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What Noah is thankful for...

Noah brought home an art project from his 2nd grade class. It is a wreath of paper fall leaves, and in the middle (on a paper plate), it says "I am thankful" and then many of the leaves list things that Noah is thankful for.

His wreath lists:

*for my school

*for my house

*for my church

*for my family

*for my pets

*for my games

*for food

I have to admit that when I saw "for my church" on the list, I almost cried.

It, of course, was something that weighed on our minds when we decided to convert to Catholicism -- what would the kids think? How would they handle us leaving the only church they had never known? (Although it was also the only denomination I'd ever been part of, I had at least experienced changing churches because of moving.) But, no, we knew there would be times we would drive by our "old" church on the way to things around town. What would the kids say? How would we explain why we converted?

It did come up, by the way, and I was at a loss for words when trying to explain it to the kids. I just told them, "Mommy and Daddy thought and prayed about it a lot, and we thought that God told us that He wanted us to become Catholic. And, so then we were very excited to start working to become Catholic, and to go to a new church."

And, so at each time when I see the children embracing their new church and new faith, I am often left a little misty eyed, and with a full heart of praise for God, because He really does work in mysterious and wonderful ways.

If you're a scrapbooker who loves ribbon...

I totally have the product for you! Well...I don't actually have it yet, per se, but I have ordered it finally. It's been out of stock everywhere that seems to carry it, and I just got notification last night that they were back in stock, so I snatched one up as fast as I could!


It is the Pull-EZ Ribbon Purse by Your Pictured Memories. (This link and the picture both link back to the place where I ordered it where it is currently in stock. I am borrowing the picture from that store, but hopefully it's okay, since I'm trying to send people there. LOL)


One of my sweetest friends, Kim, whom I only get to see about once a year had one of these numbers at a long weekend crop, and everyone went crazy over it. This thing is just the coolest, but I don't think this picture does it justice, so you'll have to believe me.


I always think it's a good indicator when Kim buys something, because she doesn't seem to go run out and buy all of the latest things just because they are new. She buys what she thinks is good and useful. (She's smart like that!)

So, anyway -- you just put all your ribbon in it (and it holds a ton!), and you poke a little bit of each ribbon through a hole. That way, you can see all of your ribbon easily, it doesn't take up a ton of storage room, and it's wicked cute!

I'll have to update when mine actually arrives! (I ordered it without a second thought, but then since it ended up being almost $27 with shipping, I think I'll ask Eric to give it to me for my birthday, which is in December.)

Oh -- and here is the link to see them for just $2 more in purple, pink, or blue.

(Picture used from www.scrapbook.com.)

My Dad just sent me this YouTube video about Christmas

Okay, so the song isn't going to win a Grammy or anything, but I enjoyed it and thought I would share it. (I especially like a line that deals with there being a lot of holidays in February.)

A Christmas gift that was definitely a hit! (for little girls)

We gave each of the kids a gift at Thanksgiving this year. It's a complicated story as to why, but suffice it to say -- we did.

The gift Molly (age 3) received has been a BIG hit with her, and it has been coming along on various trips around town and to Mass. It is the Mary doll (with baby Jesus) from the Holy Folks doll collection.

This sweet and soft doll is just perfect for Molly, who has a particularly special love for Mary. She actually gasped when she opened it.

The only drawback, perhaps, was the fact that in the hotel on Thanksgiving night, we had to search out baby Jesus a few times. Finally, we declared that because Jesus was a baby, he needed to be in a crib instead, and we set him on the side table. But, other than that -- this doll is sweet and lovely! A perfect gift to pick up this year!

(Picture was taken from http://www.catholicchild.com/, which is where I purchased this doll. The picture is linked directly to their listing of the doll. The little girl in the picture, of course, is not Molly -- it's just part of the picture from their website.)

WFMW: A great way to help siblings shop for each other

For more wonderful ideas, be sure to check out Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in My Dryer!

Okay, I'll admit -- I don't really know if this works for me, because I haven't tried it yet. But, I am all set to do it, and I'm excited. So, darn it -- that's close enough, right? (Plus, I wanted to share it in enough time to give other people time to try it this year, if they wanted to.)

Oh, and to give appropriate credit for the idea, I read about this idea in the latest issue of Family Fun Magazine.

My kids are eight, six, and three. Up until this point, they have not purchased Christmas gifts for each other. I had wanted them to exchange gifts last year, but we just never got around to it, and I couldn't figure out the logistics anyway.

This year, after a trip to Walmart today, I now have enough stuff to set up "Mom's Christmas Shop" in my bedroom. I bought a few gifts that I thought would be appropriate for each child -- all costing between $1.48 - $4.98. Despite the various costs, I will actually only price my items right around $1 per item. Maybe even $2 on the higher priced things -- I haven't decided for sure. Then, I will invite each of the boys to shop without each other.

For instance, when Noah (age 8) comes up, I will have one area of gifts to choose from for Jack and one area of gifts to choose from for Molly. I will let Noah shop for one gift for each of them, and then help him wrap his gifts. Then, I will put away the gifts that were possible for Jack, and I'll put out the ones for Noah, and then I'll invite Jack up and let him shop and wrap. I will have the boys bring up their own allowance to pay for their purchases.

I will include Molly (age 3) at some later time. We envisioned her trying to keep all of the toys for the boys for herself and throwing a fit. So, maybe next year she will actually get to "shop." But, this year, I will shop from the leftovers for her.

I like that with this shopping idea, I can pre-select things that I think are appropriate, and my kids don't have to be overwhelmed with deciding from a whole store of toys.

I had thought to just return the extras to Walmart for a refund. But, then I realized, "Hey -- why not just keep the leftovers to fill their stockings?" (My kids will probably not remember that they are the same, because that's just them.)

So...I'm at least hoping that this will work for me! And, who knows -- maybe it can work for you too!

Noah Did His First Reconciliation Last Night!

Here's a long (sorry) recap of First Reconciliation, which was last night:

We had a nice reconciliation service, so it was nice that it eased the kids into it, and it wasn't like they went in and had to get in line. And, that way, also, the children got to say that Act of Contrition (a prayer with some kind of weighty words, for people who are unfamiliar with what that is) all together instead of individually during their confession. (This was particularly good, since Noah is not a strong reader. It would have taken him forever. )

One of our priests did the homily, and it was really good. He talked about how we have to take the trash out at home often, and about what it would be like if all that trash built up at our house. And, then he made an analogy of sins being like trash, and that in reconciliation, we are asked Jesus to take out that trash. But, that just like the trash needs to be taken out regularly at our house, so do our sins, etc. It was really understandable for the kids, and I liked the analogy. (Noah said he would like for Jesus to take out the trash inside him. )

Noah had already said which priest he wanted to go to, and so once it was time for people to get lined up, we made a bee line to that priest's line, which ended up being one of the longest. (They brought in three priests from other parishes, as well as then both of our priests. Of course, the lines for our priests were the longest.) Noah would have gotten in even more quickly, but one mother and an older brother of a child who was near the front of the line went to confession as well. (We were encouraged to go in all of the meetings we went to, but we were also encouraged to (1) Let the kids all go first & (2) Pick a priest other than from our own parish, since the kids would likely want to go to them. Oh well!)

Noah didn't seem nervous at all, and just walked right in when it was his turn, and sat at the seat across from the priest. (He told us that afterwards. I think they encouraged the kids to do a face to face confession, which is all I have ever done as well, actually.)

After several minutes, he came out and gave us a thumbs up and had a smile on his face.

I had been terrified that he wouldn't remember his penance, but he told me right away that it was one Hail Mary and one Our Father. We went up front to kneel at the altar. He did the Hail Mary all on his own, and then needed a little assistance with the Our Father, but not too much. (He did fine for a while, but once he got flustered, then he just kept getting flustered. Then again, he got so flustered that I to stop and say the whole thing in my head to help me because he even messed me up, since I was trying just restart him and not say it for him.)

Then he got to light a candle to put on a display and he was done!

Well...except then we made him sit down and we got in line. He was okay with that though, and Eric and I both went to someone we didn't know, but that we were very impressed with. It was a relief to have Jesus "take out my trash" too.

Really though -- the priest pretty much just assured me that my sins weren't really all that sinful, and that as a matter of fact, some of the things I confessed to were probably for the best. He gave me a penance of reading a particular portion of scripture, as a reminder that God wants me to be happy, and that I need to remember that and not always try to do too much or work so hard to make others happy all the time. So, I thought that was nice and something I maybe needed to hear.

When I was done with my confession, Noah threw his arms around me and squeezed me just about the hardest I ever think he has squeezed me. He said, "GREAT JOB, MOM!" What a sweetie!

We did then pop over to our social hall and had some cookies and punch, and Noah got a really beautiful certificate.

So, it was a really great night, and I guess it was silly to be so nervous. They deal with reconciliation in such a positive light at our parish, and that really is a blessing.

Which was worse -- an MRI, an itch you can't scratch, or country music?

This afternoon, I had an MRI on my knee. The tech asked me several times, "What did you do to injure your knee." Nothing really, I kept telling her. It just gradually started hurting more and more.

Apparently this is not a good answer. Or, perhaps she thought she would finally make me break down and confess to pole dancing in all that free time I have hiding around.

I don't think I have mentioned it on here, but my knee has really been bothering me the past year or so. I have had trouble with it off and on since playing tennis in high school, but it has gotten worse lately. (I suspect this is partially because I am on the floor the whole time I am working with toddlers that I do therapy with.)

I had a set of X-rays done on my knee a couple of weeks ago, but there was no findings on it. It was, as they told me, "unremarkable." Humph! Unremarkable!

I was relieved that when they scheduled the MRI that they promised that I would go in feet first, and that my head shouldn't have to be in the machine. Per their promise, it was true, and I was thrilled to only be in from about mid-abdomen down.

However, one promise was not kept. They told me I could bring a CD to listen to, and so I did. (I actually brought three so that I could decide at the last minute.) I told the girl that I had a CD with me (when she asked about music), but then she just asked what kind of music I wanted to listen to. So, I realized this meant that I didn't really get to listen to one of my CDs. So, I told her generally what I like (she asked for band examples), and then she proceeded to pop headphones onto my ears (on a country station at that point), send me into the MRI machine, and then didn't ever change the station.

And, I was left to lay there thinking, "I'm surrounded by a VERY loud machine that is freaking me out just a little bit, and you're making me listen to country music???"

I did give her the benefit of the doubt that she didn't realize what was on the radio, but then when I left, I realized that they were listening in the booth to what was on the headphones. So, apparently they wanted to listen to country music. Lucky me.

(Hey -- no offense if you like country music -- I have some on my iPod, actually. But, it is a select few.)

So, while I would like to say that the country music was the worst part, just to be difficult like that, I have to admit that the worst part was the I'm an itchy person. So, I kept have all kinds of itches that I wasn't allowed to scratch. Oh...and, of course, there also was the part where I had to leave my knee in the same position the whole time (ouch) -- but I'll go with the itchies as the hands down winner for worst part.

Michael's - 25% off entire purchase

I normally do all of my scrapbook shopping at Lifetime Moments (online), but there are plenty of other crafty things that I like to pick up at Michael's. If you like to shop there from time to time too, you might want to check out the newest issue of Family Fun Magazine. On page 36, there is a coupon (good through 12/31/07) for 25% off of your entire purchase.



Happy shopping!

Menu Plan Monday: November 26th Edition

Monday: Beef Noodle Bowls

Tuesday: Chicken Stew & Homemade Bread (chicken stew was purchased frozen from a local restaurant that homemakes their own soups)

Wednesday: Eggs, Bacon, & Toast

Thursday: Spinach & Egg Noodle Alfredo with one Chicken Breast added in during cooking

Friday: Spaghetti (meatless) and Homemade Bread

Saturday: Lunch ---> Free for All (kind of); Dinner ---> From Out

Sunday: Brunch ---> Pancakes, Homemade Fried Potatoes, Bacon, Eggs, etc.; Dinner ---> Asian Style Chicken & Broccoli

Yummy New Book I Picked Up

So, the library finally insisted that I bring back this book, so I went out and bought it! I just wanted to share it, in case anyone wanted to check it out through their library as well.

It is Crazy About Cupcakes, and I was pleased to be able to pick it up at Michael's with a 50% off coupon that was good this weekend. (On a side note, I linked to the listing on Amazon, which is a much better price than Michael's was, if I hadn't had the coupon, of course.)

This cookbook has information about cupcakes, recipes for a variety of cupcakes and frostings, icings, and ganaches, and then all kinds of decorating ideas, as well as ideas for good cupcakes to take to work or to a bridal shower or whatnot. Very cute!

Really though -- take a look at the library first, and see what you think. But, if you happen to use the same library as I do, I will apologize to you up front if you happen to run into a small dusting of powdered sugar on the page that has the vanilla frosting recipe on it. Please know, I did try my best to get it off by wiping it off with my apron. If there is some left on there, I apologize.

Apparently I don't care if she is showing signs of readiness (aka potty training)

I'm tired of diapers. Seriously. Tired. I'm tired of changing them....I'm tired of buying them. I'm tired.

I have had at least one child in diapers for just about 8 1/2 years. Yes, for the entire last 8 1/2 years, I have been buying diapers and changing them. I know -- some of you have five and six and ten children, and you'll not think anything of that. But, I'm tired now.

Of those 8 1/2 years, I have also had about five of them when I had TWO people in diapers at a time, thanks to both of the boys potty training very late.

And, here we are now -- just one little girl of three years left. And, darn it -- it's time.

Is she showing signs of interest? Well...no, not really. Am I showing signs of interest? Yes, yes, I am.

And, so with some Christmas money that I got (early), I picked up a no frills potty chair (I had gotten one with all the bells and whistles -- literally -- a while back, but then got rid of it) and two packages of training pants in cute girlie designs.

We started today at around noon with training pants. In the space of three hours, she wet through five of the six training pants. Sigh. But, as I told Eric, she doesn't know what it's like to feel wet. She needs this time to wet through them first.

I promised him, "If we can just hold out one week, we will either know that it's time to put everything away and try again in about a month, or she'll be potty trained."

So...I must say though -- after never having gone on the potty before, in that two hour period, she did also have two different times when she went about a quarter size worth ON the potty.

I figure, all in all, it's not so bad so far.

Wish me luck! A week from today, I'll either be extremely pleased or I'll be happily grab the diapers out again until after Christmas.

Isn't it funny how plans can change?

Eric and I had discussed what we were getting each other for Christmas. I was going to get him an iPod Nano and a new electric razor, and he was going to get me a new digital camera (just a point and shoot from Fujifilm).

Well...the razor came, and he got it early because he wanted it right away. And, I planned what to have engraved (for free) on his iPod.

My camera came in the same shipment from Amazon.com. I tried it out, and just didn't love it. Perhaps this can be attributed just a bit to actually owning a nice digital SLR as well. Maybe I can't expect to be happy with a $200 camera. And, so I boxed it back up, and returned it. (Can I just say that I was WAY impressed with Amazon's return policy and the ease of returning the camera!?! Wow!)

And, then Eric decided he didn't really want the iPod. He really just wanted music on his computer, and so we put some music on his computer.

During all this redeciding, I had a booth at a craft show, and we saw these beautiful hand crocheted prayer shawls for $20. Eric picked one up for me, after I had admired them while he hung out at my booth. (On a funny side note, when I went back to pick up one for one of my grandmas, the man said, "Oh, we just had someone buy one, so the one you were looking at might be gone." I said to him, "Oh don't worry -- I bet the guy was about this tall, dark hair, and looks a lot like my kids." He said, "I don't know." I then realized he didn't get my humor, and I said, "It was my husband.")

Anyway...

So, after deciding on spending about $200 on each other (each!), we decided we were each more than happy with the razor and the shawl. No need for something big and expensive. (And, then no temptation to put those big expensive things on credit cards besides!)

And, do you know what? I'm pretty darn happy about it all. (And now I just hope my grandma likes her shawl!)

An ode to aprons

This was an email that I received from my Mom, who sent it to me because she knows how much I enjoy my aprons.

----------------------------------

The History of APRONS

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven. It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that "old-time apron" that served so many purposes.

Knock Knock...

One of my favorite milestones with my kids has been when they start trying to tell jokes. I don't know why -- perhaps it's because I am generally silly at heart. But, it just cracks me up.

And, now Molly (age 3) is at it. Of course, it is with knock knock jokes. I always try to write down some of the first knock knock jokes from each of the kids, and here is the Molly edition (these were all said one after the other)...

Molly: Knock, Knock.

Me: Who's There?

Molly: Llama.

Me: Llama Who?

Molly: Llama Joe!

(This is obviously a take off on the one the boys and I kept telling each other with a punch line of "Joe Mama.)
-------------------------

Molly: Knock Knock.

Me: Who's There?

Molly: TV.

Me: TV Who?

Molly: TV Llama!
------------------------------------

Molly: Knock Knock.

Me: Who's There?

Molly: Chalks.

Me: Chalks Who?

Molly: Chalk for Llama!
-------------------------------------

Molly: Knock Knock.

Me: Who's There?

Molly: Llama.

Me: Llama Who?

Molly: Joe Mama!
---------------------------------
(and then as we walked into her room for a goodnight kiss and tucking in)

Molly: Knock Knock.

Me: Who's There?

Molly: Bed.

Me: Bed Who?

Molly: Bed for Night Night!
---------------------------------

So...I have changed some things on the blog...

in order to (hopefully) help those of you that say you don't come visit anymore because the blog locks up your computer or whatnot. If this doesn't help, I may have to switch to another blog host, because I really hate that some people are trying to visit and can't.

Fingers crossed!

If you haven't signed up before (or need to again)

Moms for Modesty moved, and they lost all of the original 1500 signatures. They are back up to almost 300. If you feel strongly about this topic and want to go sign the petition, just click on the picture above.

Maybe I shouldn't be talking up reconciliation so much

I was out of town from November 1st through the 4th. Because of this, I made us all go to Mass for All Saints Day on the evening beforehand. So, we did 20 minutes of Trick-or-Treating, off to Mass, then another 20 minutes of trick-or-treating.

While I was driving with the three kids by myself (we were meeting Eric), the kids kept asking about why we were going to Mass on a Wednesday. I tried to explain to them a bit about Holy Days of Obligation, and the like. This, of course, is all pretty new to them still.

As we drove, they continued to question why we were going to Mass. I finally told them that it was the right thing to do, and, in trying to bring in the topic of reconciliation, I said, "I don't want to have to go in to reconciliation and have to apologize for not going to Mass when I was supposed to."

And then there was silence.

Until, just moments later, Noah said, "But Mom...God would forgive you."

"Yes, you're right, Noah. That's the great thing about reconciliation, and I'm so excited that you will be going to it soon. But...it really is better to do the right thing first and not have to say you're sorry later."

Jack then chirped in, "It is nice to say you're sorry though, Mom."

"Yes, Jack, you're right too. But, it's even better to do the right thing first and not have to say you're sorry later."

"But," Jack continued, "it really is nice to say you're sorry."

I would like to say that I had some wonder way to tie up the whole conversation, but I vaguely remember announcing that:

1. Yes, God would forgive me if I was really sorry and I told Him that I was sorry.

2. Yes, indeed...it IS nice to say you're sorry.

3. We're going to Mass because I'm your Mom and I said that's what we're doing.

Sigh.

I wasted two years of college...

Apparently I might as well have skipped graduate school...

Cash Advance Loans

Menu Plan Monday: November 12th Edition

It might be a little obvious, but they had a sale at the grocery store on hams. ;)

Monday: Roast with Potatoes & Carrots (crockpot)

Tuesday: Ham

Wednesday: Frozen Pizza (it's a crazy night for us)

Thursday: Fried Mashed Potatoes & Cubed Ham

Friday: Spaghetti (no meat) and Homemade Bread

Saturday: lunch ---> Loaded Baked Potatoes; dinner ---> Dinner from Out

Sunday: lunch ---> Ham Sandwiches; dinner ---> Beef Noodle Bowls

Does my blog freeze/crash your computer?

I had two different people last weekend tell me that my blog was causing issues with their computer. I haven't done anything different lately except add a widget (not from Blogger) that updates what my recent postings are. I'm concerned that might be the problem.

Of course...if my blog DOES crash your computer, I don't suppose you will be able to post to me to let me know. Sigh.

I'm going to place a lost & found ad in the newspaper

Lost:

Autumn. She's a beautiful season -- she also answers to the name of Fall. She typically has mild weather with some rain. One hallmark of her is changing leaves. Though our leaves have been changing, it appears that her sister Summer overstayed her welcome, and her other sister Winter is trying to shove her out of the picture. If you have seen Autumn, please send her this way, as we do enjoy her.

WFMW Backwards Edition Part II: Reasonable Food Budget?

It's another edition of the Backwards Works for Me Wednesday! You know...you usually give a great tip, but in the backwards edition -- you ask for them!

So...here's my dilemma --

What is a reasonable food budget for a week or a month? What do you do? What works for you in this area?

We are a family of five, and I always feel like I budget more than enough for the area of food (this includes both groceries and food from out), but we always go way over budget. So...it leaves me wondering if I am being unreasonable, or if we are just spending way too much.

On a side note, I just bought all of the e-books/audio files from Biblical Womanhood on feeding your family on $35/week (not because I thought I could do that, but because I needed some tips), but I haven't read/listened to them yet.

Any ideas on what you budget or ways that you really save on your budget would be GREAT! And, seriously -- feel free to share even if you think your budget/what you spend in this area is huge. I need some big spenders to post too! ;)