That Day Before Lent

It's that wonderful last day before lent when everyone begins to panic and say to themselves "Oh crud.  I have to give something up for Lent."  Or do we say that to ourselves on Ash Wednesday when we realize we forgot it was Ash Wednesday already?  Either way rather than worrying about those little details, we celebrated this day in our traditional way: pancakes, strawberries, whipped cream, bacon, and sausage.  Something small and simple that the kids can count on and look forward to each year.  Or maybe they just look forward to the chance to play with the spray can of whipped cream.  Hm, the jury may be out on that one. Either way, I hope your day was a great one.

the whole gang before the feast

simply yummy

I would never encourage such delinquency.  Nope, never.

American Anthem for Life

I've been wandering around the Catholic Blog-o-sphere today searching for some new projects for Lent.  This year I don't have the funds to throw at ready made projects (like these stations of the cross grotto kits) but I want more than just coloring sheets or the same old thing we try to do every year.  With my little kids, certain activities just won't work.  The salt dough crown of thorns come to mind.  It just would not work as intended.  I'll try to find some books and hope I actually read them with the kids and hopefully I'll find a few projects.  Something for the older boys in particular. I don't want to just throw another book at them. Hands-on is great for them as well.  Hm, maybe in the next few days I'll come up with something.  But, back to the point here.

As I was wandering through blogland, I came upon this song and I wanted to share.  Hope you like it, too.

Little Flowers

Today we had another Little Flowers meeting.  Even when I don't have my act totally together, I enjoy seeing what these girls put together.

Today we learned about Responsibility and St. Anne.  After putting together notebook pages and coloring sheets, the girls all made cards to give to someone with a job that take a lot of responsibility.

For some reason all the girls were full of way too much energy today but I'm hoping they still had fun and learned something.  I think we are all ready for the icky wet muddy weather to move along so we can spend more time outside burning off extra energy.

Happy St. Valentine's Day

Another attempt at some intentional "fun" with the kids that was just slightly sabotaged by the children ahead of time.  (I feel like I am channeling my husband when he complains about the "mandatory fun" events the Air Force often makes them attend in an effort to make sure morale is as high as possible.) 

I planned to make heart shaped lollipops for the children using some candy melts leftover from Christmas. Alan picked up the candy mold last night on his way home from work. (Hey, I said I planned it, I didn't say how far in advance I planned it.)  This afternoon I went to the cupboard to pull out the candy melts that I knew were in there.  Um, at least they were supposed to be in there.  Some child decided to eat half of them.  Apparently if you take food out of an open package and just leave a few crumbs or one last cookie or one last chip or the 3 last candy melts, no one will be the wiser.  Apparently.  Never mind that the bag for the candy melts was tied closed and you untied it.  Never mind that I am not an idiot and can actually see that something is missing and know no one had permission to snatch it.  At least they have finally figured out not to open factory sealed packages themselves so the red candy melts were still there, but all of the white ones were gone.  Except 3.

the melted candy

Sigh.  So after I griped and grumbled about children taking things without permission and declared that when it was time to start handing out the lollipops, I would start with the shortest children first since you have to be taller than 3 feet to be able to reach into the plastic box on the second shelf of the cabinet over the microwave (yes, I did actually say all of this to the kids while they rolled their eyes and gave each other the Mom is off her rocker look), I started melting candy and filling the molds.

the filled molds

The hardest part of this treat was that I only had one set of molds so I had to make 3 batches.  Each batch must sit in the fridge for 15 minutes to cool enough to set so it took about an hour to make 10 lollipops.  If you get all the supplies from the bulk bins or on sale, you can make these for your kids $2 or so, not including the molds.  The molds are often just a couple bucks (this one was $1.59 but I have seen them frequently in the dollar bins at Target and similar stores).  The molds are obviously reusable so for just a few bucks a year, you can treat your kids to something new.

the finished product

 Here's hoping your attempts to find joy with your children today went a tad better than mine did.  Let's just say I went grocery shopping alone when Alan got home and treated myself to a drink (carbonated only as I don't "drink").

The Ski Trip

Alan took four of the kids skiing yesterday.  Poor Liam got sick and had to stay home. And the house was strangely quiet with only 5 kids home.  Both Abby and Liam were sick so they took naps as well which meant for a short time yesterday everyone else in the house was asleep.  Reminded me of the years when all my kids were under 5 and everyone in the house napped.  Ah, silence in the middle of the day. 

Katie

Back to skiing.  This was Katie's first time downhill skiing.  She is apparently a bit of a natural on skis.  Since she tends to be naturally athletic (the only brother she can't run faster than is Sean and I noticed she is catching on to karate very quickly), this was not too much of a surprise. 

Kieran

The group rate discount that we managed to get with the ski resort included rentals and ski lessons so all the kids got a refresher course and Alan had a little over an hour to ski on his own.  He used it (after explaining to the remaining ski instructor that since he used to teach lessons himself, there really truly was no need for him to take lessons that day although he was welcome to follow him around on the slopes for a bit) to hit all the slopes the kids were not quite ready for themselves. 

Bryan and Sean

In looking at these pictures last night I just kept thinking that there is something wrong with skiing when you can see that much green grass.  And, of course, it snowed last night and the kids have been out shoveling the driveway.

Karate

The older five kids started karate classes a few weeks ago.  I'd been putting it off because of cost issues for quite a while.  Then we found a program that was totally free but on Saturday mornings.  Although I love the idea of free (it was part of a youth ministry program at a local church), I knew Saturday morning classes just would not really work with our family schedule.  Then a homeschool class finally came together with decent family rates. 

This gives me the chance to have a class for even my high school age kid and gives me a place to take all the kids at once.  I've found for my own sanity, we really have to stick with programs of this sort.  I know plenty of families who manage to run the kids in multiple directions for sports and such each weekend but I know my limits and that just won't work for me. 

I am normally in the back room hanging out with all of the younger siblings but I was able to watch for a few minutes today.  The kids seem to be doing a great job and enjoying what they are learning.  And the class obviously has room for a few more if you are local and looking for something for your kids.

Strengthening Your Family

I just finished reading the book Strengthening Your Family: A Catholic Approach to Holiness at Home by Marge Fenelon.   Although I truly enjoyed the book, I must admit to a few small things.  First, before I had the chance to pick the book up and actually read it, the poor book was left on the kitchen counter.  And suffered a fate many books suffer in this house if left on the kitchen counter.  Yup, a nameless child knocked a drink over, decided to walk away from the mess rather than clean it up, and my poor book suffered some major water damage. Second, most of this book was read while I was attempting to escape from my wonderful family by soaking in the tub because they were causing me much, much stress.  Sigh.  Then again, perhaps these are all reasons why I NEEDED to read this book because it seems obvious that some sort of something is missing in the way things run around here lately.

 Marge Fenelon's latest book is full of short, simple tricks and ideas for bringing holiness to your home.  It's not about raising perfect children or having the idealistic family.  It's about starting where you are and setting realistic goals for your family.  This book helps teach you how to guide your children and family to more accurately reflect a truly authentic Catholic life.

Each chapter in this book closes with a relevant prayer and a selection of questions to help you pinpoint the areas that your family might need to focus on changing.  By staying short and to the point, each chapter allows you to focus on small changes instead of asking you to consider larger changes which are less likely to take hold.  This book will provide you with a healthy dose of inspiration to help you on your goal to finding happiness in your home.  It left me feeling as if the chaotic mess of family life is not meant to drive us insane, but rather to help each of us become the person God intends us to be. 

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Strengthening Your Family. They are also a great source for a Catechism of the Catholic Church or a Catholic Bible.

Even More Babywearing

Ignore the mess and focus on the cute kid because I am too lazy to crop it out today.

This one speaks for itself.  A handsome young man taking care of his baby sister. What more do you need?

Saturday at Home Depot

I took the middle 3 to Home Depot this morning for their Kids' Workshop.  I have to say I love these workshops for many reasons. First, can we say Free? That is a big draw right there.  Second, Liam absolutely loves to build and is great at wood working.  He just shines at these workshops.  Third, it gives me a chance to go out and do something alone with the middle kids.  Four, it forces me to actually get dressed and do something on those weekends that Alan works.  Trust me when I say I would be more than happy to hang out in my jammies and watch movies instead but the kids get way more out of this.

This week the kids built keepsake boxes. It was a very simple project this time for which I was very thankful.  The project last month was kind of a pain in the rear. 

Our location has started setting out paints so the kids can paint their projects before taking them home.  Although the kids love it, I do think they need a bigger area for the painting because it gets kind of crowded and messy.  But everyone had a great time and the kids can't wait to show their work to their Dad tonight.