Advent is upon us..

On Sunday, Daddy surprised us with an Advent log. Whenever I see something cute, intelligent, adorable, sweet, idea-inspiring, heart-warming, delightful, funny, clever, interesting or just plain "good," I leave a window open on the computer to show him. He must have been impressed with Rebecca's, Dawn's and Alice's Advent logs because instead of a wreath, he found a birch (there are several of birch trees in our woods) suitable for an advent log. After a relaxing Sunday afternoon in the crisp wintery air, Julian lit the first candle and we prepared for dinner.

After gathering the log, clippers in hand, my dear husband headed back outside to collect branches to decorate with.
He attached them to the Advent log and with the extras he decorated the top of kitchen desk cabinet. He always has such good ideas.

Last night I returned from a little bit of almost last minute St. Nicholas Day shopping. I was greeted by three boys who were up way past their bedtime. Daddy and the little ones were off in dreamland, yet Julian, Timothy and Maximilian were anxious for me to arrive home. They wanted to show me books that had arrived in the mailbox. One book was "Praise Him with Your Very Life." It is collection of plays from Catholic Heritage Curricula. It is not one of the items on my curriculum list, but I stumbled upon it on eBay and I was surprised to have the winning bid. The boys wanted to assign parts and begin performing right then. At that late hour, I had to tell them that it would need to wait until morning. If I had known that it would have been such a hit, I would have ordered it for Christmas! They convinced me that they were hungry, so I let them polish off the leftover "Cranberry Thanksgiving" bread that we finally got to make after Thanksgiving. At the first offering they were not happy with the dark raisins . The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups light raisins, but I had exactly that amount of organic Thompson raisins in arms reach in a little baggie in our snack tin just-so-handy, therefore, they went in the batter. I guess they were not about to be picky with a midnight snack. Not wanting to encourage this too much, I did not offer more than paper plates (the evening dishes were already washing in the dishwasher) and as much as I really wanted to, no tea either. Julian often joins me for a post bedtime chat after his siblings have nodded off, but Maximilian is rarely a night owl. I enjoyed watching him savor their midnight treat. While they snacked, I looked over our new books and showed them the craft supplies I had purchased to make our very first O Antiphon house.

I give thanks.. for some very special people!

I am grateful to God,
whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,
as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.
2nd Timothy 1:3

Ten more reasons (well, if I can get a handle on my counting skills!) to be thankful. They are all reasons of the human kind. I think I will tell them why I am so grateful.

1. To My husband: My mom once told me that I was so lucky that I have a husband who doesn't get drunk, smoke, gamble and run around. I suppose. (I'm not about to go there.. you can just picture me standing in front of my mom with a perplexed expression on my face.) Mom also tells me that I am sooooooooooo lucky that you put up with me. That causes me to pout and turn on my heel, but let's get real here.. I am lucky. Not lucky, BLESSED! My Dad was a good guy, but I think my Mom has witnessed quite a bit in the workplace, school and social circles that she has seen things that I am just too naive and sheltered to know about (not complaining about that either). That must be what prompts her to say such things.

Dear husband, you do indeed tolerate my idiosynchrosies. You placate me on occasion. Some of my idiosychrosies you embrace and sometimes even adopt them as your own. Like when you wear clear disposable gloves when you are working with raw poultry and then look at me and say "You did this to me!" You even pour the hot teakettle water on the tops of the children's toothbrushes when I request it.. without even rolling your eyes (I know.. I have idiosyncrosies). On days when the house is cluttered upon your arrival home, you get the broom and vacuum and restore order. You help with dinner more days than not. I could go on and on about the practicalities of how you take care of me, but the bottom line is that you love our Lord, you love me, you love our babies and you never cease to show it! I love being your wife, I love you and I am so thankful to God for you!

2. To our first sweet angel, Julian: You are my right-hand-man. You were my poor little homeschooling guinea pig. But you were my eager early learner and you are our trailblazer on this journey. I love how when you get so excited, you think you might burst, so you tickle your temples. It is so cute! I love the way you always give me a big kiss goodnight and tell me you love me. Even though you are my big nine year old, you are not too big for a snuggle with Mom.. I love that, I love being your mom and I love you and I am so thankful to God for you!

3. To our precious Timothy: I love how you always have something in your hand and it has been that way since you were a baby. There is always a favorite toy. (I call you our "stuff" kid.. you like your "stuff," be it the little helicopter candy fans, a matchbox car, or even your favorite pen). You were my only baby to have a special "blankie" and it is still special to you. (Thankfully you are able sleep without it). I love the way you hum when you like when you are eating. I love that you are an independent learner and are willing to try whatever interests you.. such as teaching yourself the recorder when you discovered the book on the music shelf and for teaching the rest of us some sign language signs when you taught yourself with the Sign Language book you found on our language shelf this week. I love being your mom and I love you and I am so thankful to God for you!

4. To our special boy, Maximillian: You learned to read this past week! I am so excited for you. You learned all of your phonetic sounds and put them together last year. Now you can see the sight words and read them without trying to sound them out. I am so thankful to be with you while you travel along this journey!

I can always count on you. For a little guy, you don't seem to let that stop you. When I needed to bring the breadmaker upstairs from the basement, you carried that big thing up all by yourself without my even asking. I love how on some nights you will get out of bed and say with a long face.. "Moooom, I haven't had a "little snuggle" with you in a while." How can I send you back to bed without sitting on the couch and having you snuggle on my lap? I love that, I love being your mom and I love you and I am so thankful to God for you!

5. To our sweet snuggly blondie boy, Pier-Jérôme: You remind me that these days are to be embraced and not muddled through. I love your good manners and how you always ask before doing something.. what a great example you set! I love that you still expect me to pick you up several times each day. You are a big boy, but you will always have a place in my arms! I love being your mom and I love you and I am so thankful to God for you!

6. To our Darling Elaina: You are such a special girl!! I know, I tell you all of the time. You are so NICE. I love how you shower me with kisses. Not just sweet, slobbery two year old kisses, but you insist on giving me a kiss on each cheek, like the little French girl that you are. I love how you say "I'm nice." after depositing a kiss on each of my cheeks. I love how you are cheerful and content.

Like your biggest brother, you show your excitement with your hands. You clench your little fists together and say eeeeeeeeeee! Not so much recently, though because you are finally getting the words to work for you. It is so fun to be in your midst.

You shocked me recently, when your first real sentence was "Daddy can fix it!" You bet he can. Daddy fixes most things around here. Then when we were blessed with some clothing for you grow into and I mentioned to your daddy that you could wear the Bitty Baby outfit when you are five, You exclaimed "I not five, I two!" with your two little fingers up. I guess you know a whole lot more than I give you credit for. I love being your mom and I love you (or as you say "I yuv you!") and I am so thankful to God for you!

6. My friends old and new who support me and never cease to inspire me: I could go on and on. Just know that I give thanks for each and everyone of you. I include my blogging friends here, too. I have been so pleasantly surprised of the kindness I have found online. I love you and I am so thankful to God for you!

7. To my extended family: I love you and I am so thankful to God for you! I know, I cannot get off that easily. I have all of the family who share my genetics.. my adoptive family and I am so grateful for my in-laws. They raised my husband.. so they have to be good folks, right! I love how kind and generous you are. I LOVE that you support how we are raising our children, that you keep our house rules when the children are with you and that you are never critical of us. Again, I say: I love you and I am so thankful to God for you!

8. I give thanks for my "Tummy Mummy" and my adoptive Mommy. My "Tummy Mummy" gave me life and my adoptive Mommy gave me A life. Even though, I don't have memories of my beautiful mom, her traits and ideals live on in her daughters. Just like her, my sister can put together a feast for a crowd with next to nothing in the fridge or cabinets and it is always delicious.

To my mother, Violet: It was so strange to hear the how ten years after you delivered three babies in a row, Dad decided that he wanted another baby and you said "Yes." For years, I thought I was a "Surprise Baby" but that is not the story your sisters and your daughters have told me. Like our Blessed Mother's "Yes", your "Yes" to a baby at a rather inconvenient time has left me grateful beyond words. Without our Blessed Mother's Yes, I would not have a shot at eternal life. Without your yes, I would not have had life at all. I thank God for you. I love you and I pray for your soul.

To my mom (who has spoiled me rotten since August of 1977): I am thankful for all that you do for me. Your generosity is so appreciated. What I am most thankful for, though is that you have come home to join us at the Lord's table. When I became Catholic you would say "don't preach to me" whenever I mentioned matters of faith, but not so much these days. Our children would say, "why doesn't Nana go to mass?" I would tell them that you stopped being Catholic when you married Grampy. Then the children prayed for you every night to go to mass. I never told them to, they just had it on their heart. When Julian was preparing to receive his first Holy Eucharist, you went to confession and came back to church after 50 years! Well, knock me over with a feather.. oh me of little faith.. I was blown away. I would have thought the Pope would marry before you ever went back to church! The children have so much to teach us about faith, don't they? I love you and I am so thankful to God for you!

9. I give thanks for my two Dads. Both are have passed from this world, but while they were here, they both did what they could to "give me the world."

To my birth Father, Kenneth Jerome, or KJ as he called himself: You kept me out of school in Kindergarten and First grade for days at a clip. We would ride T to explore the city of Boston. I can't help but think that you would have given a big thumbs up to homeschooling your grandbabies. Even though my time with you was short, it is still important to me. I am thankful we were able to give you a kiss goodbye before you passed away when I was pregnant with Timothy and that you were able to meet Julian as a baby. I am most thankful to you for asking Mom to have another baby, even when she thought that her childbearing years had passed. I love you and I am so thankful to God for you!

To my Dad who gave me a home and a future: I am thankful for all of the sacrifices you made for me so I could have the opportunities you never had. Your example of generosity and selflessness has impressed me for life. I loved that when I told you I was planning to home educate, you simply said "Don't." Then the very next day, you showed up with bags full of early learning toys and supplies which you had went out and shopped for. The boys loved their Grampy and you are missed. I love you and I am so thankful to God for you!

10. Lastly, I give thanks for the gift of Faith. I give thanks for the Saints who intercede for me. I give thanks for My Guardian Angel, whose efficacious protection has kept me miraculously in one piece through a few decades. I give thanks to Jesus who died for me (and you!). I give thanks for the gentle guidance of the Holy Spirit and I give thanks to God the Father who knit me in my Mother's womb to give me this life.. this life that is turning out different I could never have imagined or dreamed.. and way better!

I have a proofreader!

Lucky Me! My darling husband has offered his services and is finding all of the typos on my blog. He discovered that I cannot count! On the 10 reasons I am thankful this week post, I counted #4 twice. (Do I deserve to be homeschooling if I cannot even count to ten?). I am so impressed with the charity of the blog readers that no one called me on this... or is it just that we are all so tired that we don't even notice!

Homemade Gifts

Dawn is hosting a Loveliness of Homemade Gifts fair at her blog, By Sun and Candlelight.



As you can see from my lack of crafty posts, I am not a crafty person. Well, it doesn't come naturally, I should say. That is not to say that I am not appreciative of a good craft and our children LOVE to create and they LOVE to give!!



Last year I made Holiday Biscotti for our gift tins. It was delicious! Dipped in white chocolate, how could it not be! I plan to make them again. If you wish to see Giada make them, they will be airing her holiday cookies show on these dates next month:

	December 10, 2006 12:00 PM ET/PT
	December 11, 2006 4:30 PM ET/PT
	December 16, 2006 7:30 AM ET/PT
	December 18, 2006 1:30 PM ET/PT

I set the Biscotti in tins and added Florentines and homemade Peanut Butter Cups. Of course the recipients were gracious, yet neither my husband nor myself were exceptionally impressed with anything but the Biscotti, so those are only treats on the gift plans again for this year. FoodNetwork offers a 12 Days of cookies newsletter. The sign up page also shows the past two year's cookies and recipes.

I have made pressed cookies with my Pampered Chef cookie press. The children have fun pressing them and there are lots to share with friends. I always bake on a baking stone.. I consider it "insurance" for quality results!



In preparation for gifts this year, This Holiday Treats Kit is on the way.





A few Christmastime's ago, my mom and I were reminiscing about the clear lollipops that Nana from Rhode Island would bring for Christmas. We found these lollipop molds in the Williams Sonoma catalog and ordered the flavoring oils to go with them to make "Nana's" lollipops. I'm sad to admit that they have resided in my cookie cutter bin since I received them. I hope this is the year that I have the inclination to follow through and make them. I know at least five children who could easily nominate lollipops to have their own food group! Perhaps they will be perfect for the Feast of St. Nicholas on December 6.


When I make them, Daddy will likely have to help me as usually does when I begin a project. The molds are manufactured by Nordicware, however, I am led to believe that they are no longer stocked at Williams Sonoma, but you can find them at LorAnn Oils. This is the only similar picture I could find to show them. Ours will be solid with lemon, lime, orange, cherry, cinnamon and anise flavorings.




Ever since we made sacrifice beads, our boys have enjoyed making crafts with beads. We recently made some bracelets and necklaces for our parish Christmas fair. These are fun for them to give to friends, not to mention the collection they have begun for their little sister! We added Miraculous medals to some of them. For the strings to hold the beads we used narrow ribbon for many of them. However, a frugal find I found in our daughter's shoe bin (I recently found a couple of pairs of casual sneakers at Target on really good clearance in bigger sizes for her to grow into) were the white elastics that keep the shoes together in a pair and re-purposed them for stretchy bead necklaces and bracelets.

My final idea for homemade gifts is framed photos. I have made the children's portait appointment for later this month. (This is last year's portrait)

There are several ideas I have for these photos. We could make frames, but since I am not very crafty, and since I am sometimes an on-sale-shopper-ahead-er, there is a collection of picture frames in a bin upstairs, all found on sale at retailers such as Michaels, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Homegoods and Target waiting to be filled. Perhaps we can embellish some of the simpler frames with decorations. I am finally getting comfortable with our hot glue gun, but if I start the project when Daddy is home, I know I will get some help. (There is a method to my madness!)






I also found surprisingly cute small photo calendars at Biglots for only $1. I also found these adorable petite photo calendars at our parish Christmas fair yesterday!







We will be selecting photos from the past year to give to relatives. This is a project that I can handle. In the past, I have purchased different sorts of photo holders. Not completely homemade, but I consider taking the photos, selecting just the right one and cropping them to fit the opening to be semi-homemade. Last year Memere and Pepere received a Spinning Remote Control Holder and Frame from us. It was from Bed, Bath and Beyond and I used the 20% off coupon which they mail to us each month. (Just ask to get on the mailing list or sign up online). The Target portrait studio also offers inexpensive key chains to place a wallet size photo.

I look forward to seeing the ideas from other bloggers. I could always use homemade gift ideas!

Thankful Thursday!

Lisa at Joyful Chaos is hosting a gratitude carnival. She is accepting late entries.

Reading all of the entries reminds me of so many other things I have to be grateful for. With all of this inspiration, it should not be difficult at all to list 10 more things next Thursday!

10 reasons I am thankful this week

1. I have a shiny clean soul! I went to confession today. God is so good. I anxiously anticipate receiving Jesus in the Eucharist tomorrow. I am so thankful for our Catholic Faith. Yes, God is SO GOOD!!

2. We won! We won! When I arrived home, the telephone rang and on the other end was a nice lady who informed me that our name was drawn. Someone who loves us entered our name into their parish Christmas Fair raffle. We won.. a bicycle! A Trek 7000 bicycle!! My husband's high school graduation gift was a Trek bicycle. He worked as a bicycle repairman in a posh bicycle shop when we were young. Using his generous shop discount, he purchased a hybrid Trek bicycle for me as well as a Trek roadbicycle and Trek Stumpjumper bicycle for himself. They are a bit older now, but they still work great!
Of all of the raffle prizes, it is just so cool that our name would be chosen for the bicycle! He proposed to me on a bicycle ride. We plan to save this bicycle for our eldest son to grow into. He received his current size bicycle for his birthday this summer. His little brothers were all excited to move up to the next size bicycle.


3. I was reminded of how blessed I am to be homeschooling my children today. I was chatting with a mom in my town whose children transferred to a different school this year. We live in a school district that often receives awards for being one of the best in the state.

My mom has asked me in the past why I do not send our children to the local award winning school? I answer because that is not why I am homeschooling. As the good folks at Catholic Heritage Curricula remind us "Homeschooling is a gift." I know in my heart, that it is a Calling. I heard it in my heart seven years ago. This call is deeply echoed on days like today.

This mom poured her heart to me that her son learned things in second grade that he never should have learned. About adult things.. on the playground. His new school is much better fit and he is allowed to authentically be a third grader this year. She is thankful. However, both of our hearts ache for the children who are still being forced to grow up way sooner than they should. I give thanks -- thanks for our protection and for our innocent little souls who are allowed to remain innocent in our care.


4. A fellow parishioner is the music teacher at the elementary school I mentioned above. She invited me to bring Julian and Timothy to class one day each week. I kept dragging my heels about bringing them. She is a really terrific mom and teacher, but I could not put my finger on why I did not want to drop them off at school for an hour each week. Number 3 is my answer. But all is not lost. We are so blessed because we now have another opportunity. A fellow Catholic homeschool mom has offered to teach music and our children will be attending ALL TOGETHER. This mom taught in a school and now she will be teaching children in our homeschooling group along with her own sweet treasures. Lessons begin this week!


4. I found our read aloud book. I assumed one of the children had misplaced it. It was me. I packed it in the go-bag to read on a carride when Daddy was driving and I planned to read, but never got to it. St. Anthony's intercession came through for me once again. I apologized to the boys for thinking that they were responsible. Humble pie.. not so sweet, but certainly good soul food.


5. Katie came to visit and played scrabble with the children and me. I do so enjoy a good game of scrabble! We nibbled on rustic bread with garlic spread or blue cheese spread and sipped Herbal Iced Tea.
Katie is "my little girl." When I was 18, my mom told me her accountant's daughter had moved back to the area and had two little girls, ages 4 and 6, who needed a babysitter. I took the job and I watched the girls during the day for two summers. Katie's sister, (whom our children call Auntie O,) is Julian's Godmother. Anyhow, when I moved away to Maryland, these girls would write to me and we would go on field trips when I came home for holidays and vacations. Sometimes Katie and O surprise us on a Sunday morning and join us for Holy Mass. Sometimes one or both of them surprise us with a visit. We enjoyed our visit with "my little girl" this week, even though she is going to be 24 this month. (Good grief do I feel old or what!)


6. I was feeling a bit melancholy on Halloween. My husband was so charitable and kind to me. He encouraged me to stay in while he brought our children to his parents home so they could admire the costumes and give them, yet more candy. (They already went trick-or-treating at our local outlet mall last week, making Tuesday a bonus, in my little (and very unpopular) opinion.

7. Our family has experienced great sorrow recently. There have been so many gifts of grace to accompany our suffering. I found great comfort from kind words and actions of loved ones, friends and those we have never met personally, but gave us their beautiful words and especially their prayers. We felt lifted up.


8. Our children were all well-behaved at Holy Mass last Sunday. Sometimes the younger ones find it a bit of a challenge to face Jesus, have eyes on the speaker, fold their hands, close their eyes and pray, follow the words in the hymnal and sing. They did great and we had a peaceful nag-free mass. It was a gift! Please, Guardian Angels, assist these little ones to embrace their faith and be as thankful for Holy Mass as we are.


9. At this moment, we are all healthy! I ate some halloween candy this week and felt absolutely headachy and downright toxic. It felt like my limbs were filled with poison. After a bit of detox tea, lots of water, fruit, salad and veggies for a day, my body was good as new. Reaction to unhealthy food indicates that my body recognizes health. My suffering was worth it!

Even after more candy than I would rightfully allow, our children seem no worse for the wear... but I fear the younger boys are coming down with something. Oranges will be served with breakfast tomorrow. I think I will pack up the rest of the candy to bring to our parish food pantry at mass in the morning.


10. I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back and food in my tummy. If you have those three things, join me in Giving Thanks to God.


What else are you thankful for?

ten random facts about me

I consider myself tagged by the Minnesota Mom in her nice comment on my Tomie post.

1. I have 3 older sisters who all occupied the same womb as me, but each more than 10 years before me. Since our mother passed away at age 38 from a stroke and Dad became ill, I was adopted by a whole new family at age 9. I have a brother who is 11 months and 19 days older than me. Coincidentally, my adoptive parents were older and were the same ages as my genetic parents. All of my siblings came to our wedding. I feel like I have been blessed with two families. I do not let anyone call my birth family my "real" family. They are all very "real" to me.

2. I am exactly 19 hours older than my husband. He was born (2 weeks over due) during the super bowl on the east coast. I was born the previous evening in California, but I was quite tiny 5lbs 2oz. So I sometimes tease him that since his conception had to have occurred before mine, he is technically older.

3. I won our Junior High spelling bee in 8th grade. That's my 15 minutes of fame. I won when the runner up misspelled Beachcomber. I still think he let me win. What a gentleman. At the State Bee, I lost on the word, antiquate. I have probably found a way to use that word in a sentence at least once a week since then.

4. I saw Andy Warhol walking down Madison Avenue when I went to New York City, 20 years ago this very day. He was wearing a polaroid instant camera around his neck. I said to my friend "Wow, that person looks just like Andy Warhol!" She replied: "That's because it is Andy Warhol."

5. My favorite ice cream flavor is peppermint stick.

6. My husband says that I don't deserve to drink coffee because I like a little coffee with my milk and sugar. He never complains, though, when I share a white chocolate mocha with him. hmmmm...

7. I can sleep through a war. I even grind my teeth when I sleep. If our children wake in the night, my husband hears them first. The only exception is when I had nursing infants.. if they wanted to nurse in the night, I guess I did it automatically. In the morning, I had no idea how many times or for how long the baby nursed, but often my husband would tell me!

8. I have only been to Canada and Mexico, but have never left this continent.. well unless a Jamaican honeymoon counts? I long to visit Italy, England and France... someday, God willing.

9. My favorite fragrance is Angel by Thierry Mugler. I love the way my babies smell when I wear it.

10. I cannot drive a standard transmission. Only an automatic. I tried, but was too frustrated with the stalling.

Tagging:
Anyone on my blogroll who has not posted their ten random facts.

Tomie!

Our family enjoys Tomie de Paola's beautiful books. The illustrations are so endearing. We sometimes listen to Tomie's own recording of 26 Fairmont Avenue and Here We All Are when we ride in the car and we each take away a little something. Inspired to create, our children say "Mom, can we paint when we get home?" "We'll see." I reply. As I listen to the audio, I cannot help but think... I hope that when our children are grown, their memories of me are that I always knew what was best for them. Tomie certainly conveys that his mom knew exactly what was best for him. As a young child, she recognized his gifts and fostered them. She also held him accountable for his actions, like when she had him apologize to his cast mate when he "stole the show" in their production of Peter Rabbit.

Even though Tomie de Paola lives in our little state, we had never seen him before. When I noticed that he was kicking off a new book tour by signing books at a not too far away bookstore, I marked it on the calendar.

Each of our children presented Tomie with their favorite book for him to sign. He graciously spelled each of our children's names. At the bookstore we were able to find the couple of books that we did not yet have for the Real Learning Advent Unit Study booklist. Doing some of the activities together after reading the stories has been a very special part of our Christmas preparations for the past few years. {Thank you, dear Elizabeth!}

Check Tomie's calendar, perhaps he is coming to a bookstore near you!

Here we go.. into the Big Woods

Don't throw tomatoes, but I never read any of the Little House books as a child. Why would I? It was on tv, why bother..? Before you let out your gasp, I can assure you that the grown up me has done a 180*.

Now, that would be the precise reason we have not watched Narnia.. we haven't read the books together yet. Daddy even played by my little rule and read all of the Tolkien books before he watched the movies.

I sort of put off the Little House books, thinking that they might be too girly for our four boys, yet on the second chapter of our journey into the Big Woods this morning, Maximilian dispelled that concern by exclaiming "Mom, I know why I like listening to this story so much, they keep mentioning meat!"

Don't bother this child with pasta or rice, where's the beef?

renaming my blog

I am a blog reader. It is part of my internet "routine." The routine.. homepage: Catholic Exchange, Real Learning Forums, Bloglines - if you are on the blogroll, you are on my bloglines. I read all of your posts. Then I check my gmail accounts, sometimes eBay & cathswap if I am on the lookout for something I do not wish to go out and buy. Often the blogs give terrific links to other websites and next thing I know, I have ten windows open.

I wish I was more of a blogger, yet by the time I am done reading everything during my "routine," I am blogged out. Sometimes I think I have nothing to say, nothing to add to anything that has been said.

Then, I get "blog-guilt." I started a blog, I should, maybe, post.. something. Guilt can be a good thing for me. Blog guilt, though, in the big picture, is not so good. I am pretty much covered in the guilt dept. ...not sending out snail mail keep in touch notes with older dear relatives, not tackling a hotspot, not getting the pictures into albums since the last millenium, not getting to confession as often as I should.. yeah, I have enough...

My former blogname, Kristina's World, sounds a bit ego-centric, anyway. Humility is encouraged around here. Two other reasons.. one: it reminded me of "Elmo's World." la, la, la, la...two: a while back, I googled the name and a few "inappropriate" sites came up in the mix. I just googled "yesterthoughts" and apparently it is the name of a Glenn Miller recording. That's okay. We like Glenn Miller here, but I could not tell you the name of the cd we have of his, but I am certain it is not "yesterthoughts." Nonetheless, I tip my hat to his "blog-guilt-relieving" title!

Is your room clean?

Me: Timothy, is your room clean? You told me that you were cleaning it, right?


Timothy: What I am saying is that you can walk through it without stepping on anything.


I suppose for four boys sharing a room, that is somewhat of an accomplishment. I would snap a picture and post it, but frankly, I am scared to go in there right now.

right now

I have not spent anytime blogging lately. I'll just jump in where we are.


The Jack Johnson Curious George cd that we borrowed from the library is playing on the cd player.


Timothy is standing on his head on the couch (this boy NEEDS gymnastics lessons) requesting (well, really demanding) that I give him another math question.
Exasperated (because he must have answered at least 25 questions so far), I decide to give our 7 year old a division problem. If we had 12 candies and our four boys each get three, how many will each of you get? 4. Okay, he gets it. So I try it without a word problem.
44 divided by 4? 11.
Another one, Mom.
Me: "Please sit like a gentleman."
60 divided by 3? 20.

Julian just showed me his important shopping list which he has written in the free student planner that came with the 75% off notepad folio from Target:

1. gum
   
2. Halloween Costume
   
3. Trick or Treat Bag.
   

Important items, indeed. (while I think to myself: do we have to go trick or treating at the local outlet mall again this year? At least it is safe.. sigh.) I don't know if that is necessary to purchase a costume and certainly not a trick or treat bag. Perhaps I can convince him that he has other options to spare his piggy bank. He could use his bucket from last year. He could utilize the complimentary 'sponsored' bag from the outlet mall. Or best yet, he could make one himself.
Halloween is still over a month away, but our shopping errand today left our boys feeling that they better begin planning or they will miss it. Remind me again why I don't bring five children shopping with me on a regular basis!

36 divided by 6? 6. Another one, mom.

Pier-Jérôme is building duplo towers on the living room floor.

24 divided by 6? 4. That's it. Going forward,
Timothy will be doing all of his lessons while standing on his head. When he is sitting at the table doing lessons, he is not usually so eager..

Maximilian has followed Daddy who is tinkering in the basement woodshop. Where else would I expect him to be? If Daddy has a tool in his hand, Maximilian is sure to be watching and learning.

It's past time to go snuggle with a story and bedtime for the younger ones. Daddy met us at the bigger library in the city where he works so we could get a library card there. While I was looking for an audiobook for me, the rest of the family selected books to borrow. I cannot wait to see which ones.

I hope that I can find more time to maintain my blog. Until then, God bless you and your dear ones.

Six Today!!

Six years ago today I was in set into labor with our sweet Maximilian. At two weeks overdue, he was just so content to stay nestled inside. He was my first baby to be delivered without an epidural. He was such a joyful baby and he is still a delight to our family!





When his little sister arrived, he was immediately her most fierce protector.







Taking care of sister is one of the things he does best.








Here he is with his close buddy, Pier-Jérôme.

Happy Birthday, my sweet angel boy! We love you!!

caught!

Here is the mug shot..

The oven is preheating for banana muffins for teatime. As I am preparing to gather ingredients, I realize that I forgot to eat. The children had cereal, fruit and bagels since they have woke today, while I was.. well, busy multi-tasking. I spy some really yummy artisan bread from the co-op. I think "well, that would be perfect with Nutella." I spread the nutella and before I put it away, sweet Elaina absconded with the jar. I discover her hiding under the kitchen table looking quite guilty with Nutella all over her face. By the time I had gathered the camera, she was out. But I "caught" her anyway.













On my way to clean up our little Nutella bandit!

Homeschool Meme

"Thoughtful" Cheryl has tagged me. I copied and pasted the meme from her blog with the intentions of deleting her responses and replacing with my own. But I am having a challenging time "keeping my eyes on my own work" because I concur with most of her responses..

1) ONE HOMESCHOOLING BOOK YOU HAVE ENJOYED

Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss. Everyone has listed this wonderful book. I cannot disagree. I have read it several times. I have recommended it to friends who have gone on to purchase it for their own collection of mom-spiration. I have loaned it out a few times to mom's who were just beginning their home education journey and they were encouraged and inspired by it.

I also enjoyed Catholic Education, Homeward Bound. This book is quite shelf-worn because I looked through it often. As soon as I discovered that home education was on my heart, I ordered this book through a favorite Catholic bookstore.

2) ONE RESOURCE YOU COULDN'T BE WITHOUT.. (okay, three resources)

besides the internet.. Faith. Home education comes naturally, but not necessarily easily most days. Oh and probably of equal importance, my husband. He is a wonderful teacher to our children. He comes equipped with patience, energy when I am zapped, a love of nature, excellent support for me and a true desire to see our children all the way into the Kingdom of Heaven.

3) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BOUGHT

If there is one, it is not on my shelf. I resold them on eBay or cathswap!

4) ONE RESOURCE YOU ENJOYED LAST YEAR

Math-u-see. This was so good for all of us. Using the dvd's and proceeding with the math problems sent our little guys on their way. They learned independently, but I was right there to help with each lesson. Yet, the mom-intensity factor was not very high which freed me up to prepare other lessons. God Bless Steve Demme!

5) ONE RESOURCE YOU WILL BE USING NEXT YEAR

Catholic Mosaic by Cay Gibson

I am so excited for this one. It was my one big homeschooling "splurge" for the year, but it is worth every penny. We have a few of the mosaic books already, and the ones we do not have, I hope to inter-library loan or invest in.

6) ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY

Institute for Excellence in Writing

7) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH EXISTED

Catholic History cds

8) ONE HOMESCHOOLING CATALOGUE YOU ENJOY READING

Catholic Heritage Curricula

9) ONE HOMESCHOOLING WEBSITE YOU USE REGULARLY

Real Learning Messageboards

10) TAG FIVE OTHER HOMESCHOOLERS

Mountain Top Farms
Parente Adventures
Three Plus Two
The Good Within
Organic Learning

Up the trail

On Saturday, Julian had a visit with his grandparents. The rest of us went on a little walk. Just a stroll up the trail behind our home. Instead of continuing up the straight path, we turned to the left, just to explore somewhere new. We discovered a special treat growing there. When Julian arrived home after going to Holy Mass at his grandparents parish, then dinner and a sleepover and a morning visit to GrandMemere's. His brothers and sister whisked him off to a little trek up the path.
They could not wait to show him all of the BLACKBERRIES. As As we approached the first brambles we began to sing.. One Berry, Two Berry, Pick Me a Blueberry.. (from a favorite book, Jamberry by Bruce Degan)...Clickety Clackberry Pick Me a Blackberry! (I am so glad our children are too young to tease me for this sort of thing).

After foraging for berries, while leaving most behind to give them a chance to fully ripen, we were off to continue exploring the trail. It had been two years since we were on this particular part of the woods surrounding the little lake which is across from our home. In spring and fall, the ground is rather wet and much of the trail is impassable.

Since, we have been blessed with a bit of dry weather, we only had a tiny bit of "muckymuck" (as referred to by Pier-Jérôme) to navigate around.

Further on, we discovered a tranquil stream and I maneuvered my way around the trees with Elaina in the backpack, until we arrived at the basin that deviated from the path. When we caught up with Daddy, Elaina was transferred to his back as I did not want to push my luck. I couldn't believe I remained vertical while winding around the trees bordering the stream below.. nevermind while wearing a two year old.

And, yes the bridge without hand rails did give me anxiety. Just thankful no one fell in.

We have lived in our home for a little over three years
and had no idea what was right in our backyard.

Fall Foliage already?? Autumn is spectacular in these parts, however, we are still soaking up every moment of summer, thank you. It just flies by, doesn't it?

And finally after our hike which circled our little lake, we were on our path home. Timothy helped out with the backpack, making a sprint for home while Maximilian led Elaina for the rest of the way.
Sleep was restful for all that evening.