Love this Product: Crayola Color Explosion Markers!

Had to quickly share a product that I am just loving! It is the Crayola Color Explosion Marker Set. We picked up a multi-pack that had several markers, a Color Explosion Rainbow book, and a Color Explosion Neon book.

These are just TOO cool! I thought that they wouldn't be as neat as they appear to be in the commercials -- but they are even better! Even Noah, who normally will not seek out to draw a picture (though he does say that he might want to be an artist when he grows up), was eager to try out his own pictures when he saw Jack drawing one.

I would definitely recommend these! (Oh, and if you haven't tried the Crayola Color Wonder set of stuff, you should pick those up while you're at the store too!) These would be a great addition to an Easter basket!

That to us, awfully blessed

Ever since I was a little girl, we have prayed a certain prayer before dinner -- "Come Lord Jesus, Be Our Guest. That to us, our food be blessed. Amen." It appears to me, that this is a variation on another prayer: Come Lord Jesus, be our guest,and let these gifts to us be blessed. Perhaps that was what it was supposed to be, but that was never how we said it. And, then about 14 years ago, after my paternal grandfather passed away, my dad then began adding the prayer he always said at meal times to the end. (We would all say the first part together and then Dad would say the last part alone.)

A few years ago -- around when Noah was three or four, he began saying the entire dinner prayer by himself. And, though we corrected him many times and tried to help him, his version always went, "Come Lord Jesus, Be our guest. That to us, awfully blessed. Amen."

And, then it got to the point when I realized that every time he said "awfully blessed," it made me smile. It reminded me -- YES! We are awfully blessed. After that point, I didn't really ever try to correct him again. I decided to just embrace that we need to count our blessings. We need to appreciate them and thank God for His grace and mercy. We need to take time to realize that we are, indeed, awfully blessed.

What have you done?

Found this fun list at A Wandering Heart's Musings, and thought it would be fun to add here:

Things I've done are in boldtype.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars (In a tent – does that count?)
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe (well -- not really. But, I did *wear* a backpack while in Europe. LOL)
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs (they didn't stay that way)
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage (in elementary school!)
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music (we were recorded in band in middle school/high school -- LOL)
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children/currently raising child
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication (well -- I didn't write an article, but I have had photographs published in a 5000+ circulation local magazine)
106. Lost 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours (when I had the flu!)
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school (I was out for a few years between my bachelors and masters)
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach (with my foot when we briefly lived [for 4 days] in what I now deem "The Roach House")
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read (This is on my "to do" list, so I am bolding it to remind me to do it! LOL)
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions (skipped my 10 year that was two years ago)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair (okay, not on the street -- but I have had a craft fair booth!)
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Edited to add: Eric said when he saw #105 -- "Well, you know, you did write half of a chapter for a text book." Oh...yeah...I forgot about that. LOL

5 Minutes for Mom Giving Away Dyson Vacuum

Just a quick heads up -- Dyson has donated a vacuum to 5 Minutes for Mom to give away to one person who signs their Mr. Linky at the address shown for them! Good luck! (Although, you do understand that if someone wins because they went through my site that they will be required to come vacuum my carpet, right?)

It's a New Me!!! (New theme, new blog name!)

I'm so excited! After messing around and getting overly frustrated, I finally redid my blog! So, rest assured -- you *are* really at the blog formerly known as "Random Reflections from Angie," but it's new and improved!

And...to go along with my new look, my blog has a new name. So...welcome to my blog -- Many Little Blessings. This is to represent having "many" (kind of) children. And, it is also to acknowledge that our lives have been full of many blessings.

(Oh -- and you'll have to just forgive me that I am jumping the gun a bit on the "Catholic" thing. According to the ticker on my computer, I will not actually be Catholic for eight more days. But, darn it -- I don't want to change the header again so soon! And, I figure -- we go to church twice a week, I am not eating meat on Fridays during Lent, and I've been preparing for my first confession -- I think God will forgive me being a little overly excited and putting it up a little early.)

Be sure and leave a comment to let me know what you think of the new design! I created the new header, and then went with a blogger template that I thought complimented it better.

Trying to come up with a snappier blog title

So...if you should happen to come to this link one day and it is named something else -- never fear -- you're still here. ;) I've been trying to work through some ideas for a new blog title. Heck -- I actually was trying to work on a new blog design, but I fear that I am not being so successful in that. Apparently I'm a little challenged when it comes to the coding. ;)

blogs of interest

If you are ever sitting around at your computer with nothing to read, feel free to go to the right side of my blog and scroll down. I went to town on my "blogs of interest" section! LOL I added a bunch of blogs that have been sitting as bookmarks in my Internet Explorer.

So...happy reading! :)

Hearts at Home Conference

I had on my "to write" list -- "Hearts at Home Conference." I, of course, really should have written about this right after I got back from the conference so that it was more fresh in my memory. You'd think a 30 year old could hold things in their minds longer than two weeks, but with three kids around, it is sometimes a marvel when I hold on to things in my mind for more than two minutes. ("Yes -- I know I said I would get you juice, Jack, but I started the laundry and I forgot -- I'm sorry." [10 minutes later] "Sorry Jack! I went to the kitchen for your juice, and then the dishwasher caught my attention." Yes, you know the routine.)

Anyway -- so on March 17th, I drove to Bloomington-Normal, Illinois to attend the Hearts at Home national conference. Hearts at Home is an organization that promotes the profession of motherhood. (And, of course, if they were a Catholic organization, I suppose they would probably say that they promote the vocation of motherhood.)

Anyhoo -- I went with the one day option with the "quick lunch pick up" instead of a leisurely lunch. The quick pick up allows for you to sign up for four workshops instead of three. And, since I drove there just especially for the event, I was going to get my money's worth!

Our first keynote speaker was Jill Savage -- founder of Hearts at Home. I had heard her speak on "Is There Really Sex After Kids?" at my MOPS group, and so I looked forward to hearing her again. She did not disappoint! Her keynote talk was funny and insightful, and left me with tears as she encouraged us to gaze into the eyes of our children (we had been instructed to bring photographs -- though I brought my video iPod) and think of how much they mean to us, and how important we are to them.

Then, I went to four workshops -- Living a Life that Says Welcome, Your Closet: Friend or Foe, The Balancing Act, and Redefining Romance.

The first workshop was presented by Karen Ehman, and gave lots of great ideas to be more welcoming to guests. She also gave great cooking and cleaning ideas, as well as decorating ideas. Thanks to this talk -- I decided that I believe I will be painting my downstairs bathroom in yellow sometime soon.

Your Closet: Friend or Foe gave me some great wardrobe ideas. I tried to figure out what my "colors" might be -- maybe I'm an Autumn, I think. I loved hearing about paring things down to a more basic, but useable wardrobe. This also inspired me to clear out my closet and drawers of some unflattering items, as well as things I never wear. I actually just took the stuff to Goodwill yesterday.

The only workshop of the day that I did not enjoy was "The Balancing Act." It was written up to be about time management and such. Instead, I believe it would have been more accurately named "Finding God in the Difficult Times." While a vital practice -- it wasn't the workshop that I signed up for.

Redefining Romance was one I was unsure of. Jill Savage was the speaker, and I was afraid it might be too much like the talk she gave to my MOPS group. But, I was very pleasantly surprised, and was so glad to have picked that session! She gave so many great ideas for fostering your marriage.

The second keynote speaker (for the afternoon session) was Lisa Whelchel. You know -- Blair from the Facts of Life. She was so enjoyable to listen to, though she seemed to wander from topic to topic. I was disappointed that I hadn't signed up for any of her workshops. Unfortunately, with 20 minutes left, I started weighing my options. Listen to the end of her talk or miss it, but be able to quickly go to the bathroom without waiting in line and then drive right out of the parking lot with no waiting. Finally, I decided to go with less stress, and I cut out just a little early. (Hey -- I figured when almost 4,000 women left the auditorium, I would be waiting in line for the bathroom for sure!)

Overall -- it was a great day! And, I think I will go again next year. I urge all of you to check out their site and consider a trip to the conference next year!

The Prodigal Fish

Ummm...I have to admit, I don't know what to make of this. But, did feel the need to post after posting about my missing fish yesterday.

Eric and I were walking by the fish tank and all of the sudden, there swims one of the molly fish out of that coral reef thingee I mentioned in the last post. He just sauntered out like he hadn't been missing for days on end.

So, the prodigal fish returns. Well...at least one of them did. Huh...

Tasty Tuesday

I have decided that (at least for now) -- Tuesdays will be "Tasty Tuesday!" I will share a recipe or some other little tasty idea.

Now, mind you, I'm not a master chef. I'm not even sure I'm all that passable of a cook. But -- I do know one thing, I have accumulated a lot of recipes. Any recipe I will share will be one I have tried and liked.

This first week will be for Chicken and Broccoli. When I write it on my menu plan, it is usually written as "Asian-style Chicken & Broccoli." This is a tasty and quick recipe. We sometimes pair it with cream cheese wontons or egg rolls from the freezer case at the grocery store. And, I suppose if you were wanting a dessert for the kids, fortune cookies (can be purchased by the box) would be fun.

(Oh -- I must add that I got this recipe from my sister Lorin!)

Chicken & Broccoli

Ingredients:
Chicken breast (boneless/skinless)
Broccoli florets
3 garlic cloves - minced
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp. grated ginger (optional)
a little olive oil


Directions:
Cut chicken into pieces (strips or chunks). Put a little olive oil and water in the pan, heat and cook the chicken until no longer pink on medium high, stirring frequently. Drain if needed.

Mix brown sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and ginger and whisk.

Add sauce and broccoli florets and lower temp to medium and cover.

Stir occasionally.

Reward Offered for Return of Missing Fish

Okay, perhaps I will not be offering a reward. But, Eric pointed out a disturbing fact to me this evening when I returned from an overnight trip.

He said, "I'm really not looking forward to cleaning that fish tank."

I thought perhaps it had to do with whatever growth was currently going on in the tank, but I asked anyway. "Why is that?"

"It's been days since the last time I have seen those Molly fish."

Huh. That's not good...not good at all. Alas, it would seem that two of our fish have simply disappeared. Somewhere in our "giant" 10 gallon tank -- they are there (I think!). Where they are, I am simply not sure.

We have a large rock structure that is supposed to look like a coral reef, and the fish are sometimes able to hide somewhere in there that makes them totally undetectable to us. They have hidden there before. But, sadly, I don't think they have ever gone for days without being seen.

I have a strong suspicion that I will have a desperate need for something from the grocery store (and will desperately need to take the kids along) when Eric cleans that tank again. Blech!

Do you know what this sign means?

Here is another little Jack-ism. (Or, perhaps it is Jackanese. LOL)

A couple of weeks ago, he showed me how to say "I love you" in sign language. I'm sure you are familiar with the sign -- it is one hand with the pinkie, pointer finger, and thumb all up, with the middle two fingers folded down.

Jack has spent the time since then occasionally gracing us with the "I love you" sign. It always must be acknowledged and returned.

Then, a few days ago, Jack showed it to me and said, "Do you know what this means?" And, without giving me time to answer, he quickly shot out, "It means I love you!" He then continued. He did the same sign, but put it far above his head. "Do you know what this means?"

"What?" I asked suspicously.

"It means, 'I'm a rockstar!'" he said with a slight headbang.

That Jack -- it's never a dull moment with him around.

Being tricked into being a good person

Wow -- here I am again...at last! Life seems to have taken over lately, and I can't believe that I have been away from my blog (and reading the blogs of others) for so long. I'm hoping that this blip in being here will be a one time thing.

So...let me just jump right back in.

I went to this great conference this weekend. It was a one day conference (though perhaps next year, if I go again, I will go for two days). It is run through an organization called Hearts at Home, and it was really great. I will write more about this later, I suspect, as it is on my blog to-do list.

While I was at the conference, I went to a booth from the company Classy Creations. They had great jewelry, and I picked up two different pendants. My favorite was the JOY pendant. It is an acronym for remembering what our priorities should be: Jesus, then Others, then Yourself. I really liked not only the design, but the message.

On Sunday, I wore my new necklace. Jack loved it. He then asked me about it, and I explained that we should put God and Jesus first. Then, it is important for us to do things for other people. And, I told him, last we should worry about ourselves. Jack started to hypothesize about the different things that we could do for others.

He said, "It is good to be kind to others." I agreed and told him that was very good.

He then went on to say, "Should we play with other people to make them happy?"

"Yeah, Jack, that's a very nice thing to do." I said this as I busied myself with the various things on my to-do list.

"Mom..." Jack slowly began.

"Yes, honey?" With, just possibly, some slight annoyance in my voice, since he had been talking to be non-stop for quite a while.

"Do you think that you could play MarioKart with me?" He gently asked.

My heart couldn't help but soften. While I was trying to teach him to put others first, I had been putting my "to do" list before his needs. He had already asked me a few times before that to play, but I had put him off. My busy afternoon suddenly came to a halt, and while my heart softened, so did my face, I suspect.

"That would be nice, wouldn't it, Jack?" I said as I smiled at him.

It was as if I could see his heart leap for joy as I saw his five year old frame jump into the air. He quickly ran to the GameCube and switched out the controller he wanted to the second player, wanting to let me be the first player, since he says that I drive better than him in that game. He told me we would make a good team.

It's funny -- all that time that he kept asking me to play, he was probably thinking that he needed me to help him. Who knew that it was really me that needed him to help me.

Well...that was a little more than just surreal...

It has been cold here. Very cold. It was cold even before the blizzard, but then the blizzard that we had on February 13th just seemed to add to that. As a matter of fact -- we *still* have snow on the ground from that blizzard. (Not everywhere, mind you, but I still have snow in many areas of my front and back yards.)

And, ever since that blizzard, the weather man keeps tell us that there is a warm up in the 10 day forecast with temperatures near 50 degrees. Yes...that has been said in the 10 day forecast about every time since then, it seems. And, invariably, by the time that date rolls around, they end up telling us to expect a high of 37 instead. So, by this point, I thought we'd be making snowmen in July. They said it would get warm today, but when I bundled up Noah in his winter coat, gloves, and hat for the school bus, I still didn't really believe it.

But, lo and behold, the current temperature is 57 degrees! For anyone living in the Midwest, you may say, "Yeah -- that happens all the time." And, yes, it does. That is one of my favorite parts about winter -- those almost 60 degree days that just magically pop up to give us hope that Spring really will return again someday.

Okay, here's the surreal part (for me, anyway) -- what did I do during this gorgeous weather while the boys were at school and Molly was napping. I opened up all the windows and let in the fresh air. Then, I put on my shoes (but no coat, of course) and I went out with a shovel and I shoveled our sidewalk and the sidewalk of our next door neighbor. I can't say that I ever remember a time that I was shoveling snow and ice when it was almost 60 degrees out.

Now, you may say, "Why didn't you just wait for it to melt?" Well...darn it, it's nice out right now, and that snow has become snow and thick ice. For the past month, my kids have to walk to and from the bus in the street because they can't walk on the sidewalk. And, so, just in case it gets cold again, I was going to clear that sidewalk. Oh, and possibly it also had to do with that I had stuff to do in the house that I was putting off. But, I think I'll vote for that I just wanted to clear the sidewalk.

Is this meat?

***If you are visiting via the Ultimate Blog Party, you can read my original party post here.***
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Thank Heavens my kids are young and don't know better -- they are still of the age of occasionally questioning my actions, but mostly just following along, since I'm Mom. (Or, even if there is an argument, as long as I give them a good reason for what I am doing or want them to do, they are usually open minded to what I am saying. Ya know -- like I said -- I'm Mom.)

Anyway, this is our first Lent as Catholics-to-be -- well...except I just tell the kids that we are Catholic and have been dropping that into their minds for many months now. You know, just as an aside from time to time. Things like, "Oh yeah -- that church does look big! You know what? It's a Catholic Church. Just like we're Catholic." LOL I think God will forgive me that I am telling a slight untruth rather than just springing it on the kids on Easter, "Hey...we're Catholic!"

Okay...so, I got side tracked again. My point I was going to try to speak on was the lunch I had with all three kids about a week and a half ago. I realized, "Hey -- they are really getting this Catholic stuff already!"

It was a Saturday, and we were sitting in Culver's all just about to eat our sandwiches (and fries and onion rings!).

All of the sudden, Jack (age 5 1/2) said, "Wait! Is this meat?"

Luckily, I got where this line of questioning was going. "Yes, it is meat, Jack. But, today is Saturday, so we can have meat."

"But," Jack began to question, "remember yesternight when we couldn't eat meat?" (Yes, he said yesternight.)

"Yes -- it was Friday during Lent. That's why we couldn't eat meat. But, today is Saturday, so it's okay. Yesternight we had cheese pizza because we couldn't have meat." (Yes, I admit, I said yesternight back to him.)

"Oh...okay!" Jack said. And, then he couldn't help but let out a little giggle as he said, "But, we could have had fish pizza, if we wanted."

I agreed, but we all decided that would have been pretty gross. And, then we happily ate away at our lunch, as I happily counted my blessings.

A Call from the Principal's Office

***If you are visiting via the Ultimate Blog Party, you can read my original party post here.***
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Yesterday morning, our phone rang and the boys' school name came up on the Caller ID. This always makes me nervous, though it is usually something fine. (I am always worried that it means someone got sick at school.)

So, I expected to hear a woman's voice, just thinking it was probably one of their teachers. (Although Noah does have a male teacher and a female teacher, it is more often the female teacher that calls me.) Anyway, it was a man. I thought, "Who in the world is it?"

"Hi -- is this Angie?"

"Yes."

"Hi! It's (insert principal's name) and Noah's here in my office right now."

(gulp)

He then continued after a dramatic pause. "He got a (school mascot name) award for doing his personal best, and we just wanted to call to tell you that we're all proud of him."

WOOHOO!

I thanked him for calling, and told him to be sure to tell Noah that we were very proud of him too. I then proceeded to call my Mom and Eric to tell them the good news.

Isn't this just the coolest thing that they do at their school? When the kids get one of these awards, (they are awarded by their teachers, and can be for just about anything that the teachers think warrent it.) they get a paper note put on a big bulletin board about their good works/deed, a trip to the principal, and a chance to pick something from his "treasure box." And, then the principal calls home while they are still in the office so that they can hear the principal tell their parents what a nice job they have done. It's supposed to not only be for the kids, but so that parents also get used to that it's not always a bad thing to get a call from the principal.

Now, I will say, he actually would have gotten some calls like that while he was in kindergarten, but every time the principal asked for his phone number, he said he didn't know it. LOL So, then that principal (it's a new one this year), would just write a short note on the back of one of his business cards. So, though Noah has received these before, this was our very first actual phone call.

When he arrived home, Noah declared, "This new focusing medicine sure is helping a lot, Mom!" LOL

So...with the Ultimate Blog Party still going on, I now have a whole new reason to celebrate!

Life is keeping us busy!

***If you are visiting via the Ultimate Blog Party, you can read my original party post here.***
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It seems that life has taken over my, um, well -- life. I realized that it had been several days since I was able to come and blog, so I decided that I just needed to do it this morning before I did some other things that are calling to me.

I have been busy doing developmental therapy sessions a couple of times since my last blog entry (I have three scheduled for today -- one of which is the last time I will see that little guy, as his third birthday is this week). Then, my other business has been keeping me busy as well. I have had to finish working on a maternity (photo) session. And, then I also had to do a shoot for a local magazine, and then got that done and turned in to them. Whew!

But, the most exciting thing that has happened since my last entry is that Eric and I got to go to the "Rite of Calling the Candidates to Continuing Conversion" at the Cathedral. It was the first time that we had been in the Cathedral -- it was SO beautiful! Lots of blue used for the ceiling, and my favorite part was the baptismal font (and a "pool" below it) that had running water. It is full all the time and circulating with holy water. Very, very cool. (This would apparently be a step above our parish, where our RCIA members who have to be baptized at Easter will apparently get to take a stroll in a kiddie pool. Can you tell that I am particularly pleased to have a baptism that is affirmed by the Catholic Church already? LOL)

Anyway, at our Rite that we went to, the Bishop spoke to us for 30 minutes prior to the service. Then, there was a reading (it was read in Spanish and printed in English), the Gospel (read in English, but written in Spanish), and a homily, as well as singing, of course. Each parish (64 parishes) got to present their candidates for conversion (those that need to be baptized went the Sunday before us). Each parish's candidates then got to walk up front with their sponsors and meet the Bishop. He would greet each person by name (we had name tags) and he would ask each person a question or would talk to them briefly. I told Eric that he asked me, "Are you looking forward to Holy Saturday?" I told Eric that I said, "Why? What's happening that day?" LOL Okay, I really did tell Eric that I said that, but he knew better. I actually told the Bishop, "Yes, very much."

So, it was a nice day. Oh -- well...mostly a nice day. In the morning, our parish had us all up in front and was affirming that they were supporting us and sending us to the Cathedral later that day. Well -- we had to take Molly up with us, and she apparently thought this was the portion of Mass where a two year old is supposed to go up near the altar and announce to people that "there BIG rocks ober dere!" and "LOOK! I can JUMP!" (complete with demonstration). On the up side, all of the candidates said that it took away any nervous feelings of being up front. Apparently Molly is just all about making people feel comfortable.

Being an adult can be harsh

Okay, so there are a whole lot of reasons that being an adult can be harsh. One of those reasons came to my mind this morning (as it has before).



We were rush around...um...I mean getting ready for school this morning. Noah wasn't really paying attention to me, and it got to the point where I thought I would have to drag him out of the house to get down to the bus.



So, anyway, as I am trying to get him out of the house, I spun around at the door to call him to get going, and I hit my hand on the door frame. I thought, "OUCH!" Then I looked down to find that I had a flap of skin just hanging there (holding on tight on one side) on one of my fingers. I felt a little bit better to understand why in the world it hurt like that. And, in a move that is classic of my own mother, I said, "Noah -- look what you made me do!" (Not in an angry way, but in a "feel sorry that you made me do this" way. LOL)



Okay...so where is this going, you may ask? Does the picture help clue you in? Yes, this is what is harsh about being an adult. As a kid, when you get hurt, your Mom can drag you into the bathroom kicking and screaming, and insisting that she WILL need to put peroxide on your wound. As an adult, you just have to walk to the bathroom thinking, "Dang it -- this is REALLY going to hurt."



Sure -- I could have thrown myself onto the floor and kicked and cried, but then I probably would have just made one of the younger kids wake up. Geesh -- being an adult really is harsh. (Can't even throw a good tantrum without consequences.)



Okay...now me and my sore finger should get off the computer. Darn finger!

Welcome to the Party

If you are visiting via the Ultimate Blog Party and it's your first time here on my blog -- Welcome! If you are a regular visitor, well -- then Welcome to you too! :)

We have lots of snacks at our party -- Molly and I have managed to snack on several things as we have sat here at the computer. (Molly is only two, so you can blame me for her yucky snacking this morning.) Between the two of us (and you are welcome to snack along), we have had: jelly beans, one of those awesome Russell Stover Coconut Nests (you know -- with the jelly beans in the middle), some Goldfish crackers, and a few tortilla chips. It has not been pretty. But, this is a party, right? And, darn it, parties aren't pretty. ;) And, as I type, Molly says, "I makea lunch." Molly also had a mixed drink, since it is a party, afterall. (1/2 white grape juice and 1/2 water -- she's a party animal.) I had a Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. The one food you are not likely to find at our party today is meat. It's Friday...It's Lent...and we're about one month away from being Catholic. So, no meat. If you have a hankering for a thick cheeseburger (doesn't that sound good?), you will have to go elsewhere for it today. But, if you want to stick around for tomato soup later, then you're in luck.

If you would like to become a regular reader of my blog (or even just comment today), that would be great! :) Let me tell you a little about our family to help you know if you would like to pop back by again. I'm a 30 year old mostly stay at home Mom who also happens to own two of her own businesses. I have been married to Eric for almost 11 years, and we have three beautiful children.

Our oldest two (both boys) have special needs -- Noah is seven and a half, and has Asperger's Syndrome (high functioning Autism) and he's a doll. When I meet people at his school and they find out I'm his Mom, they usually tell me how much they love him. (Though, I will admit, at a meeting a few weeks ago, I did find out that a few substitute aides have complained about him not wanting to work. Hmmm...) Noah's future aspirations include either working at Walmart so he can "sell games" or being a race car driver (though that would scare him to death).

Jack is five and a half, and currently receives school services under the category of an "emotional disability." What does that mean? Well -- Jack is sweet, but can be a bit high strung. He easily gets anxious and can fly into a rage at a moment's notice. But, as trying as he can be -- people sure do love him. He can be pretty darn sweet. Jack's future aspiration is for the tooth fairy to "accidently" change him into a girl. (He said it, not me.)

And then there's Molly -- the two year old Queen of our household. She is determined, persistant, can count to 10 in English and Spanish, can spell "milk," and she has big brown eyes. She climbs on anything, and has now taken to saying, "I never (insert whatever she wants to do)" (example, "I never get play puzzle!"). Her future aspirations are unclear, but I suspect they involve world domination and someone feeding her jelly beans at her request.

My blog generally just features our life around the house and in our world -- including, but not limited to -- how we dance around the house like we're in an iPod commercial, my monthly menu plans, our continuing conversion (as a whole family) to the Roman Catholic Church, interesting reflections by the kids (did you know that bad men took huge canons and shot the United States right in half to start the Civil War?), and other random musings that strike me.

Welcome again, and I hope to see you around again soon!