-section and unless he came finally on his own, I'm assuming a c-section was indeed performed.

Thank you for your prayers for our dear friends. If you could just keep Mallu Mom lifted up a few days longer as she recovers. Pax!

Please Pray . . .

2012-01-19T19:56:00.002-05:00

. . . for our dear friend, and Lil' Lamb's Godmama, Mallu Mom, at Moments of Grace. Her water broke in the wee hours this morning and it's been nearly 18 hours without regular contractions. They are doing everything possible to have this precious baby naturally, but if all else fails, induction will be the order of the day. I'll post when the baby finally arrives, along with all his stats. Saint Gerard, pray for Mallu and baby boy!

{P,H,F,R} A Bit Behind

2012-01-19T19:50:00.001-05:00

These photos were taken during the cross country trek, when we stopped for two days in Colorado Springs. Tonia, Eric, and family, at Life in Our Zoo, hosted our family in a most warm and welcoming way. It was wonderful catching up with our dear friends and the children appreciated the break from the van. While in the Springs, Wingnut and I took the willing on a little hike through The Garden of the Gods, where I got a chance to try our my new telephoto lens.

{Pretty}

The weather was gorgeous and the rock formations are pretty amazing.

{Happy}

Special K, our budding geologist loved the time spent with her daddy, walking hand in hand.

{Funny}

I found this lone fire hydrant in the Garden to be hilariously out of place.

{Real}

Lil' Lamb wasn't too sure about the baby back pack carrier, but this will be his reality as we hope to get out in the wild more often in the months to come.

The View from my Breakfast Table

2012-01-17T10:04:00.001-05:00

Progress and Set Backs

2012-01-16T14:07:00.001-05:00

For the most part, I'd say this move has gone rather smoothly. Our household goods arrived on Thursday, and we've been unpacking the more than 200 boxes since. I kept asking myself, "Why do we have so much stuff?" until one of our movers reassured me we had about as much stuff as a typical family of four. Still, we really do have way more than we need. I'm weeding through things and have set aside items to donate and others to sell.

Unpacking was going well until Saturday morning when Wingnut developed an excruciating pain in the flank of his lower back. He was nearly incapacitated, so I ran him over to the nearest emergency room to be treated for what we believed were kidney stones. Today he is still in some pain, but he hasn't passed anything, and after a consultation with a flight doctor, he now believes he may have actually torn a muscle in his back. This makes sense between the moving, sleeping on overcrowded and uncomfortable beds for nearly 2 weeks and he used much too heavy weights in his workout on Friday. He had an X-ray this morning, and we should find out if his pain is or isn't due to kidney stones.

Our first attempt at finding a suitable family parish was a complete no-go. While the music was liturgically beautiful, and the church had a truly lovely Marian Chapel, we had serious issues with the priest. Namely, he decided to skip the Gloria and the Creed due to his being under the weather. This could have been understandable and forgivable, if he hadn't then blathered on and on about parish debt reduction and the parish potluck at the end of Mass.

We tried another parish this Sunday, and it definitely has promise. The vestibule was filled with pro-life and NFP literature. The altar BOYS used patens during communion. The priest, although a visiting one, celebrated the Mass with reverence and intact, excluding no prayers. The music was liturgically stinky, but even our beloved parish in Maryland often left much to be desired in that department(can you say "On Eagles Wings"?).

So, we are settling in and enjoying the natural beauty of our new home. There is so much more I could write, but I'll save it for later posts. Pax!

Made It

2012-01-10T23:06:00.001-05:00

I know this announcement is long over due, but we did make it to Utah as of last Thursday, and we are working on settling in. As we drive among the mountains, it seems too surreal that this picturesque setting is where we live now. Our new home is nestled in a basin surrounded by snow capped mountains. We are truly only minutes from Snow Basin Ski Resort. It is absolutely gorgeous!

I love the new house. It is warm and open and inviting. The children are enjoying exploring the new neighborhood and the nooks and crannies of their new digs. Our neighbors greeted us by plowing our driveway and shoveling our walkway after some unexpected, but very welcome snow.

The JayP is happily enrolled in a wonderful private Catholic high school. I spent Monday morning with the principal, who is warm and friendly, but also tough and faithful. I was so pleasantly struck by her, the faculty, and the school, I gave the unsuspecting woman a hug in the parking lot, after she had walked me to our van.

So far we've only had two hiccups. We went ahead and moved into the house, knowing our home goods would not arrive until the 12th, and while I did bring along enough cooking paraphernalia to get by, we didn't anticipate how very uncomfortable it is to have absolutely no furniture to sit on except the one queen size bed I had delivered new to the house.

The second, and more problematic drawback has been in the search for a new parish. Our first try was an absolute no-go after the priest felt skipping the Gloria and the Creed during the Mass was acceptable (there were other shenanigans besides these, but these two infractions were the most glaring). We do have hope for the next parish after speaking to one of the theology teachers at the high school and I've asked Our Lady to guide us in our search. I am sure She will not disappoint.

Once we have reliable Internet and have our computers hooked up, I will begin posting pictures of the house and our new surroundings.

Blogging From the Road

2012-01-03T17:19:00.001-05:00

Mallu Mom from Moments of Grace showed me how I can blog from my iPhone. Since I am limited by my slow text typing skills, this will be a very short post.

We hit the road only 30 minutes after our block time and have made steady progress across the country heading west. We stopped in Tennessee for BBQ with Wingnut's Uncle Terry and Aunt Carol and then pressed on to Nashville for the first night. There was very little wailing and gnashing of teeth. Lil' Lamb slept quite a bit on the road and then was happily entertained with singing, treat, and Baby Signing Time videos.

One day two we made it to Oklahoma City and had dinner with JayP's Godmother and her parents at our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, Ted's Cafe Escondido. Boy, I love that place. We all wished we could have stayed another day to visit some of our old haunts from 11 years ago, but we decided to press on. Once again, Lil' Lamb traveled very well, although he was a complete tyrant at dinner and in the hotel. Thankfully, the rest of the children are wonderful travelers and have managed to keep themselves fairly entertained

Today we'll stop in Colorado to spend two days with two families. We'll relax, stretch our legs and eat home-cooking before hitting the road for our last leg.

Wow, this road blogging is making me carsick! Until next time, God Bless!

Packed Out

2011-12-29T12:14:00.001-05:00

So, what had been estimated to take three days only took one. Our house is completely packed. The crew was very fast and claimed they never have to return for a second day of packing. It seemed they did a good job, too, although we shall see once our goods arrive in Utah for unpacking.

We tried to set things aside we thought we really needed. It's funny how little we actually need, but also how much we could really use. I told Wingnut, as I tried to wrangle some kind of breakfast this morning, that I feel squatters camping out in our home. LOL!

Today, Wingnut is finishing some painting and I'm keeping the kids out of the way. Tomorrow the movers come to load. Things continue toove right along.

How Do You Say Goodbye?

2011-12-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

This has been a very difficult month. We have had quite a few lasts; last CCD classes, last ballet classes, last co-op class, last Oritory with the nuns, last parties. I'm not good at lasts. Most of these were lasts for my children and I was the one that got choked up over saying goodbye. I'm a cryer and having to say goodbye breaks my heart.

How do you say goodbye to those who have shared in your very personal and often private tribulations and triumphs? These dear friends have been with us through losses and additions. They have been with us through pregnancies, births, baptisms, First Communions, and Confirmations. At some point, friends become family. How do you say goodbye to family you know you may never see again? Let's not kid ourselves, Utah is a world away, and as much as our friends here love us, coming that far to visit is just not a reality.

I hope each and every one of our "family" here knows how much we love them; how much we've appreciated their friendship; how much we will miss them. May God Bless each and everyone of our dear friends here in Maryland.

Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again. ~William Shakespeare

YEOW!!!

2011-12-27T12:17:00.001-05:00

The movers come tomorrow! Where did the time go? Saint Anne, pray for us!

Subdued Preparations

2011-12-23T12:26:00.001-05:00

With the impending move just days after Christmas, our Advent and preparations for Christmas have been, to say the least, very subdued. You know what? I've been fine with that. In fact, this has probably been the least stressful Advent I've ever had since becoming a mother 19 years ago.

We did not deck the halls and we didn't get a Christmas tree. It just didn't make sense decorating for Christmas and then having to pull it all down 2 days later so the movers can pack us out. We set up the nativity and hung our stockings. Saint Nicholas visited on his feast day and we had Mexican fare on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. That has been the sum of our celebrations. We've quietly observed Advent and believe it or not we are nearly ready for Christmas to arrive. Even with the stress of the move, it has been a very peaceful 4 weeks.

I'm hoping I recall this sense of peace next year. While I'd like to do more to observe Advent next year, I need to remember sometimes less is more.

Conspiracy

2011-12-20T08:55:00.001-05:00

It never ceases to fail, on mornings we manage to get the trash and recycling out to the curb before 7:30 am, the collectors do not come until the late afternoon. This leaves our trash to the mercy of the monsterous turkey vultures, who then strew our garbage across the neighborhood. Of course, this morning I awoke to the unmistakable sounds of the trash men coming down the street before 7:30. Wouldn't you know it, Wingnut and my biggest helper are out of town for a basketball game, and we certainly couldn't expect my teenagers to stir. I threw on a jacket and with Lil' Lamb on one arm, we dragged both cans and the recycling to the curb just in the nick of time, in such a comical fashion I'm sure we provided some wonderful morning entertainment for the neighbors. I really do believe the refuse industry is in a conspiracy against me.

{P,H,F,R} 12/15

2011-12-15T10:33:00.004-05:00

{Pretty}

Our pretty ballerina pensively stretching before class.

She has a pretty little ballet foot, just like her ballerina sisters before her.

{Happy}

Happy little feet peeking out from beneath the drapes.

Peek . . .

Peek-a-boo!

{Funny}

Our lil' one is a stair climber. We've tried (without much success) to keep him from climbing the stairs. He's already had several tumbles down our smaller flights of stairs (three stairs). He is none too happy about the new blockade in front of the main stairway.

{Real}

This was our last visit at the Aspirancy. It may be four years before we get to visit again. Oleander will get to visit us several times a year, but it was so comforting knowing we could just pick up and visit every other weekend if we wished. It was a real reminder that our sweet Oleander will be leading a very separate life from us. I'm not liking this reality at all! :(

No Magic Formula

2011-12-14T08:28:00.003-05:00

Don't get me wrong, we love, love, love Lil' Lamb. He's cute, chubby, and funny. He's also a handful! He's into everything, especially trouble. We spend most of his waking hours chasing after him, protecting him from falling down stairs and sweeping his mouth for choking hazards. Yesterday alone, we swept his mouth for a bead, a lego, a nerf dart tip, and a raw carrot. He has us on constant alert.

He's also a horrible sleeper; one of my worst. I can't seem to figure out his schedule. He does have a definite morning alarm clock that goes off at 7:00 am every day, but I have no idea when he will nap, or for how long. We also can't seem to figure out what time he will go down for the night, and when he finally does settle down, it's never for long. He tosses and turns, kicks and scratches all night long. I've probably had only a handful of good night's rest since before my second trimester with him. I'm too old for this.

I thought I had this baby thing all figured out with Lil' Wingnut. I exclusively breastfed, practiced attachment parenting, took a nap with him every day, and we shared a family bed at night. He was the best little sleeper and always happy and content. I always knew what time he'd take a nap and for how long. His bedtime was very consistent every night and he slept mostly peacefully through it. After six kids I believed I had finally found the magic formula for nurturing a happy baby.

Lil' Lamb is God's little reminder that each and every one of us is a precious and unique human being. There isn't a formula for the perfect baby, child, teenager, or adult. Each one of us needs to be loved for who we are as individuals.

And off he goes. My ramblings will have to stop here for now.

Move Update

2011-12-12T10:10:00.001-05:00

Things are moving right along. Wingnut will have his "Fini-flight" this week and his distinguished Air Force career will come to its close. We are hoping to skip the traditional retirement ceremony in favor of a nice luncheon with little to no fanfare. Wingnut's service was never about the recognition and a big ceremony would be completely out of character for him.

We close on our home in Utah on the 28th of December and the military has scheduled the movers to pack us out beginning December 28th through the 30th. We'll clean and finish up around here on the 31st and hope to be on the road on the 1st of January. 4 long days on the road with Lil' Lamb trapped in a carseat is NOT something I am looking forward to. It will be a relief to spend a couple days in Colorado with dear friends and decompress before pressing on to Utah.

A nice family came to look at our home yesterday and they have decided it is perfect for them and have put in the application to rent. They are willing to do some of the work on the house themselves and if all works out, they may buy the house in the future. Saint Joseph has interceded for us, big time!

Guilty Pleasures

2011-12-09T16:35:00.001-05:00

Back by popular demand: Dominic Makes Me Angry

We actually know Dominic and he has friends with very wicked senses of humor who write almost daily posts venting their frustrations regarding Dominic ;)

Check it out for a laugh, but beware, some humor is a touch ribald and not for children.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} 12/8

2011-12-08T08:25:00.001-05:00

{Pretty}

My mother-in-law gave us a lovely telephoto lens for Christmas. I'm learning to use it. I love how bright and cheery the holly bushes look this time of year with their festive red berries.

{Happy}

We had some lovely warm days this week. Lil' Lamb loves to be outside. In fact, nothing makes him happier than a nice walk to the park and a little push in the swings. Can't you tell by that face? LOL!

{Funny}

Wingnut was demonstrating one-armed pull-ups to the children at the park. Special K climbed right up to the monkey bars and showed her daddy that she is the one-armed pull-up queen!

{Real}

I used to resist the whole breakfast for dinner idea until Wingnut won me over. It's now one of my favorite goto-dinner-in-a-pinch meals.

Lil' Lamb at 10 Months

2011-12-07T08:31:00.001-05:00

Lil' Lamb turned 10 months on Sunday. One of the reasons I cannot blog as often as I'd like is I don't get much computer time because I'm constantly chasing the curious guy around. He's never satisfied staying in one place and will wriggle off my lap and crawl away within seconds. He loves to climb stairs, get into cupboards, and pull things off the tables. He's a handful, but we are having so much fun watching his active little mind and active little body motoring all over the house.

Happy Feast of Saint Nicholas

2011-12-06T08:03:00.001-05:00

In our attempt to keep Christ in Christmas, we have implemented several strategies that help us tone down the frenzy by spreading out the celebration and gift giving throughout the season. Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Nicholas. Below you will find a post I wrote for a series entitled:

How to Make Advent More Like Advent and Less Like Christmas

Celebrating Advent Saints

Some of our family's favorite Saints' feast days fall during Advent. I am not always on top of celebrating Saint's feast days during the rest of the year but I'm pretty good about it during Advent.

December 6

Saint Nicholas

Our children hang their stockings the night before December 6th, in anticipation of a visit from Saint Nicholas who will leave trinkets and treats in their stockings if they've been good little children all year. Santa does not visit our house on Christmas Eve, but Saint Nicholas visits on his Feast day instead. Celebrating this feast has helped take much of the focus off gifts on Christmas.

December 8

Immaculate Conception

Catholics take a break from the stress and press of the commercial Christmas season and head to Mass on this Holy Day of obligation. This is a beautiful Church feast celebrating the conception of the Blessed Virgin.

December 12

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our family has a special devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. We have a lovely "pilgrim" image given to us by our friends from our time in Oklahoma. This is another beautiful Marian feast. In the Southwest there are often elaborate celebrations with plays, Southwest American Indian costume and dance; all culminating in a special celebration of the Mass in honor of Our Lady. One website I came across suggested serving Mexican food in honor of this feast. Hopefully we'll be able to do that one year. This year we will be at a Nutcracker performance and I won't be able to make Mexican food, but I'm sure we'll celebrate this wonderful feast in other ways.

December 13

Saint Lucy

My family is of Scandinavian descent and my girls are fascinated with this feast day. They have all dreamed of getting up early, dressing in a white dress with red ribbons and a wreath candelabrum, while serving the rest of the family breakfast in bed. Somehow this plan falls flat with the getting up early part. I think I recall Karate Kid helping her younger sisters do this one year, but none of us really likes to get up that early. Instead, this is the night we have breakfast for dinner to celebrate Saint Lucy. Nothing is better than pancakes, sausage, bacon and orange juice for dinner.

Does your family have favorite Advent Saints? What traditions do you use to celebrate? We are always looking for more ways to celebrate the Saints in our home.

iPad Dreaming

2011-12-02T08:03:00.001-05:00

Wingnut was on his way out the door to take the girls to the Apple Store. Skoshi A needed a new charging cord for her iPod and the girls wanted to buy an iPod for one of the needy children from our parish Angel Tree for Christmas. Lil' Wingnut decided he would like to go along, because Daddy usually makes a stop at our favorite little coffee shop on trips to the Apple Store, which means Lil' Wingnut could possibly score a treat if he went along.

As he was putting on his shoes, the little guy dreamed aloud of the iPad his Daddy should buy him at the Apple Store. I put a stop to that by letting him know the only iPad he would be getting would be one he bought himself. At $500+ it really is just a pipe dream for a 5 year old who's monthly allowance is only $5-10 a month, depending on how well he does his assigned chores. Lil' Wingnut was convinced he had enough money in his piggy bank to purchase an iPad.

"I've got 50 cents!" He exclaimed.

"You'd need 1000 of those 50 cents to have enough for an iPad", Wingnut explained.

"I've got 1000 of those!"

"No, you don't," I said, "You don't have anything close to that amount. Why don't you come here and I can show you exactly how much you have in your savings account."

I showed him the money I'd put into savings, months and months of allowance built up to $245.

"See, you only have enough for half and iPad," I told him.

"Ok, I'll just get half an iPad!" He declared happily.

For now, I'm thankful Apple doesn't sell half an iPad. When he has finally saved enough for that elusive object du jour we'll have to resort to the old fashioned, "No, you aren't buying that."

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} December 1, 2011

2011-12-01T10:45:00.001-05:00

{Pretty}

I managed to capture some great photos of the kids while shooting for our Christmas card. I don't blog very much about Karate Kid, but this photo was so stunningly pretty of her, I had to post it.

{Happy}

This happy little guy just makes me smile. You've got to love that hair!

{Funny}

Lil' Wingnut is such a little ham for the camera.

{Real}

This is the reality for our mobile and very curious Lil' Lamb. Life behind bars :(

What is Advent All About?

2011-11-28T15:40:00.001-05:00

Shutterfly Love

2011-11-25T10:47:00.001-05:00

Bound and determined to not have a repeat of last year's Christmas photo fiasco, I took the kids down to our local park this morning and snapped photos at the gazebo. We came home and it took less than half an hour to create this year's Christmas card. I'm extremely pleased with the results and also thankful for the 25 free cards I won from Katie at Blessed with Full Hands!

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Fire Drill

2011-11-22T15:37:00.001-05:00

I stole this from a friend's Facebook wall. Is it time for a fire drill in your home school? My coffee maker is on and waiting!

Email to the Teacher

2011-11-21T11:59:00.001-05:00

I'm teaching photography to a group of students in our co-op. They are a fun group and very excited to learn how to take better photographs. This last week, their assignment was to take a portrait of a single person and try to convey some sort of emotion or expression in that portrait. One of my students emailed her photo with a long explanation that absolutely cracked me up and I got her permission to post it here. I did change the names of those involved and didn't post the photo (as much as I'd like to, it is absolutely hysterical). Kids will say some of the darndest things!

Hey Mrs. Mayerle,

This is my picture. It's not very good, I know. Its kinda blurry, and out of focus. I'm actually a little disappointed in it. First, my camera broke and it was finally fixed this morning. So that gave me today only to take a picture for photography. My mom was teaching, my dad was working, and my brother and sister were at school, and I didn't have anyone to take picture of. Then, my sister came home first so I asked her if I could take a picture of her. She was really annoyed but said yes. Then I needed to find a back round that would work. Then I needed to fix my lighting like 30 times and my sister was not very cooperative through it all. This pictures "emotion" is "interested" cause "C" said that if I was going to take a picture of her it had to be near the tv so she could still watch her special tv show. She was pretty interested in that! Pretty amazing...yup, shes a keeper! The pictures also took forever to upload. Sorry I didn't get it in till really late. Thanks alot!

P.S. I don't know what a mug shot is and I forgot to ask my sister. So I don't really know what I was supposed to avoid. Sorry.

"K",

Your favorite photography student:)

We Have a House!

2011-11-17T07:30:00.000-05:00

Wingnut put in a bid on a house in Utah on Wednesday and by the evening it had been accepted! I want to cheer, but I'm also feeling really nervous. We have two mortgages. That's a scary, scary thought! Today we get to work on listing the Maryland house for rent. I'll feel so much better once we get that going, I'm sure.

So the new house, surprisingly meets many of my Dream House Mauri ideals!

2 full plus 1 3/4 bathrooms--check
Fairly spacious kitchen with walk-in pantry--check and check
A gas range--check
A covered 3 car garage--check although I'm not yet sure the 12 passenger will fit, we shall see
Land--not the 2 to 3 acres, but 1.09 acres will do for now--check
Not just one, but two laundry ROOMS (one will be used as a mud room)--check and check again
6 bedrooms--not only will our girls have a room of their own when they come to visit, but we can have guests staying with us as well!--check
Three living areas that will work as a formal living, a family room, and an exercise room
A walk in master closet--check

The house is convenient to base, school, monastery, and work. There are 210 acres of community property with running trails, parks, basketball court, and barbeque pavilion. It should just about suit our family. God is Good!

Progress on the Big Move

2011-11-15T09:58:00.001-05:00

This is just a quick update on where we stand on our big transition.

Wingnut's start date is January 9th. We anticipate having the house packed up right after Christmas. Thankfully the military will be doing this for us one last time! It's just about 36+ hours to Salt Lake City, and we are trying to determine the best route. It would be nice to find a way to stay with family and friends along the way, or at least stay on military posts, which would save hotel costs. Yes, Tonya@Life in Our Zoo, we are looking at passing through Colorado :)

We've decided to list our house here for rent rather than try to sell it in this poor market. We can actually make money doing this as we can feasibly charge more for rent than our current mortgage payment. We've hired wonderful friends to manage the property for us. This was a huge load off my mind, as I could not see how in the world I could get this house "show" ready while homeschooling, taking care of our sweet yet demanding baby, and meeting the needs of the rest of the family. The house will list hopefully later this week.

Wingnut is in Salt Lake City as I type looking at several properties we are interested in. To answer Natalie's question from yesterday; yes most do meet many of my Dream House Mauri ideas ;) . Some have asked if I trust Wingnut to make the choice without me and I must emphatically say that I do. He has chosen every place we've lived except the first one, which I chose and it was an absolute disaster! He's already driven around the properties and checked out distances and traffic and so far all look good to go. Today he hopes to get some interior photos for me and we hope to make an offer on a house before he leaves Utah tomorrow.

So that is where we stand. Things are moving along and I anticipate the pace will only pick up from here on out.

Joy in the Pits of Despair

2011-11-14T11:24:00.001-05:00

On a morning when I doubt everything I do and everything I am, it is a relief to have a bit of homeschool humor. My darling girls provided two separate episodes that lifted me from my wallowing self pity and made me smile.

Sometimes instructions are not crystal clear to 9 year olds. These are the instructions Special K received:

Change each addition problem to a multiplication problem

a) 3+3+3+3 b) 9+9+9 c) 7+7+7+7+7+7

This is how she interpreted the instructions:

a) 3x3x3x3=81 b) 9x9x9=729 c) 7x7x7x7x7x7=117,649

She did admit to having used a calculator to find her answers. She had to have been thinking, "Holy, cow! Math has sure taken a jump in difficulty!"

Skoshi A is learning to write Haiku in literature and writing. One of the two she wrote today absolutely cracks me up:

A Haiku has five

Seven and five syllables

Whale, chicken, pie, why?

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} 11/11/11

2011-11-10T07:40:00.000-05:00

{Pretty}

We attended 1st Profession of Vows for several Sister Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara. Afterward, there were photo ops with Cardinal McCarrick. I love this photo from the back with the Sisters' arms entwined around each other.

{Happy}

Lil' Wingnut could not be happier to be a big brother. He's so loving and gentle with Lil' Lamb.

{Funny}

We were able to visit with Oleander on Saturday for family day at the Aspirancy. Oleander wanted to provide entertainment and convinced her classmates and the Sisters to sing for us. When going through the photos from the weekend I came across this one with Special K in the back holding the "microphone"(really and ice cream scoop) and the crazed expression on her face and I chuckled out loud. No one had noticed at the time how silly she was being.

{Real}

Lil' Lamb is completely mobile and photo shoots with him are becoming more difficult as I try and keep the camera away from his little paws.

Cherry Limoncella Cobbler

2011-11-09T08:02:00.000-05:00

I made this for a dinner party not too long ago and our hosts asked me to post the recipe.

Cherry Limoncella Cobbler

Filling:
4 14.5 ounce cans sour cherries packed in water; drained (this is not pie filling, but actual cherries)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Limoncella (freshly squeezed lemon juice may be substituted)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Topping:
1 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
Zest of one lemon
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients for the filling. Toss together to combine and pour into 9x12 baking dish.

In a small bowl combine dry ingredients and whisk together. Set aside. Beat butter approximately 30 seconds, until light and fluffy. With mixer running, slowly add sugar to the butter, add the lemon zest and beat for another 60 seconds. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the bowl. Add vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing to just combine. Spoon the batter over the top of the cherry filling and place in a 350 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool and serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Lil' Lamb 9 Months

2011-11-08T07:29:00.000-05:00

That face takes my breath away.

Do They Give Out Awards for Bad Parenting?

2011-11-07T07:18:00.001-05:00

In 19 years of parenting, I've made some mistakes. No, really, I have. I also tend to be the type that beats myself up over the mistakes, real or perceived, I've made. I certainly do not need my 16 year old son to help me out by pointing out some of the stupid parenting he's been the victim of, but he's here to oblige.

Years ago, when my older three were just old enough to tell lies and know they were telling lies I thought I had a very clever solution to their dishonesty. I used to tell them when they lied I could see the devil dancing on their tongue. This was particularly effective with our now 16 year old. He could not stand the thought of Beelzebub jigging for joy in his lying mouth. In hindsight, this now seems like an incredibly stupid idea, especially when my 16 year old darling boy pointed out that I told a lie to teach him not to lie. I'm sure I've scarred him for life.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} Italy and Paris

2011-11-03T11:32:00.000-04:00

Wingnut, Skoshi A, and Special K just returned from their pilgrimage to Rome, Notre Dame, and Rue du Bac. I'm using Skoshi A's photos from their trip for today's {phfr}. She did a fantastic job documenting their travels and came home with over 200 wonderful photos. I'm hoping to post more here over the next couple days.

{Pretty}

Love, love, love this shot of the Eiffel Tower.

{Happy}

Here are a couple of very happy girls awaiting a Papal Blessing following the Sunday afternoon Angelus.

{Funny}

Can you pick out the girls from this crowd at Trevi Fountain?

{Real}

Real foot bones protruding from their volcanic ash encasing in Pompeii

Bad Theology

2011-11-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

Your family doesn't celebrate Hallowe'en? I can respect that. There are a myriad of reasons to not celebrate it. All I ask is that when you tell your children why they don't celebrate Hallowe'en, don't teach them bad theology. Hallowe'en is NOT the devil's birthday. The devil is a spiritual being created by God, who chose not to serve and became a fallen angel. The devil was not born and therefore does not have a birthday.

And now for some Hallowe'en cuteness:

Lil' Wingnut as Jango Fett. One of these days we will have a halloween costume that is not from the Star Wars universe. Right?

Lil' Lamb as Obi Wan. He was supposed to be Yoda, but I couldn't find Yoda's head.

Lil' Wingnut had practiced his trick-or-treat etiquette all day long. He aced it.

You may notice our girls are conspicuously absent. They spent their Hallowe'en eating chocolate in Paris. Yeah, I don't think they missed being here at all. More on that in a later post.

Happy Feast of All Saints

2011-11-01T09:32:00.002-04:00

Saturday we got a leg up on celebrating All Saint's with the Sister Servants at their annual All Saint's Party. It was a cold, damp, rainy day, but that didn't stop the festivities.

Lil' Wingnut dressed as Saint Benedict. It's great how many of the Star Wars costumes can be repurposed as saint costumes. Lil' Lamb was dressed as Saint Dominic in a repurposed Yoda costume. I don't have any pictures of him because he pretty much clung to me the entire party. He's terrified of the sea of blue nuns that often baby-nap him on our visits. He did hang with his godfather for a good period of time, but only if he didn't see me.

The Sisters organized carnival style party games. This was pin the sword on Saint Michael, the Archangel.

This game is by far Lil' Wingnut's favorite; Go Fish. One of the sisters hides behind the sheet and pins treasures (rosaries, holy cards, medals, candy, stickers) on the fishing line.

Lil' Wingnut hung out with Brother Jonathan. Here they are cheering on their buddies during a rowdy round of musical chairs. Brother Jonathan will be ordained a transitional deacon with the IVE this coming year.

Co-op Classes Fall 2010

2011-10-31T09:32:00.003-04:00

We are three weeks into our fall semester of co-op. I know I've blogged about our wonderful, laid back, homeschooling co-op in the past and I like to post here the classes we offer as ideas for folks searching the web for ideas for their co-ops. We have 4 separate age groups and offer three classes for each age group, with the exception of the youngest group.

The youngest group is comprised of our nursery babies and toddlers, as well as several preschoolers and kindergarteners. For this group, one mom is teaching Cathechesis of the Good Shepherd. I observed in this classroom this week and was floored by the organization, structured play, and peace that permeated the class. It is a truly wonderful program and the children not only seem to really enjoy it, they are learning a new depth of appreciation for sacramentals and the sacraments.

The next group is our 1st -3rd grade group. Being a flexible group, several children in this class, including our own Lil' Wingnut, are actually kindergarten age. This age group has three classes. The first is a science class using Detective Science, in which students use science to solve mysteries in class. Their second class is a unit study of North American Native Americans. They are putting together lap books as a finished product of all their new knowledge. The third class for this group is a study of wild animals native and unique to Maryland. Lil' Wingnut is having a blast in his classes and is really hanging in there with the older kids, as long as he has a little help with cutting with scissors.

We have a nice group of 4th and 5th graders. They are taking art lessons from Ginger Hime's Simply Art DVDs. So far they have focused on drawing animals. Special K's notebook is filled with cute little realistic looking bunnies and deer. She is so excited to be learning to draw in a more realistic style. Their second class is also science using Detective Science, but with a little added difficulty. This group's final class is a study of Meso-American culture. So far, I think the final offering is Special K's favorite. It's taught by one of our most gung-ho teachers who is just as excited to teach as the kids are to learn in her classes.

The final class is made up of 7th-9th graders. They are learning about our neighbor to the north, beautiful, diverse, Canada. In order to adequately cover the material in this class, it was decided to extend the duration from 45 minutes to an hour or an hour and 15, depending on the extent of the day's material and the endurance of the instructor. This shortened the length of the second class to 15-30 minutes.

Unable to completely decide what to offer in the shortened class, it is a miss-mash of sorts. We had some very definite opinions from a couple of the students to consider. More drama was a desire for a few, while others threatened mutiny if drama was offered again. Some kind of phys ed or P.E. would be a good choice for this group, except we couldn't call it such, due to some strong student prejudices against P.E. of any kind. We decided to leave the title and what is finally taught up to the teacher. She opted for a little yoga the first couple of classes and then this last week she taught them to fold paper footballs and they happily played the associated for the duration of class.

The final offering was a popular student request that has been offered on at least three other occasions to their older siblings: photography. This is the only class I'm teaching this semester and is also the last class I will be teaching this particular co-op group. This is a fun class to teach, and this is a great group of kids to teach it to. Several of the students have great eyes and some real talent. We've had a couple truly stunning student photos and I'm looking forward to seeing what else these kids have in store.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} Instagram Edition

2011-10-27T08:11:00.000-04:00

I really have enjoyed using Instagram to edit my phone photos. All of my submissions this week were taken on my phone and then put through Instagram.

{Pretty}

I think autumn has to be my favorite season.

{Happy}

Two weekends ago our oldest was home from college and Oleander was in town for a visit with the Novitiate sisters. We were able to all get together (minus Wingnut who was in Utah for his interview) and I was able to snap a rare shot of all the children together. I like this photo and might use it for Christmas cards this year.

{Funny}

This shot of Lil' Wingnut peering at me from a playground structure cracked me up.

{Real}

I wasn't sure if I should use this photo as happy, funny or real. Real won out. Lil' Lamb has nearly outgrown baths in the kitchen sink. He is too splashy, wriggly, and has been trying to stand in the sink. Oh dear, at least he's downright adorable.

Connecting with Boys

2011-10-26T19:30:00.000-04:00

Lil' Wingnut and I were watching a little evening TV together when a Barbie commercial invaded the screen.

"Ugh! Oh no! I hate those!" He exclaimed, rolling his eyes and flailing his little body around.

"What? Oh, dear! I love Barbie! What will we ever have in common?" I teased before asking, "What do boys like?"

The lil' guy thought for a moment before responding sheepishly, "Girls?"

Oh dear, we are in trouble.

Mauri's Dream House

2011-10-25T19:24:00.003-04:00

I suppose for the next few months this blog will be slightly preoccupied with the big move. We have been house hunting online in Utah ever since we first heard of this job in May. I've had plenty of time to think and dream about our next house. I even began a Pintrest account to document my ideas. If I could have everything I ever wanted in a house the following list would be it.

Dream House Mauri

1) 3 bathrooms, at least 2 must be full baths and the last can be some kind of partial. Does that sound spoiled? We have 3 1/2 baths now which is quite luxurious, but there are many occasions, especially Sundays when 3 bathrooms are occupied at the same time.

2) A spacious kitchen with lots of storage space. I practically live in the kitchen and being one of those moms that loves to cook, this is a definite must.

3) A covered garage that our 12 passenger van will fit in. It snows a lot in Utah. I have a feeling clearing vehicles on a daily basis might get pretty old.

4) A walk in pantry; oh that would be sooooo nice!

5) A gas range; I had one once in Oklahoma and I just loved it. For a foodie like me, a gas range would be absolutely heavenly!

6) Land; 2 or 3 acres would be just about perfect. We could raise laying hens and plant a good sized garden. We might even be able to raise a couple goats!

6) A laundry ROOM; We've had a laundry closet for the last 10 years. I would love to have a nice room with storage and room for Wingnut's ironing accessories (the man loves to iron).

7) An extra bedroom for guests; we can get away with a 4 or even 3 bedrooms, but having an extra room for visitors would be lovely.

8) A photography studio; the guest room could double for this purpose. Of all the artistic endeavors I've attempted, photography is something I would really, really love to pursue further. A studio will need lots of natural light, so several windows would be a must.

9) A separate formal living area, office, and family/exercise room; This is actually less than we have now, but we have been spoiled by having so much living space.

10) A walk-in closet; We have one in this house and I love it.

11) A mud room; it would be so nice to have an accessible space to store winter gear, rain gear, and beach gear.

This house would have to fall within our price range and be within reasonable commuting distance from the high school for JayP, the commissary for grocery shopping, the monastery Wingnut has fallen in love with, and Wingnut's new job location. Obviously I will have to compromise, but it never hurts to dream.

Utah It Is

2011-10-18T12:28:00.003-04:00

Wingnut interviewed for and was offered the job in Utah and we took it. We've been praying a lot about this decision and have both felt this is the direction the Lord is taking us. I feel pretty good about it. It will be a big stressor trying to get this house ready for market and I imagine we may not sell but will end up renting it, but I'm okay with that.

I was telling Special K the other day, God very often points you in the direction He wills for you to go, it doesn't mean that path will be an easy one. You'll just feel a sense of peace about it, even amidst the stress.

The JayP is not very happy about the move, and we didn't expect him to be. Fortunately, he has been pestering me about going to school and we've decided we will enroll him once we are there. Wingnut even visited the school yesterday and feels great about doing this for the JayP. It's a small, orthodox, catholic high school with about 200 students. He had a long conversation with the principal and came away impressed and relieved. Best of all for the JayP, the athletic program is no-cut, meaning he will be able to play the sports of his choice without having to worry about being cut!

Please continue to pray for us. We know there are a lot of obstacles and draw backs to making this move smooth.

Saint Joseph, pray for us!

Too Funny

2011-10-17T11:35:00.000-04:00

Lil' Wingnut was perusing his latest Lego Magazine, wistfully filling me in on the release of the newest Lego Star Wars DVD. He read all the details of the video's release until he reached the "price".

"Oh my gosh!" He exclaimed, "This is really expensive! I can't believe how expensive it is!"

"How much is it?"

"It's really expensive."

"Read the numbers to me." I suggested.

"9, 1, 6, 2, 0, 1, 1!"

Confused by the string of numbers I said, "Here, let me see it."

This is what he thought was the price of the coveted DVD: 9/16/2001. He's a smarty, that one. LOL!

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} October 13

2011-10-13T12:37:00.000-04:00

{Pretty}

My two youngest daughters modeling the very cool feather headbands #1 daughter brought home from

college.

{Happy}

Lil' Wingnut happily reading the story of one of his favorite saints.

{Funny}

Rolly polly boy

{Real}

We are in big trouble. Our little one is extremely curious and is into everything already. Oh, and he's mobile!

Dilemma

2011-10-11T08:24:00.000-04:00

Not to be too crass, but this is an honest question. If your sweet little guy were singing the "Hail Mary," absolutely singing his little heart out, while doing his . . . ahem . . . business in the bathroom, what would you do? Would you tell him it was an inappropriate place to be singing to Mary or would you think praying can and should happen everywhere and during any activity and encourage him or would you just ignore it all together?

I Think Someone is Trying to Tell Me Something

2011-10-07T09:31:00.003-04:00

Skoshi A printed out a sketch of Lil' Lamb for Special K to color. Lil' Lamb makes a pretty cute little girl, don't cha think? Is Special K hinting at something here?

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} 10/6

2011-10-06T11:15:00.001-04:00

{Pretty}

I loved this photo of my pretty baby boy sitting in the morning sunlight.

{Happy}

Nothing makes my boys happier than playing outside. Nothing makes me happier than when the weather is perfect for my boys to play outside :)

{Funny}

Praying Mantis peering down at me from the gutter.

{Real}

Yes, that is grass in his mouth. The reality of letting Lil' Lamb play outside is now he puts everything he can grasp into his mouth so we have to watch him like a hawk.

Lil' Lamb 8 Months

2011-10-04T12:05:00.002-04:00

We cannot believe he is 8 months old already! It seems he changes every day. I spend much of my time watching him in fascination as he learns new skills. He's creeping faster than many babies can crawl. He's getting up on his knees and making little crawling movements forward and back. He can push back from his stomach onto his bottom into a sitting position. Oh and he's incredibly curious. It was a challenge to photograph him this morning as he was fascinated with the camera and would come at me as quickly as I got the lens up to snap a photo.

Here he comes!

Take a look at those chompers! He's cutting four more as I type.

He's still so cute and fluffy :)

Trusting in His Wisdom

2011-10-03T15:12:00.000-04:00

Eleven years ago, Wingnut was on the verge of separating from the Air Force when the job he has now caught his attention. We began to pray for God's Wisdom in helping us decide if we should remain in the military or if Wingnut should separate and enter the work force as an airline pilot. We asked God to place obstacles in our path if we happened to fail to see His Way and we asked him to remove obstacles from the path He wanted us to follow. As he applied and interviewed for the job at Andrew's AFB that particular path seemed paved and ready made for us. In the end we thought we would let the 2000 Presidential Election make the final decision for us. Funny, that was the election that dragged on and on in court in Florida and in the end we just had to trust God had our best interests in mind even if he did not desire to show us with signs and wonders. Wingnut stayed in the military, he got the job at Andrew's, and President Bush was finally victorious, in that order.

So many of our friends and colleagues had made the jump to the airline world from the military. We were among the few that remained in the military. We came to see exactly how well God was looking out for our family when 9/11 hit. Every one of our airline friends were furloughed from their jobs. We were so incredibly thankful to have been spared unemployment. God is Good!

Last week Wingnut put in his papers to retire from the military. We are again looking to God for Wisdom. Our time in the military is done and we are relieved and thankful. Now we need to seek His Will for what to do next. Wingnut has applied for several jobs in corporate aviation as well as civilian federal jobs. We love our parish and our network of friends here, but there is also so much we don't love about living in the DC area. We also know the housing market is not favorable, and so staying would probably be less stressful. He has applied to several local jobs, but it seems there is a hiring freeze for federal jobs.

He's had one interview in New Jersey with a corporate aviation company. He hit it off with the head of the aviation department and feels he'd be a good fit with this company. They are going to have him out for another interview in the very near future. We'd likely live in Pennsylvania if he was hired by this company. This would keep us close to Oleander and Karate Kid, and fairly close to our established network--at least close enough for visiting occasionally. In Pennsylvania we'd be able to own a little land. I'd love to have a large garden and maybe some chickens and the girls would love to have a horse. We've researched parishes in Pennsylvania and Catholic high schools for JayP. We are fairly certain we can find something pretty orthodox, if not exactly the same as our beloved parish here. There are two draw backs to Pennsylvania. First, homeschooling is a bit more regulated there. We'd be required to test our home schooled kids in 3rd, 5th, and 8th grade and would need to submit to yearly evaluations to the superintendent by an independent educator/evaluator. We'd also have to defend our unorthodox immunization and healthcare choices. Secondly, we'd have to worry about doing something with this house. This choice would be a bit more stressful than staying where we are.

He has an interview lined up in Utah. This one we were extremely excited about at first. Utah is much, much closer to home for us. It would be the closest I've lived to family since leaving home after college. We could definitely own land and the cost of living is incredibly low. Homeschooling is also a cinch. Unfortunately there are a couple huge drawbacks to Utah. Utah would take us very far away from our two daughters. I'm not as worried about Karate Kid getting along without us as I am about our 14 year old at the Aspirancy school. This idea stresses me out. Obviously another drawback is once again having to do something with our current house. The biggest drawback to moving to Utah is the diocese is not orthodox at all. In researching I couldn't find a single parish that has daily mass every day. Only two parishes have a Saturday morning mass, and only the Cathedral has a Friday daily mass. This is very troublesome in my mind, not to mention Utah is only 2% Catholic, and the bishop of Salt Lake City is less than impressive. Even so, Wingnut found a trappist monastery with daily masses (6:45 am) and two Latin Sunday masses. We could handle that, but it would be unlikely they would need our boys to serve on the Altar, and very unlikely there would be a youth group or a family like atmosphere anything similar to what we have here. This really stresses me out!

Once again, we seek His Will in making this decision. Pray for us! We are definitely going to need it!

{Pretty Funny, Happy, Real}

2011-09-29T09:29:00.001-04:00

{Pretty Funny}

Special K keeps putting this bonnet and American Girl glasses on Lil' Lamb. She finds it pretty hysterical.

{Happy}

Yes, I send my kids out into the rain. In fact, they beg to go out into the rain. You would too, if you had rockin' fireman rain boots like Lil' Wingnut.

{Real}

The reality of homeschooling: Sometimes you have to do it wherever you can, even out on the porch on a rainy morning so your little brother can play in his rockin' fireman rain boots.

Let Me Vent . . .

2011-09-27T14:51:00.001-04:00

. . . just a little here on my blog. Until about 3 years ago, our family did not have any food allergies, and for this I was very thankful! I could not imagine how other families lived with basic food allergies to dairy and such, let alone more life threatening allergies to nuts or eggs. It seemed like a fairly difficult cross to bear and I wanted no part of it, thank you Lord.

Then 3 years ago we discovered our Special K had a sensitivity to artificial ingredients present in many foods that contributed to emotional and behavioral problems she was having. This wasn't too much of a big deal, as I enjoy cooking and had a natural desire to make more homemade foods for our family to enjoy. Not too many weeks later, while potty training Lil' Wingnut, we came to realize he had a fairly serious allergy to dairy. Ok, this was a bit more problematic and took some researching and experimenting in the kitchen. We found goat's milk was an adequate replacement in baking, several types of goat's and sheep's milk cheeses replace many cheeses in other recipes, and goat's and/or sheep's yogurt could replace regular yogurt nicely. We adapted to our new cooking and dieting needs fairly quickly and with little grumbling and complaining.

About 6 months ago, Wingnut had an epiphany regarding his constant feeling of bloating. He cut out cow dairy and lost 20 pounds and several inches around his gut in about 2 weeks, no joke. He also was feeling much healthier and more energetic. Apparently he is also allergic to dairy. As we'd already adapted most everything to accommodate Lil' Wingnut's allergy it was fairly simple for Wingnut to cut the remaining culprits from his diet (cheese, milk in his coffee, and ice cream).

I felt it was no real biggie and no real sacrifice, until Lil' Lamb was born. After several weeks suffering from a severe yeast diaper rash, my mother-in-law suggested I cut dairy from my diet. And indeed, Lil' Lamb is also allergic to milk. His rash cleared very quickly once I had the dairy out of my system. Having to give up the same things as Wingnut, I have decided having a milk allergy really, really sucks. I miss cheese the most, and while there are some substitutes, there are absolutely no palatable substitutes for cheddar or mozzarella. I'm coping and at least, for me, this is only temporary, until Lil' Lamb is weaned.

Now here comes the vent. When Wingnut cut dairy from his diet he began eating steel cut oatmeal for breakfast. It was really pretty delicious too with lots of butter, brown sugar and pecans. About the time he began eating so many oats, he developed an eczema rash on his forearms. We just recently put the two things together in our minds and we've had to cut oats from his diet now. The rash nearly cleared, but it has become increasingly obvious there is yet something in his diet that is disrupting his system and we are nearly convinced it is gluten. Really? Gluten? Ugh! Talk about having to abstain from complete cultures of cuisine--Italian most glaringly.

I did vent one evening to him, "Not to sound selfish or anything, but if you really are allergic to gluten it will pretty much ruin the one creative passion I have. Cooking will absolutely suck!"

Thankfully he is loving and understanding enough to just nod his head and listen. He also knows, in the end, I will buckle down and get as creative as I can in my attempt to cook around his new allergy, and I will try my best to not complain about it. Dear Lord give me the grace to accept this new challenge without whining!

Bad Mothering 101

2011-09-26T09:23:00.001-04:00

When my kids play outdoors they drive me nuts. They cannot stay outside for more than a few minutes before they come back in for one reason or another. Multiply their coming in every few minutes by the number of children I have and it is a revolving door of in and out, in and out, in and out. I've been known to lock the front door just to keep them outside, but that is not the worst of my mothering.

Friday it was raining and my three younger children love to play in the rain. They hadn't been out, prancing about in the shower more than 5 minutes before Lil' Wingnut came, soaking wet, needing something.

"If you come in, you are done," I said to him.

"But I have to go to the bathroom."

"If you come in, you are done," I repeated firmly.

He went back out the door and I didn't see him again for at least an hour. He must not have needed to go that badly, right?

When he did finally come in and had changed into dry clothes I asked him if he'd gone to the bathroom yet. He told me he had.

"Oh? Did you go upstairs while you were changing?" I asked.

"Well, no. I went earlier."

"You did? Where did you go?" I asked nervously.

"Do you remember when you said if I came in I was done?"

"Yes, but where did you go?"

"Really, it's ok, Mom. Special K found a Trader Joe's bag, and well . . . " he confessed with his wry little grin.

"I guess that's what I get," I observed, palm to face, "Please tell me the Trader Joe's bag made it to the trash can."

It's Good to be King

2011-09-23T08:51:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted about Lil' Wingnut in quite some time. Believe me, it isn't because he hasn't had anything profoundly funny to say.

Special K was reading to Lil' Wingnut from the Lives of the Kings and Queens of England, which he was enjoying immensely and commenting throughout. At one point, Wingnut asked the lil' guy if he would like to be king when he grows up.

"I'm already king," he announced, "King of Awesomeness!"

I found this story hilarious and had to ask him the same question the next morning. I got a different response.

"I don't want to be a king," he said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because then I'd have to be British."

Um, yeah. I have no idea how his little brain works.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} Life is too Busy

2011-09-22T13:06:00.000-04:00

{Pretty, Happy, Funny and Real}

My pretty little Special K was so happy to begin ballet again this fall. I loved that she chose to rock her ballet uniform with her funny hat. The {Real} aspect for this week is that I haven't taken any other photos this week. I'd forgotten how busy life can be with a baby and a new school year begun. Hopefully we'll get the hang of this new schedule soon so that I can get back to shooting photos and writing blog post more regularly.

Surprising Take on Chaz/Chastity Bono's Appearance on DWTS

2011-09-20T18:39:00.002-04:00

Personally, I never thought Dancing with the Stars was all that "family friendly" to begin with. Now it really does appear DWTS has an agenda that is definitely problematic. I found this opinion piece on Fox written by a psychiatrist to be pretty interesting and not the take one would expect from a secular psychiatrist today.

Just a word of warning, I would not recommend children or adolescents read the linked article below.

"Don't Let Your Kids Watch Chaz Bono on Dancing with the Stars"

Inauguration

2011-09-16T14:33:00.001-04:00

The following are photos from our trip to Pennsylvania for the Inauguration of the Aspirancy School of Blessed Marie Catherine of Saint Augustine

The Mass was celebrated on the Feast of the Exultation of the Cross, which happens to be the main feast day for the Sister Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará. Mass was celebrated in the newly dedicated church of Saint Rocco, a beautifully simple church in the Spanish mission style.

The four girls received miniature Crosses of Matará. They were very excited about receiving such a special honor. Apparently not even new postulants receive Crosses of Matará. Oleander is third from the left and is pictured kissing her newly blessed cross.

It is customary for the sisters to reaffirm their temporal or perpetual vows on the Feast of the Exultation of the Cross.

Here the girls are following the Mass along with Mother Ephesus on the right and Sister Divine Innocence on the left.

It is also customary to have a large party/reception following any IVE ceremony. The Sisters from the different houses provided the entertainment. Pictured here are the new postulants for the order along with Sisters assigned to help at the Novitiate House. They have one of the largest groups of new postulants they've ever had. There are 18 young women living in the Novitiate House of Bl. Kateri Tekawitha

The Aspirants, along with Sisters Hope and Divine Innocence joined in providing entertainment. Oleander was allowed to use a handmade Haitian drum that belongs to one of the Sisters from Haiti.

Oleander has never been very cooperative when it comes to photos being taken of her. Hopefully, over time, she might improve. What a face!

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} 9/15

2011-09-15T11:04:00.000-04:00

{Pretty}

This is one of the lovely walking paths in our neighborhood.

{Happy}

Doesn't every child love blowing the fluff off of a dandelion?

{Funny}

My little goddaughter was sitting at the table eating a popsicle and swinging her sweet little feet.

{Real} Ugly!

This spider has taken up residence on my porch. Ew! Ugh! Shiver!

Checking In

2011-09-14T12:55:00.002-04:00

Just checking in with a quick post. We've had a good start to our school year. It only took me 3 days to figure out that I don't have to rush through everything and fight through it all with the squirmy grabby boy. I'm having the girls do all of their independent work first and then they take turns playing with the lil' wild man while I work individually with them on their dependent work and then tackle some math with Lil' Wingnut. Something about less screeching makes the homeschool environment more peaceful.

The JayP is actually taking his studies seriously, especially the online history course. I'm really hoping he sticks to it. It will make everyone's life easier and more pleasant. He has stepped up and has been pitching in more to help around here, too, without being asked. Apparently he recognizes I am down two pairs of helping hands. Miracles do happen.

This afternoon we are popping up to Pennsylvania to celebrate the inauguration of the Aspirancy. I can't wait to see Oleander. I've missed seeing her face.

Confirmation

2011-09-12T14:40:00.000-04:00

I've never been one to home school for glory or recognition. I haven't been one to opt into yearly testing to see just how our children stack up. Our primary goal has always been to provide as healthy and holy of an environment we can with the end goal always being preparing our children to serve God in the best way they can according to His will. If they excel academically, that is also a laudable achievement, but more of a bonus in our eyes.

Still, I can't help but wait nervously as our children reach their high school years and begin standardized testing. I know we work hard. I know they are smart. I know they are learning, but how will they compare to their peers?

Karate Kid has always been smart as a whip and a dedicated self-motivated, self-starter. She worked very hard at her studies. She was a natural speller, writer, and mathematician. When she scored well enough on the PSAT for a Letter of Commendation, I wasn't surprised. When she scored a 4 on the English Language and Composition AP exam, even though she never took the actual AP course, I wasn't shocked in the least. As colleges not only accepted our home schooled student, but offered large academic scholarships to her I wasn't amazed. I chocked it all up to the fact that she had been given particular talents by her Creator and her own hard work paid off.

Oleander needed to test into her courses for the Pennsylvania Cyber School the Aspirancy will be using for academics. I was nervous. I had no idea how she would measure up. We knew she was also smart, and a hard worker, but would that also pay off?

Last week the Aspirancy received the testing results and I must say I was floored. Oleander maxed two sections of the DORA (diagnostic online reading assessment), scored at 12th grade level for three sections, and scored above 10th grade level in the remaining sections. The assessment specialist told the Sisters he had never had a student score off the charts the way Oleander had. Oleander also demonstrated mastery in all sections of the DOMA (diagnostic online math assessment for pre-algebra), with the exceptions of geometry and coordinate graphing.

Our children have been blessed with intelligence, to be sure, but it is a wonderful confirmation for me that home schooling not only provides the best environment for our children, but can provide the best education for our children. And to be perfectly honest, I don't feel too bad giving myself a pat on the back for the part we've played in our children's successes. Sometimes it takes a bit of self-congratulation and affirmation to keep the home school wheels turning around here.

The Aspirancy

2011-09-08T11:34:00.003-04:00

On Saturday we were able to travel to see Oleander and join the Sisters in celebrating their first mass in the Aspirancy house. It was a beautiful day to celebrate a beautiful mass in their beautiful chapel within the house.

This is the lovely chapel within the house. The Aspirancy received some amazing donations particularly to the chapel; a gorgeous tabernacle, beautiful statues (most notably the large Saint Therese of Lisieux), lovely wooden pews, and a treasure trove of sacred vessels and altarwear.

Oleander wasn't too thrilled to have her photo taken in her incomplete school uniform. Their skirts were not quite finished yet. I'll get another photo of her when we travel again to Pennsylvania next week for the school's official Inauguration.

This is the gorgeous old colonial house where Oleander now lives with her three classmates and three sisters.

Here are the first students of the Blessed Marie Catherine of Saint Augustine Aspirancy along with the three sisters that will be in charge of their schooling and formation, sisters from the local mission convent, and sisters that came for the special day from the provincial house in New York.

Family portrait minus Karate Kid. Hopefully she'll be able to join us on a visit in the near future.

11th Grade Plan for JayP

2011-09-07T10:35:00.003-04:00

We officially began our school year yesterday. It did not run smoothly, but we did survive and I am hopeful that once we get into a good rhythm the bumps and kinks will work themselves out. Our biggest obstacle has been Lil' Lamb. He's become a tad demanding and grabby. Working around his needs is going to take some patience from all of us. I do think I will save math with Lil' Wingnut and Special K until Lil' Lamb takes his morning nap. Most everything else can be worked around his squirminess.

I do recall I did not get around to posting about the plan for JayP's school year. We are trying some new curriculum with him and it will be interesting to see how it all pans out, but so far his attitude toward his new material has been mostly positive.

Math--Saxon Calculus

Literature--Learning Language Arts through Literature Gold Book: American Literature

Science--Kolbe Academy Chemistry using the Prentice Hall Chemistry text

History--Keystone Academy Online American History (this is new for us, but I think a good fit for JayP)

Religion--Understanding The Scriptures: A Complete Course on Bible Study (this is an awesome looking course written by catholic convert and prolific author Scott Hahn, Ph.D.)

Life Prep for Home Schooled Teenagers

My hope is to take a more low key approach with fewer courses for JayP, truly focusing on getting his writing skills up to snuff. If all goes well we'll be sending him to the local community college to pick up his last math, a college level literature and comp class, and a foreign language to round out his transcript.

September 6, 2011

2011-09-06T10:09:00.002-04:00

First day of school. Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us!

Lil' Lamb 7 months: Lamb of 1000 Faces

2011-09-04T10:30:00.000-04:00

Lil' Lamb is quite the expressive chap. We are constantly cracking up at the faces he makes. This month he began adding a soundtrack to his faces. One of his favorites is growling. I don't know about you, but I've never heard a lamb growl. We just may have to change his nickname to El Tigre as my dear brother suggested.

Coffee Fiends

2011-09-02T11:08:00.005-04:00

Our coffee coffer was low and so I decided to take the two pre-teens and Lil' Lamb to our favorite coffee supplier to grab a bag and a treat.

These two have been so helpful around the house with the children and the cleaning. They certainly deserved a little coffee break.

Lil' Lamb has reached the stage in which he thinks he should have whatever I have. He appears pretty disgusted in this shot, but he was actually growling and attacking the straw like a little baby bear.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} 9/1

2011-09-01T08:04:00.003-04:00

{Pretty}

It could be the most lovely day and this little girl will refuse to go out and play, but give her a hurricane and there she is playing happily in the wind and rain.

{Happy}

Our very happy 14 year old left for Aspirancy School on Tuesday. She was supposed to go on Saturday, but Irene blew in and messed with everyone's plans. As soon as the storm was over, Oleander was on the phone with Mother Ephesus asking when she could come to school. Mother said all four girls were calling and begging to come.

{Funny}

Lil' Lamb has finally started taking a little cereal, not because he's been famished and unsatisfied with nursing, but because I began to worry he might lose his chubby little thighs if I didn't start feeding him solids.

{Real}

Not everyone was happy and excited for Oleander to begin her adventure. Pool Lil' Wingnut.

The Best Worst Time

2011-08-31T14:22:00.002-04:00

Last Tuesday we opened our home to our dear friends, who happen to be Lil' Wingnut's godparents, and their six children. After more than a year, they had finally sold their beautiful, but crowded townhouse and had bought a roomy house with land down the road. Tuesday was to be closing and moving day. They had done their part and were ready and willing to close with their buyer, which went off without a hitch, but when it came down to closing on their new property someone along the line had dropped the ball and had not done the work they had been expected to do. The new house should not have even been on the market, having an outstanding deed for two years worth of back taxes. The title agency should have known this and should have made sure the deed was paid prior to the agreed upon closing date. The mortgage company should have known this and should have insisted the deed was paid weeks ago. The county should have known this and should have pressed harder for the money they were owed months ago. Without a free and clear title, our friends could not buy their home. They were literally homeless. Not to worry, they were more than welcome to stay with us longer than the originally planned two days. Certainly this would be cleared up before the approaching weekend. It was not.

Another storm was brewing and threatening the weekend. Irene could not have planned her timing more poorly. Our two families took stock, shopped, made somewhat haphazard plans, and battened down the hatches.

The Godparents' youngest had his first birthday. Blew out his single candle on his lovingly baked birthday cupcake just before Irene took out the power. Irene raged throughout the night and left very little damage, save for the loss of power. We all settled in with candles and flashlights for what we hoped would be just a day or two without electricity.

Life without electricity was certainly liveable. We managed to conserve the hot water for a handful of very quick lukewarm showers for the adults while the children waxed poetic about their love for icy bathing. We had lovely cold milk for our morning cereal, thanks to frozen jugs of water placed strategically throughout the refrigerators that kept the interiors chilled. The children rediscovered imaginative play and the glory of the great outdoors, unfettered by video stimulation. We grilled kingly meals upon our Green Egg. We prayed our nightly rosary in candlelight and we felt blessed indeed.

Sunday, no power, no problem. Monday, no power, and I began to worry about losing the organic grass fed beef and the free range chicken I had just stocked our freezers with in the last couple weeks. Monday afternoon Wingnut managed to get his hands on a generator and we powered up our fridges, the espresso maker, and a couple lamps. Wednesday, no power, and while the children still claimed to love their icy showers, I just could not do it. Dear friends, blessed with abundant electricity, allowed us hot water and laundry facilities. Wednesday night, just before our rosary, the power returned. We were radiant with thanks, and yet, as the children voiced their evening prayer intentions they remembered those in our parish and hometown that were still without power.

Returning to the plight of our homeless friends, they are still here, a week and a day later. Fannie Mae has left them dangling with no time line other than promising a September 6th closing date. One agent expressed rudely in an email, "Mr. Buyer should just go back to work. We have nothing new for him." Recently there has been some movement on the payment of the back taxes and our friends are currently awaiting their "go-ahead" call that should come at any moment.

Despite it all, the children continue to have a glorious time together and we adults have relished our quiet evening conversations. Knowing that they are homeless and should be miserable with worry, one of their children declared, "Mommy, this is the best worst time I've ever had." We all feel the same way.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} Abbreviated

2011-08-25T14:56:00.003-04:00

{Pretty Happy}

Our very pretty 11 year old turned 12 last week. Oh, happy day!

{Really Funny}

This is my dining room during the yearly great homeschool book exchange. Out with the old and in with the new, plus tons of reorganizing of bins. I'm happy to say it is all finished with the exception of returning the bins to their storage spot in the basement. I think we are ready for school.

The Plan 2011/2012

2011-08-23T10:04:00.003-04:00

And so another school year is upon us. I love reading what other folks use for homeschooling. I am assuming other homeschoolers are interested in what we use, right?

This year we are down two students--one off to college and the other off to a private convent school--and we are adding one more. I can't believe Lil' Wingnut is ready for school! Actually he should be pretty easy seeing as he is already reading at a 3rd grade level. The challenge will be to keep him interested and on task.

Unusual or newer curriculum are linked so that you might peruse them. Hopefully as the year progresses, I will post on our progress and satisfaction with our plan.

Lil' Wingnut: Kindergarten/1st grade

Math: Saxon 1 (Saxon works and so we have stuck with it throughout our homeschooling career)

Reading/Language Arts: Explode the Code 3, 31/2 and 4; What Do You Like to Do?; Getty-Dubay Handwriting A; Faith and Freedom Readers 2-2, 3-1 and 3-2

History: Medieval and Renaissance Europe alongside his older sisters; we use a literature and chronological approach and so will use all sorts of sources including appropriate titles from Learning Through History Magazine.

Science/Health: Behold and See 4; Lil' Wingnut and Special K have developed a keen interest in the human body so we are going to capitalize on that!

Music: Instruments and Composers; I will be using the San Francisco Symphony's website as well as Carnival of the Animals and Peter and the Wolf audio recordings

Art: Simply Drawing Art Classes with Mrs. Ginger Himes DVD series

Religion: Saint of the Day, daily prayers, and our wonderful parish CCD program

Special K (4th grade)

Math: Saxon 5/4

Language Arts: Seton English 4; Spelling Power; Getty-Dubay Handwriting E; Vocabulary from Classical Roots 4; Historical fiction and fairytales; Favorite Poetry Lessons; 50 Writing Lessons that Work

History: Medieval and Renaissance Europe; Maps Charts and Graphs E

Science: Behold and See 4; Human Anatomy and Health

Music: Private piano lessons

Art: Teach Me to Draw DVD series

Religion: Saint of the Day, Magnifikid, Seton Religion 4 and CCD

Skoshi A (7th grade)

Math: Algebra 1/2

Language Arts: Seton English 7; Hewitt Lightening Lit and Comp 7; Spelling Power; WriteShop; Vocabulary from Classical Roots A; Historical fiction; typing/keyboarding using Mavis Beacon

Science/Health: The Universe in My Hands (this is a new science curriculum for us, but I thought it was a perfect fit for Skoshi A)

Music: Private piano lessons

Art: Artistic Pursuits middle grades books 1 and 2

Religion: Saint of the Day; Magnifikid; Seton Religion 7; CCD

Lil' Lamb is needing my attention making it necessary for me to save our high school plan for JayP for a future post.

Letting Her Go

2011-08-22T08:28:00.002-04:00

A little more than a year ago, Oleander came to us and asked if we would allow her to enter a new school that was going to open in Pennsylvania. This particular school is an Aspirancy school run by the Sister Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará, the female arm of the IVE (Institute of the Incarnate Word). We told our thirteen year old we would not even consider sending her away to school.

Several months later she again came to us, armed with information about the school, and asked us if we would let her go. Wingnut told her that if she really wanted to go, she would have to make it happen. Knowing our girl was fairly shy and reserved, we thought putting the burden of entry on her would be the end of the Aspirancy. Embarrassingly, we completely underestimated the strength of will in her. Before we knew it, she had contacted the Mother Superior asking for information for an application. The school, being not yet opened, was not quite prepared to send out an application, but Mother Ephesus assured Oleander she would stay in contact with her as things got up and running. Mother's word wasn't completely enough for Oleander, she continued to call Mother from time to time, just to be sure she wasn't forgotten.

The long expected paperwork for application arrived. Oleander, of her own volition, secured all three letters of recommendation needed, including a letter from our parish priest vouching for the authenticity and strength of Oleander's Catholic faith. I know this part of the application process was not easy for our normally shy girl, but she didn't hesitate a second. She then kept on top of me, asking me daily if I had completed my parts of the application. I needed to obtain medical and dental records and releases, provide an official school transcript and grades, and fill out several forms. The girl was patiently persistent.

In June our family traveled to the convent and school in Pennsylvania for formal face-to-face interviews. Our family was welcomed, in charactaristic IVE style, with warm fondness and regard. Following the interviews, Oleander was measured for her uniforms, a clear indicator that her desire had been realized. On Saturday, this week, we will leave our precious fourteen year old at the convent boarding school to begin, what she hopes and God Willing, will be four years of discernment and formation, culminating in a vocation to religious life.

This has not been an easy decision for us to make and follow through on. We've prayed for guidance and we finally based our decision on the strength of the conviction of a fourteen year old. Crazy, I know. She has not been without voices of dissent among her family and friends. Many, many of our family and friends have been truly excited and supportive, and several have been lovingly concerned. We have appreciated both!

As Oleander begins her journey, we ask for prayers for her and prayers for a family that will immensely miss her quiet smile, her gift for never forgetting a name, and the beautiful faith she lived out in our home each day of her life.

Crazy Busy

2011-08-19T11:27:00.003-04:00

Wow, we are crazy busy around here this week. We've needed to catch up after our bout with illnesses, emergency room visits, and a brief stint in the hospital for Lil' Lamb. Our oldest leaves for Mount Saint Mary's University on Sunday and she is frantically organizing, reorganizing, packing, storing, and shopping. Next weekend Oleander leaves for the Aspirancy school in Pennsylvania. In the meantime we will be busy getting our stuff together for the upcoming school year and helping some good friends move into their new home. I have posts rolling around in my brain, and hopefully I'll be able to write more next week. I have posts addressing our homeschool plans, how we ended up sending our daughter away to a convent boarding school, as well as lots of photos of the happenings around here. Have a blessed weekend and stay tuned for better blog posting in the near future :)

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} 8/18

2011-08-18T06:13:00.000-04:00

{Pretty}

This time of year the Buddleia Bush is covered in butterflies. I loved the angle of this shot.

{Happy}

Special K designed this little cross stick all by herself and spent an afternoon happily stitching away. I'm pretty impressed with her creativity!

{Funny}

This is my teenage son and his hilarious play on planking. He calls this "deering". I laughed until I cried when I saw this.

{Real}

This is our sweet Lil' Lamb receiving one of the many nebulized breathing treatments he's needed this past week. Most of the time he was pretty docile and calm. There were a few occasions when he'd just about had it and would have none of the smoking mask. I would then enlist the help of his sisters in entertaining him by singing and dancing so that we could finish treating his wheezing. Poor baby, he was a real trooper this week. God Willing, we'll never have to go through the same ordeal again!

Book Review: The Help

2011-08-15T08:48:00.005-04:00

One of my Facebook/blogging/real life buddies posted she had just finished reading "The Help" and had loved it. Before her rave, I had about zero interest in either the book or the movie. It wasn't that the subject was not compelling -- an exploration of the relationships between african american domestics and their employers in the deep south during the cusp of the civil rights movement. It was the fact I generally shy away from secular modern literature. There is very often too little truly good literature written today, in my opinion.

This was the first book I've read cover-to-cover on my iPad, which I've owned for just over a year. I just haven't been able to adapt to reading without an actual book in my hands that has actual pages to turn, but I was finally so intrigued by the idea of this novel, I couldn't wait for it to come in the mail. You've got to love the instant gratification of downloading a book and being able to dive into it immediately. Being immensely satisfied by my first iBook experience, I know I'll be reading on my iPad much more frequently!

I loved this book. It was absolutely captivating in its style, characterizations, and plot development. It seems the exploration of the theme was one the author had first hand knowledge of, having been raised by an african american maid, herself, giving the story a genuine feel and plausibility.

The novel weaves its way through the story telling, alternating accounts told by three different characters. First is Skeeter, a young ambitious southern white woman who has just graduated from college with a degree in writing/journalism. Having returned home to find her childhood maid has mysteriously disappeared her eyes are at once opened to the plight of the southern domestic. She approaches the maid of one of her childhood friends asking for answers and then for help in writing a book exposing the increasingly tense relationship between maids and those they serve in Jackson, Mississippi.

Skeeter first approaches maid Abileene for help in answering questions about the disappearance of her family's maid, and then brazenly asks Abileene to tell her story as part of a book project Skeeter decides to undertake. Abileene is the second character given voice in the novel. She is a maid specializing in caring for the children of the household. Having worked in white households for decades, Abileene has seen it all; the good, the bad, and the ugly. She has taken it all in stride, but has also attempted to leave her mark on the white children she has raised with the hope they will be different and will one day be able to look beyond color.

Minny is the third voice for the story. A domestic like Abileene, she has failed at taking it in stride. Her character is mouthy, opinionated, strong and yet incredibly vulnerable. Known as a great cook, her reputation is intentionally ruined by the spiteful, racist president of the Lady's League, and main story antagonist Hilly Holbrook. Minny is relegated to working for the apparently crazy Celia Foote who is too naive or stupid to realize she will never fit in with the proper white ladies of Jackson because of her beginnings as white trash. Fed up with working for a nut and having her reputation ruined, Minny agrees to help Skeeter and Abileene with the book.

The book project is an incredibly dangerous undertaking for all three women. Ostracization, unemployment, and lynching are all risks these three brave women are finally willing to take to make a change in Jackson. It becomes their personal civil rights crusade.

Stylistically this is an easy and enjoyable read. While I normally prefer to not read books containing profanity, this novel did have a fair share, but it wasn't as distracting nor disturbing as I normally find it. I would recommend this book to older high school students and adults due to profanity and adult content and themes.

Experiences in the ER

2011-08-11T11:04:00.004-04:00

We've been battling a respiratory virus in this house for a couple of weeks. This virus was particularly wicked for our two youngest. Lil' Wingnut ended up in the emergency room. He received two breathing treatments for wheezing and retracting and was sent home with antibiotics, which seemed to knock the infection right out of him leading us to believe his was a case of bacterial bronchitis.

As he recovered so quickly, we thought all was well until Lil' Lamb began dripping and coughing on Sunday. By Monday he was really hacking away but I wasn't worried as he was happy and playful and the cough was pretty wet and productive. Monday night things went south very fast. Lil' Lamb barely slept a wink, neither did I. I called his pediatrician in the morning because he sounded so rattly, but they seemed to think he would be fine as long as he stayed hydrated and in a humid room helped by a cool mist humidifier. By three in the afternoon he was retracting and wheezing quite badly so I called the pediatrician again and they recommended I take him to urgent care. Sure enough, his O2 level was well below normal and they gave him two breathing treatments, a dose of steroids, x-rays, two more breathing treatments and then drew blood. The doctor had also requested an IV, but after sticking Lil' Lamb twice in each arm and having absolutely no luck, the ER techs had mercy on our baby and left off, temporarily. At the end of the third breathing treatment the doctor reassured us we would likely go home with our precious guy with a prescription for home breathing treatments until his issues cleared up. By the end of the fourth treatment he backtracked and revealed he had found something abnormal in the blood work they had drawn. Lil' Lamb's blood sugar was twice the normal limit and he wanted to consult with Children's Hospital in DC. He then proceeded to tell us that this might indicate Type I diabetes or even a particular heart abnormality. My heart nearly stopped. Seriously? Diabetes? Heart problems? Being a mom so many worries and worse case scenarios ran through my mind. It was a terrifying moment. We immediately sent out texts, emails and a Facebook status update calling for our prayer warriors to cover us in prayer.

Children's Hospital did decide they wanted to see our baby and so an ambulance was sent for at around 7 pm. As we waited, and waited, and waited, we were ignored, ignored, ignored. I finally sent Wingnut home and told him to get some sleep because it was obvious I was not going to get any and I knew I'd need to have him cover for me the next day so I could get an hour of sleep here and there. At 10 pm I finally got the attention of one of the ER nurses. He confessed that this delay was often the case with Children's Hospital but reassured me he would get a new ETA from them and that indeed this was important enough for me to stick around and wait. The ambulance finally arrived at midnight and the paramedics once again tried to get an IV line in using veins in Lil' Lamb's feet. It took two attempts but they were finally successful. Lil' Lamb was strapped into a gurney and off we went to the hospital ER in DC. The paramedics were truly wonderful and really jumped through hoops trying to entertain the baby. It was heartwarming to see them coo and make funny faces trying to get that rare smile from a sick little one.

After arriving at the ER, the doctor indicated Lil' Lamb's blood work was now normal and that a side effect of taking steroids is elevated blood sugar and seeing Lil' Lamb had had two breathing treatments (which uses steroids) and an oral dose of steroids, it was no wonder his level had been so high. I could have just throttled the original ER doc! Seriously, why in the world would he have given us such a horrific prognosis? Lil' Lamb and I sat in Children's ER for another 5 hours and he was examined by no fewer than 5 doctors and 3 different nurses. By that time it I had had 3 hours of fitful sleep in 24 and yet I was still going. I know it was the prayers of dozens of friends and family that sustained me. Lil' Lamb was finally admitted and we were taken to one of the many pediatric wards in the hospital. The nurse got us settled into our room and went over the rules with me. I warily eyed the crib in the center of the room and knew there would be an issue. We haven't used a crib since our third babe was born 14 years ago. As expected, co-sleeping was against the rules. I indicated Lil' Lamb would likely not sleep while hospitalized, but that we'd give it a try as we had no other choice. He drifted off to sleep not too long after admittance at 5 am. I gently coaxed him into the crib. He didn't even stir. I managed to make up a bed on the couch and held my breath that I might get some sleep myself. Miracle of miracles, he slept in that crib for an hour and a half and may have slept more if he hadn't needed another round of breathing treatments. As the day progressed, he began to improve and became more restful. He slept most of the day and most of this sleep was in the crib. I managed to sleep here and there and I continued to survive on the backs of all the prayers being offered for us. He improved so impressively they decided he was well enough to go home later last evening. We were home by 7 pm. He was mauled by his loving siblings and played happily with us until he finally went to bed for the night just after 10. We slept mostly peacefully until 10 this morning. I couldn't believe it when I woke and saw the clock! I haven't slept in that late since I was in college!

Lil' Lamb continues to improve. We are treating his breathing at home with a nebulizer. I am personally so grateful for all the prayers that were said on our behalf. Without them, I would have been an absolute basket case, would have likely lost patience and my temper, and could never have survived on so little sleep. God is good and merciful!

Movie Review: Cowboys and Aliens

2011-08-08T12:11:00.003-04:00

Initially my thinking on this movie when I saw the previews was, "Boy, does that ever sound like a dumb idea for a movie." After some more thought on the concept I began thinking, "The idea sounds so dumb, it has to be great." I should have stuck to my original thought. The movie is as bad as the title. I can think of absolutely zero redeeming qualities. And that, in a nutshell, is my review.

Lil' Lamb 6 months

2011-08-05T19:59:00.002-04:00

It's his very happy 1/2 birthday :)

He is growing and changing so fast. In this last month alone he has begun rolling both directions, reaches and grabs whatever he can (especially shiny, sparkly objects) sits up without support, sits in a high chair and grocery cart, begun babbling "mamamamama", decided he will take a pacifier from time to time (thank you very much), has cut two teeth, has moved from baby bathtub to the kitchen sink for bathtime, and has taken his first tastes of real food (neither bananas nor watermelon struck his fancy).

He's adorable.

And every day he tries on a new funny face. Thank you God for this precious gift!

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} 8/4/2011

2011-08-04T08:12:00.001-04:00

{Pretty}

Special K had her special day out with mom (and Lil' Lamb). She had her hair cut at the salon, spent her allowance at Clair's, and had Chick-fil-a for lunch. I love her new hair style. A very pretty cut for a very pretty little girl.

{Happy}

We are still keeping up with our one fun project a week goal this summer. Last week we made homemade spray paint. Mix equal parts cornstarch and water and add food coloring in empty spray bottles. This was a lot of fun for about 10 minutes. It took more time to mix our concoctions than it did to empty the spray bottles. The kiddos still really enjoyed it, and I'm sure we'll do it again.

{Funny}

After nearly a week cooped up indoors with a sick little boy, we were able to escape this week and made a quick trip to a local park. Here is one of my funny little monkeys, dangling from the monkey bars.

{Real}

This is the arsenal of remedies for poor Lil' Wingnut. Official diagnoses was bacterial airway infection. Thankfully a strong antibiotic and lots of prayers from friends and family knocked the infection right out of our lil' guy. He is up and about and back to his normal mischief.

Where Choice Leads

2011-08-03T08:49:00.002-04:00

Where Have All the Girls Gone?

I know this is not a new story, but the trend of sex selection and sex selective abortions is growing rapidly. The article lists troubling social consequences being felt already in Asia. This is a monstrous, barbaric, and most vile evil practice being committed on little girls in the womb. Where are the feminists, now?

No Rest for the Weary

2011-08-01T09:12:00.003-04:00

Thank goodness it is August! I look forward to August every year because it is the one month we take a break from almost all of our activities--no tennis, no piano, no ballet, no flute, no school work etc. It is the month we get caught up on everything we've let slide all year, especially house work. So of course, Lil' Wingnut would get scary sick and need to go to the emergency room which sets off a round of visits to the doctor (he's doing much better, but is taking a course of antibiotics for a bacterial upper respiratory infection). Of course three kids will need to see the orthodontist; three kids will need to have haircuts; three vehicles will be due for oil changes and two kids will be preparing to leave for school. Of course we'll need to attend a retirement, plan two birthdays, and plan a graduation/send off party. Yep, all that house work will just have to wait, darn it.

Hit Piece

2011-07-29T10:30:00.002-04:00

For archbishop's camp, the church is the hierarchy

My mother-in-law sent the above link to an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer. It is quite infuriating, but thankfully illustrates why the Church is NOT a democracy. The professor of Faith and Culture at the University of Dayton (a supposed Catholic university, sigh) uses some pretty inflammatory language regarding Archbishop Chaput and his hand in the "demise" of American catholicism, and he does so without giving a single quote or policy of Chaput's that would support his accusations, other than the fact Chaput would deny communion to apostate catholic John Kerry if the former presented himself for the sacrament in Chaput's previous Archdiocese. It's a hit piece and O'Brien comes across as someone with an ax to grind. When writers, such as he, side with the "hard working priests, sisters and lay people of Philadelphia" and fail to see the Church must side with Christ and His teachings alone, they show their true colors and only prove Archbishop Chaput is the right man for the job. Orthodoxy and adherence to authentic Catholic teaching alone will restore the Catholic Church in America. God bless Archbishop Chaput in his new post!

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} in One Photo

2011-07-28T08:35:00.002-04:00

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}

Here's my {pretty} baby boy. Bathtime={Happy}time. This expression is so completely {funny}. We did not have much time for photography this week as I was busy being a mom. You can't get much more {real} than that :)

Recognition :)

2011-07-27T13:04:00.003-04:00

For the most part I've been keeping up with my one photo a week with MCP Project 52. I don't always post the photos here for various reasons: I don't like my photo, I have something better to blog about, I used the photo for {Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}, etc.

Last week's theme was "Get in Close". I didn't even take my photo until the end of the week, and I really wasn't that inspired by the theme until giving it a little thought. As we've been pretty preoccupied with tennis lessons this summer, I decided to capture that idea up close. I liked my photo well enough to submit it. MCP did not choose it for their top ten, but another professional photographer liked it enough to use it in her blog's top ten photos of the week. Honestly, I don't participate in these photo challenges for recognition. I really am just trying to improve my skills and creativity. It does help to get some feed back on my photos, and of course, a little recognition goes a long way in encouraging me to continue this artistic pursuit.

Not Just an Internet Fad

2011-07-26T07:47:00.000-04:00

I saw this on a friend's Facebook wall and it made me smile.

Movie Review: Captain America

2011-07-25T14:11:00.008-04:00

I've not much time for blogging this week so here's just a very quick review.

Captain America is the must see super hero movie of the year, thus far. There were several things I truly liked about this film:

1) The super hero character was truly likable. Unlike other recent heroes, Steve Rogers/Captain America was not a flawed character. He was brave, noble, persevering, and unselfish. Conversely the villain was completely despicable. It's difficult to create a more vile villain than a wickedly self serving, power hungry, nazi with evil super powers.

2) The story was well written, enjoyable, and well acted. I especially enjoyed Tommy Lee Jones as crusty Colonel Chester Philips; Chris Evans as Captain America; and Hugo Weaving as the pernicious Red Skull.

3) The humor was subdued and well-timed.

4) Stylistically this film was unique. I loved that the story was set in the 1940s and yet the special effects had a real and cool Star Wars vibe.

5) After Wingnut and I previewed the film, we were able to send our 4 oldest children to see it. I love when Hollywood actually produces a movie I can send my kids to without qualms.

The few things I did not enjoy about the film:

1) We saw it in 3-D. I hate 3-D. It gives me a headache; I can't stand the glasses; and it adds nothing to the story.

2) From a Catholic/Christian standpoint it was bothersome to me that Steve Rogers could not find his self worth and inherent dignity as himself. While his pursuit of becoming big and strong enough to enlist in the Army was not selfish, the message the film sends about the importance of outward appearance and bodily strength is problematic, IMHO. It's too bad Rogers could not find the strength within himself to serve as God created him, but then I suppose he wouldn't have made a very compelling Captain America as a 90 pound asthmatic weakling.

Due to some possibly frightening images and pervasive wartime violence, I would recommend this film for older adolescents, teens, and adults. The USCCB gave Captain America: The First Avenger an A-II (adults and adolescents).

Proud Boy, Proud Mama

2011-07-22T08:55:00.007-04:00

Lil' Wingnut has been taking tennis at our neighborhood racquet and pool club. He usually does very well and is well liked by the coaches and his fellow players, but he tends to be a bit clownish. The head coach chooses a "Player of the Week" each week from his students. He tries to choose a player who has worked hard, followed instructions, and improved their tennis play over the week.

On Monday Lil' Wingnut declared his intention of winning "Player of the Week". I told him he had to work really hard and behave if he wanted to win. I didn't have much hope for him as there at quite a few kids in his group and many of them work hard, are less silly, and are better players all around. Remarkably, Lil' Wingnut was on his best behavior all week. He was still his happy-go-lucky self, but more subdued and more serious about tennis. Like most of the country, we have been in a heat wave here. It was hot and humid all week and not the best tennis weather for little kids, but our lil' guy didn't complain a single time, nor did he use the oppressive heat as an excuse to not play hard. When award time came around, I actually had hope Lil' Wingnut might succeed in his quest. As soon as the coach announced his name, Lil' Wingnut came forward with an expression of complete pride and glee on his face. He could not have been prouder of his award and I could not have been prouder of the hard work and determination he exhibited in working toward his goal.

A proud Lil' Wingnut models his "Player of the Week" t-shirt.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} 7/21/2011

2011-07-21T09:37:00.004-04:00

{Pretty}

I was lying in the grass and saw how pretty the clouds were. This photo is all the prettier with Skoshi A's sweet little face against the background.

{Happy}

We've been making one crafty project a week this summer. Last week it was homemade sidewalk chalk paint. This week was homemade silly putty. We used Wilton Gel Food Coloring, which gave us really pretty pastel shades of green, pink, and blue and then we added a touch of glitter too. The kiddos were happy all day playing with their putty. The recipe made tons to share with their neighborhood friends.

{Funny}

Several of the kids have been taking tennis again this summer. Lil' Wingnut was moved from the tots class to beginners. He's the littlest player by far and so cute to boot. The coaches all love him and he's doing really well. He's a real crack up at times. Here he is demonstrating how to hit an overhead shot.

{Real}

When you have such a weird product to craft with the kids inevitably turn to weird uses for the product. Skoshi A found her "diseased" leg grossly hilarious.

This is the Face . . .

2011-07-20T08:29:00.002-04:00

. . . of a very sad and angry boy, and why is he sad and angry? We had just dropped Oleander off with the Sister Servants of the Lord at their new Juniorate house in DC. She is traveling with the Sisters to Upstate New York for their summer girls camp. Apparently the little guy is really going to miss his sister. I tried to explain to him that it is ok to miss Oleander, but then he should feel happy for her too. That did not go over very well. The entire drive home he pouted. When Lil' Lamb fussed, as he usually does on longer car rides, Lil' Wingnut would say, "It's ok. She'll be home Saturday or Sunday," as if that was the reason the baby was fussing. What a crack up our lil' man is. What is he going to do when Karate Kid and Oleander leave for school in August?

When Scandal Strikes

2011-07-19T09:08:00.004-04:00

It seems every few months the Church is rocked by one scandal or another. The personal failings of those in high profile leadership positions can be disturbing, frustrating, and disheartening. As Catholics we hold those priests, bishops, and cardinals to high standards, forgetting we are all held to the same high standard, Christ himself. Too easily caught up in the cult of personality and bombarded by constant temptation, one can see the persistent desire of the evil one to see good holy men succumb to sin.

How should we, as Christians, respond? Of course we should feel saddened and disappointed, but all too often, I've observed in the online world, there is an atmosphere of frenzied expectation, harsh judgement, and near giddy excitement over the news of the sinner. We all know, or should know, this is not how Christ responds. As followers of Christ we need to hit our knees and pray for the fallen and pray for those that will be lead astray, feel betrayed, or rejoice in the misconduct of those men so many follow and admire. We need to separate ourselves from the feeding frenzy of scandal and instead of indignant criticism and finger pointing we need to dig deep and feel compassion and pity for our disgraced brethren. Let us be reminded of the wisdom of one of Wingnut's favorite idioms: "There but for the grace of God, go I."

Movie Review: Super 8

2011-07-18T07:50:00.004-04:00

JJ Abrams pays homage to Steven Speilberg and the 70s in this science fiction action flick. He really should have left off and sent Speilberg and the 70s a fan letter.

This film is a play on Speilberg's classic alien film E.T. from 1982. In Abram's version the alien loses his way and ends up on earth where is he is discovered by the military. This time said alien is not quite as cute and lovable and does not escape before being tortuously experimented upon. In a desperate bid to save the being, Dr. Woodward, who has a psychic connection to the creature, causes the train transporting the alien to crash. This crash is witnessed by adolescent main character Joe Lamb and four of his friends as they are filming a low-budget zombie movie on Super 8 film. As the military swoops in to clean up the crash, the fictional Ohio town begins to experience mysterious and frightening phenomenon.

The special effects are amazing, as one would expect from Abrams, but all-in-all the movie was a disappointment. It had that unfortunate characteristic of having been done before and done better. Homage or no, Mr. Abrams could have made a much more compelling film.

Of the distractors, and there were many, the most bothersome was the use of almost continual foul language by the adolescent characters. Both Wingnut and I agreed this use of profanity made the characters extremely unsympathetic. It's difficult to feel for a character when one has to cringe at nearly every sentence uttered. I will say that as far as I can recall the main character, Joe, and his puppy-love interest Alice, played beautifully by Elle Fanning, did not utter a single offensive word, mercifully.

A second annoyance were the near constant hat tips to the 70s. Yes, we get it JJ, the movie is set in the 70s. The stream of cultural references was truly unneeded. Guess what? The 70s weren't that great, culturally or otherwise.

Finally, the most serious defect, IMHO, was the overuse of catharsis in the film. There are cathartic scenes between Joe and his father, Joe and his friend Charles, Joe and Alice, Alice and her father, Joe's father and Alice's father, and Joe and the alien--too much already!

I wanted to like Super 8, I really did, but I just could not overlook the many problematic deficiencies. Due to violent and frightening scenes and the shear volume of profanity I would recommend this film to much older teens and adults, if I were to recommend it at all. The USCCB rates this film A-III, adults.

Our Family Will Not Survive the Zombie Apocalypse

2011-07-15T08:13:00.003-04:00

So with the water tank leaking this week we had to turn off the water main to the house. Oh my goodness! I did not realize what having no water would mean to this family! The little kids kept standing at the refrigerator waiting for water to come out of the dispenser all day. I had to constantly remind them the water was off. The older kids were in a panic about not getting showers. Even though we turned to using paper plates, the sink was filled with dishes after only one meal. I couldn't do laundry, run the dish washer, or even wash my hands. After just an hour of this, we decided we would turn the water on when it was desperately needed, and after just one bathroom visit by Lil' Wingnut, it was desperately needed, if you know what I mean. I was running up and down the stairs all day turning the water on and off as needed.

I'm just a little worried. We have become so dependent on running water I seriously doubt we would survive an emergency of any kind, let alone the coming zombie apocalypse.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} 7/14/2011

2011-07-14T08:37:00.003-04:00

{Pretty}

This pretty butterfly/moth was snapped using my phone. I might instagram it for The Pioneer Woman's photography blog contest this week, which is all about phone photography.

{Happy}

This little face always makes me happy :)

{Funny}

This photo of my brother and I makes me chuckle, smile and cry. We had such a wonderful visit and I miss him so much.

{Real}

I was trying to make a creative profile pic for my instagram account. When I saw the results I had to sigh. Funny how in my mind I always appear as my 18 year old self. This is the very real eye of an exhausted 43 old mother of a 5 month old that does not sleep well. Sigh, I'm looking old.

Water Works

2011-07-12T09:07:00.004-04:00

Since we moved into this house 10 years ago, we've had all sorts of minor emergencies involving water:

1) A fuse to the sump pump blew and after a huge rain storm our lower level of the basement flooded on Father's Day right before Wingnut was to leave on a two week trip.

2) The water line to the fridge developed a hole causing it to leak between floors and eventually into the basement.

3) The gutters were not draining properly causing water to pool at the foundation to the house and then leaked into the basement.

4) The water softener overflowed into the basement.

5) Our air conditioning overflow pipe has been dislodged on multiple occasions flooding the basement.

6) And last night our hot water heater began leaking from the top flooding the basement.

Some of these things have happened more than once and so several years ago Wingnut and I invested in several water alarms and placed them strategically throughout the basement. They have worked incredibly well and we have stopped major flooding several times as these babies go off after contacting the smallest amount of water. Unfortunately, it seems our water woes only occur in the middle of the night and we have been awoken from the deepest of sleep by its shrill alert.

During the heat of summer, our children prefer to sleep in the cool of the basement. They can usually sleep through anything, but last night one of our children was finally awoken by the water alarm. Seeing that it was a very small amount of water, this child removed the alarm from the offending puddle and went back to bed. As you might imagine, this morning we were greeted by a much, much, larger puddle :(

These alarms work wonderfully, but not when they are ignored. Wingnut and I have spent the morning mopping up the flood, researching fixes for the water heater, fielding calls from Service Magic Pros (love them!) and will be awaiting the arrival of the plumber. Oh, joy!

He's A Star

2011-07-11T07:35:00.004-04:00

My brother's company made Seattle Magazine's Top 100 Small Businesses to Work For in Washington (State), in fact, they were #1! When the magazine made their video promo for the award, they used my brother and his boss in a very cute and funny exchange. My brother appears 40 seconds into the video below and Cashlinq's section of the video wraps up at 1:35, so you don't need to watch the entire 5:18 second promo ;)

P.S. This is the same brother that oft comments here on the blog and has his own little fan club.

3 Bean BBQ Beans

2011-07-08T08:34:00.000-04:00

We made this for the Fourth of July and they were fantastic. This comes from one who does not like beans at all! You'll need the biggest dutch oven you can get, otherwise cut the recipe in half. The beans need to soak over night or you can use a quick soak method before moving on to adding the bacon. These beans need to cook for a very long time to soften and develop in flavor.

The full recipe made so much we had plenty leftover for dinner the next night. I took the leftover spice rubbed and grilled ribs we made and took the meat off the bones, chopped it up, and added it to the remainder of the beans and reheated in the oven. Delicious and hearty!

Maurisa's 3 Bean BBQ Beans

1 pound dried black beans

1 pound dried pinto beans

1 pound dried kidney beans

1/2 pound bacon diced

salt and pepper

1 full recipe of Mau's BBQ sauce

Place all three pounds of beans in large pot or dutch oven. Pick through and discard any stray pebbles. Cover beans with water and leave to soak on the stove overnight. In the morning drain and rinse the beans in a colander. Return to the dutch oven, cover with water, add the bacon, 2 teaspoons of salt and 2 teaspoons of black pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer at least two hours until beans have softened. While simmering prepare the bbq sauce. Once bbq sauce and beans have simmered, add the bbq sauce to the beans. Transfer

pot to a 325 degree oven and bake, stirring occasionally for at least one hour, but up to as much as two hours before serving.

Mau's BBQ Sauce

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 28 oz can tomato sauce

1 6 oz can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 6 oz can tomato paste

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon oregano

Heat all ingredients in a large sauce pan over medium high heat until they just begin to bubble. Reduce to low and let simmer for two hours. Allow to cool slightly and blend until smooth in a blender. Add the entire batch to a full recipe of beans. We use this sauce for pulled pork and as a condiment for all sorts of bbq goodness.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} 7/7/2011

2011-07-07T08:14:00.004-04:00

{Pretty}
The play of light and shadow on Lil' Lamb's face was so pretty for his 5 month photo shoot. I loved how these photos turned out. I have a black and white shot from the same morning in my previous post.

{Happy}

My baby brother and my nephew made the trek to the East Coast to visit this week. We were all so happy to see them and spend time with them. I love my family!

{Funny}

Of course traveling across three time zones can really mess with a boy, so can his aunt :) I enjoyed being able to tease my nephew. He has a wicked sense of humor and was an absolute joy to have around.

{Real}

I need to work on the firework photography :( I forgot to bring my Canon Rebel SLR, for starters. iPhone's may have decent camera's, but they aren't awesome by any means.

Lil' Lamb 5 months

2011-07-05T14:13:00.003-04:00

Isn't he a beauty?

Of course, I couldn't post photos of the little man without at least one funny facial expression.

He is growing so fast and changing everyday. We love seeing his unique personality blossom before our very eyes. He loves people, loves to be talked to, loves to be held facing outward so that he can see everything around him.

He still hates riding in his car seat and that makes traveling very unpleasant for us all. We decided to take my visiting brother and nephew to see the fireworks in downtown DC on the fourth and Lil' Lamb protested very loudly during the last 15 minutes of the van ride home. He was so mad I was unable to calm him down no matter what I tried. I tried rocking him, nursing him, changing him. We walked around outside, lay on the bed in the dark, and turned on the light in the living room. I tried two different pacifiers and gave him several toys, all to no avail. He cried non-stop for 30 minutes and did not settle down until Wingnut took him from me. Once in his daddy's arms the lil' tyrant turned to me and gave me the most wicked glare. Oh yeah, was he ever mad at me for strapping him into that car seat and boy did he ever let me know it. Yes, it should be interesting watching this temperament develop.

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T08:40:00.002-04:00

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

2011-07-01T14:44:00.002-04:00

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. Our parish is named for The Sacred Heart and celebrates with a Eucharistic Procession and a picnic each year in early June. This year our Monsignor led us in prayers for reparation to the Sacred Heart. It is an old and beautiful prayer that brought me to tears as we recited it.

Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart

Most sweet Jesus, whose overflowing charity for men is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence and contempt, behold us prostrate before Thee, eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and injuries to which Thy loving Heart is everywhere subject.

Mindful, alas! that we ourselves have had a share in such great indignities, which we now deplore from the depths of our hearts, we humbly ask Thy pardon and declare our readiness to atone by voluntary expiation, not only for our own personal offenses, but also for the sins of those, who, straying far from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow Thee, their Shepherd and Leader, or, renouncing the promises of their baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of Thy law.

We are now resolved to expiate each and every deplorable outrage committed against Thee; we are now determined to make amends for the manifold offenses against Christian modesty in unbecoming dress and behavior, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare the feet of the innocent, for the frequent violations of Sundays and holydays, and the shocking blasphemies uttered against Thee and Thy Saints. We wish also to make amends for the insults to which Thy Vicar on earth and Thy priests are subjected, for the profanation, by conscious neglect or terrible acts of sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of Thy Divine Love; and lastly for the public crimes of nations who resist the rights and teaching authority of the Church which Thou hast founded.

Would that we were able to wash away such abominations with our blood. We now offer, in reparation for these violations of Thy divine honor, the satisfaction Thou once made to Thy Eternal Father on the Cross and which Thou continuest to renew daily on our Altars; we offer it in union with the acts of atonement of Thy Virgin Mother and all the Saints and of the pious faithful on earth; and we sincerely promise to make recompense, as far as we can with the help of Thy grace, for all neglect of Thy great love and for the sins we and others have committed in the past. Henceforth, we will live a life of unswerving faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the Gospel and especially that of charity. We promise to the best of our power to prevent others from offending Thee and to bring as many as possible to follow Thee.

O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mother, our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowning gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death in our duty and the allegiance we owe to Thee, so that we may all one day come to that happy home, where with the Father and the Holy Spirit Thou livest and reignest, God, forever and ever. Amen.