Many Little Blessings

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Moving Day is Coming Soon (for the Blog, that is)

I was always one who shrugged and said, "Who cares," as others moved from Blogger to WordPress (the .org self hosted version). It was even more set in stone that I would stay here on Blogger after I had a wonderful makeover last year.

But, once I moved The Homeschool Classroom to a self-hosted WordPress site, I just couldn't deny any longer that it would be good to move Many Little Blessings to a self-hosted WordPress site as well.

It will be happening soon. I'm working closely with a great designer and she's going to do her best to make sure that none of you get lost (especially those of you who subscribe by various methods). However, if you all of the sudden notice that you're not receiving posts in your Google Reader or by email (depending on how you receive the feed of this blog), make sure to come here to check if you got left behind. Then, just go to the new site (you should be redirected if you try to come here) and resubscribe.

Wish me luck with the big move. It is scary to move this than to move The Homeschool Classroom. I guess this blog is just more of my "baby" than The Homeschool Classroom is.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Many Little Links: March 21, 2010

Catholic Resurrection Eggs - Catholic Icing
I'm a huge fan of Catholic Icing. I have even asked Lacy if we could be new best friends. I'm not sure what she thought about that, but this post is what made me think that. Oh, and the fact that Lacy has just been darling every time we have talked (on email).

Homemade Tiered Cupcake Stand - My Blessed Life
Brilliance! What a seemingly simple idea that turns into something quite so cool.

Homeschool Calendar and Morning Board - Homeschool Creations
I'll be homeschooling a kindergartner for the first time ever very soon. I totally need to use these ideas. These are great just for home enrichment ideas as well.

Resurrection Rolls: An Easy Easter Treat - Homegrown Mom
I have heard of this idea for teaching about the resurrection with crescent rolls and marshmallows before, but never in such detail. We may have to try this during Holy Week.

The Family That Plays Together - Simple Homeschool (by Brenda from The Tie That Binds Us)
Just loved Brenda's ideas for finding time for families to spend together. And, don't be fooled by the fact that it is on a homeschooling site, this is a great one for all families.

How to Make a Blogger Happy - Oh Amanda
So true. So very, very true.

Save Your Cake Wreck - The Happy Housewife
I'm starting to wonder how many times in a week I can say that Toni is smart. But, she is. Great save for your next mildly burnt cake.

The Little Guide to Inspiration - Zen Habits
Need inspiration? Let Leo help you come up with ideas of where to find it.

Friday, March 19, 2010

7 Quick Takes: March 19, 2010 (Vol. 34)

~ 1 ~

I decided on Sunday that I was going to go to reconciliation (confession) on Wednesday evening. I then spent a ton of time during those days dreading going to confession. I dreaded it more than I have since the first time I went (on Palm Sunday in 2007).

When I went though, it was wonderful. It was probably one of my best times in the confessional ever. It was exactly what I needed. The advice was wonderful and just what I needed to hear. Now I'm just praying hard for the strength to do the things that I need to do.

~ 2 ~

Daylight savings time has been kicking my hiney this week. I have been staying up too late and have had a really difficult time getting out of bed in the morning. I've begun to think that I might never readjust to the time.

When you throw in my natural sleep issues (delayed sleep phase syndrome, which I have self-diagnosed due to my extensive medical training -- years of things like ER and Grey's Anatomy), it has been a little, well, tiring this week.s

~ 3 ~

Holy Moly! I got to try the new Almond Joy Pieces candy the other day and I couldn't stop eating them. Thankfully, they belonged to my Mom, so I couldn't really eat them all. Otherwise, I think I would have eaten them all.

If you like Almond Joy candy bars and don't want to eat a ton of the Almond Joy Pieces, just don't try them, okay? Trust me on that one.

~ 4 ~

It's been a long time since I talked about our weight loss journey. We aren't making fast progress, but since January 1st, I have lost around 11 pounds and Eric has lost around 15 pounds.

We both could have lost a lot more, but we haven't made a crazy amount of changes in our eating (though we have made quite a few, and are taking the time to count calories and watch fat content) and we have sometimes forgotten about exercising. So, all that considered, I feel like it's going really well.

Then again, if I could kick it into higher gear, that would probably be a really great thing.

~ 5 ~

Speaking of kicking things into high gear, I am proud to say that on Tuesday, I managed to have whole grains at every meal! Who knows if that will ever happen again, but I can hope.

For breakfast, I had a 100% whole wheat English muffin with a couple of teaspoons of peanut butter. For lunch, I had a sandwich on 100% whole wheat bread while we were busy driving around to some appointments. For dinner, we had homemade pizza. I made the crust with -- yeah, you guessed it -- whole wheat flour.

~ 6 ~

As a follow up to our visit from Seamus the Leprechaun, I must share that I told our priest friend that my kids were sure that Seamus had come to give me "payback" (as they said" for having toilet papered his (our priest friend's) office.

Imagine my kids' delight when we got a message back from the priest. He let the kids know that, indeed, he had met Seamus at his new parish (after he was transferred from ours) which is named...wait for it...St. Patrick's (yep -- it's true!), and knew that Seamus loved pulling pranks. So, he had given Seamus the names of some families to "visit."

The kids went insane after this message. They were laughing and carrying on. They were also pleased to finally understand one thing that had bothered them all day -- Why had this been our first visit from a leprechaun. Now they knew it was because Seamus had never been told to visit us.

While the kids plotted their own payback, I thanked God for all of the wonderful priests that we know.

~ 7 ~

While discussing leprechauns this week, Molly at one point was excitedly talking about when the "Decepticon" had come and pulled pranks in our house.

"Leprechaun," she had to be reminded. Although I had to wonder what kinds of pranks a Transformer might decide to pull on St. Patrick's Day.

This post is linked to 7 Quick Takes Friday and Weekly Wrap Up.

photos by: confessional - elmada / sleeping doll - :: Hello Mizu ::

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Seamus the Leprechaun Visited Our House This Morning

We have never been visited by a leprechaun before, but the kids had been talking a lot about the pranks that leprechauns can pull in the last few days, so apparently Seamus the Leprechaun decided it was time for a visit.

The kids excitedly woke me up this morning to find all of the shenanigans that Seamus had left for us.

Was Seamus the Leprechaun trying on everyone's Crocs? And what a place to leave them! The kids thought maybe he was leaving a clue about where chocolate gold coins were, because there was one inside the piano and if you followed the shoes (like an arrow), you could find two more coins.

(Who knows if Seamus even realized he left such great clues!)

The kids in the mess that Seamus left for us.

(Jack declared, "I know! Seamus is probably getting payback on you for toilet papering (our old priest's name)'s office." Touche, Seamus.)

(Oh yeah -- that's right. I have toilet papered a priest's office not once, but twice even! I like to live on the edge like that.)

The kids searching out all of the chocolate gold coins that Seamus left for us.

Wow! Seamus has really bad handwriting. As I told Eric on the phone when we told him about the big trouble at home, it looks to me like Seamus must be left handed. He was probably sorry that he decided to write such a long note too.

Crazy Seamus!

(We were afraid of what he might have done to the Cool Whip.)

We were all tickled that Seamus had some of the kids Webkinz sit down with the book An Alphabet of Catholic Saints. They were, of course, reading about St. Patrick.

The kids got the Cool Whip out of the fridge, and it was still sealed, just like when I bought it at the store.

Cut off the seal. All seems fine. We think Seamus is playing a trick by saying he played a trick.

Noah opened the container. I forgot to take a picture, but it was white. We were then certain that Seamus has just tricked us into opening the Cool Whip.

But, just to be sure, we got out a spoon and went digging around for something.