7 Quick Takes Friday

1) I have never posted one of these -feeling slightly intimidated as everyone's blogs are so fancy schmancy - lots of buttons and lists/links

2) I took a mens mulitivitamin this morning (I only had 2 left in my 'womans' bottle and when I looked in I saw a hair, eww!! - I had to throw them out)- hope I do not turn into a man or anything.

3) Cleaned under the coach this morning - found some stuff.

4) Thinking how I feed my kids pizza waaay too often.

5) I have buttons on my mind.  Not the html code buttons.  Just sewing buttons, wanting to craft with them.  So, I have been searching ebay for buttons.  I want to make my girls "names" out of wood letters and decorate them with buttons.  I can't wait to get started!

6) I love how kiddos use words in ways grown ups do not. This was my conversation with my 3 year old.

Cyrus -  "Mom, can I have a dessert"

Me  -     "Ok, what do you want?"

Cyrus -  "How 'bout chocate"

Me   -    "Ok"

Cyrus -  "I want the shiny chocate"



7) Finally, I just got a little book in the mail from Covenant House.  You know those free gifts they send in the mail when you make a donation (which is a whole nother topic).  Anyway, I started reading some of it written by Sister Mary Rose McGeady, sad, sad, sad.  So, I know I must Pray, Pray, Pray!!! 

You can check out others over here!

Wordless Wednesday - Time to tidy up a bit?

I

am

 posting

 this

 to motivate me.

Notice the can of Carnation Evap. milk?

there is a reasonable explanation.

It is expired.

I thought I would look up a recipe to make so as to not waste.

But, I could not determine if 10/05/11 was too scary to use

at this point and so it stayed...

linked from My Organized Chaos

Have Fun!

March for Life 2012

So, the annual March for Life was yesterday.

I hope they did good!

I just read this article on Obama.

Why do pro-abortion supporters say as President Obama does

"we must stay united in our determination"

to

"reduce the need for abortion"?

If one is in favor of abortion "rights" because they are a "good thing" for women -

then why would they want to try to reduce it?

 (I just love Mary Engelbriet's pictures!)

 

This & That & Netflix

Today is the kids 100th day of school

the k-ers had to take something to represent

100 days of school.

Lydia wanted to take suckers

so we made this beauty.

Yesterday we signed up for our free trial of Netflix.  Already I am not too impressed.  There are movies I would like to see, but they simply do not have them or they do not have them "instantly". (I realize my movie selection is a bit different in that I am one of those who wants some "quality"- is that too much to ask?!)  Anyway, some of the movies I would like to see are on DVD that have to be mailed. 

Listen to me whine ~I need it "instantly"!  Really I want convenience too!

I wanted to watch this version of Heidi (we just read a shortened/junior version of the book).  All Netflix had was the movie with Shirley Temple as Heidi - which was fine.  We were watching it and I thought it seemed strange it was in BLACK & WHITE still.  I thought someone would have put some color in it by now... 

Well sure enough there is a colored version out there - Netflix just does not have it.  Geeez, Netflix...

I wish Lydia could have seen it in color. At one point while we were watching the BLACK & WHITE version, I turned down all the lights, and it helped see the movie better and Lydia said,

"Oh yeah mom, turn off the lights, maybe that will put color in it."

Anyway, Netflix carries a lot of trash.  There is some good stuff, but you have to look.  I wanted to see this movie too, but it looks like I will have to wait for the DVD to be mailed!  Am I becoming part of this instant gratification culture?  Sadly, I admit yes...

Our Lady of Altagracia

Since our children go to public school, I try to incorporate several feast days at home when we are able to. Our Lady of Altagracia happened to fall on a Saturday this year (Jan 21) so we were able to do a few things. I had never heard of Our Lady of Altagracia before until of course I saw her over at Catholic Cuisine.  So, we read A Gift of Gracias: The legend of Altagracia.  It is a lovely book.

"Everyone"

Evan is being naughty!

Our "craft"

We painted orange trees.

We used big plastic bubble wrap to dip in paint to paint the oranges.

(Once the green was dry)

If you read the book it makes sense why we stuck Mary in the tree!

Lydia added those orange butterflies

and one of the trees never got the Our Lady of Altagracia in it....



Small Town Dinosaur Museum & House of Mirrors

We went to a little Dinosaur Museum.  The kind that just has mostly replicas of the Dinosaurs.  Not actual bones or fossils?  I know almost nothing about dinosaurs.  As a younger person I had no interest in taking the time to read the "little signs" in museums, but now if I could, I would.  So, I could at least know something about these creatures that walked on the same earth as me.  But, then again if I read the little signs, I would probably forget it in about half a second as retaining scientific knowledge is not my "thing".  So, I guess I am not really complainig about not being able to read the signs - chasing my kids is fun and seeing them "see"!


Like Aliza here.  I think, this dinosaur is actually 4 real (vs. a replica -I did not get to read the sign).  She kept wanting to tickle him.   She kept saying "ticka, ticka, ticka".  It was precious, I should have got it on video.  darn.

I did not take good pictures.  I am not good at taking pictures inside anyway.  I have to have a pretty backdrop, to get excited about really trying to get good pictures.  In a dino museum, that is not happening.

I told the kids to stick their head in,

she was the only one brave enough!

This is all Evan, who is 7 would do.

He is such a chicken!!!

(I can say that since I am his mom!)

But,

 the most fun we had

 was in the house of mirrors!

It was pretty big.

We were the only ones in it.

Cyrus kept running into the glass -

I thought he was going to break the mirrors.

Here is no flash.

bumped up the ISO all the way

and still had to lighten in photoshop elements.

Of course, the flash kept doing this.

I so wish I could have got better pics, oh well.

Why didn't I take pics of where there was no glass? dah!

I did not think, I was in a rush trying to keep up with my family!

I have never been in such a big house of mirrors before!

(The ones in the truck at the county fairs as a kid, were the extent of my house of mirror experiences)

Oh Be Careful Little Ears What You Hear

I am not completely nieve, maybe a little.  And I know I am counter-cultural.  But, in a recent conversation I had with another mom made me realize not only am I fighting what the media portrays as "fine", but many, many parents who are careless or use terrible judgement - I am "fighting" them too.

I was talking with another mother who told me when her son, who, at the time was 6 years old, asked her what (s) (*) (x) was, she told him "exactly" what it was and that it is beautiful for a husband and wife - at least she put that in there.  She said she wants to be the one to explain it to her children.  Well of course!  But, why not baby steps?  Her 4 year old son was present as well- "so he would know too."   She wanted to make sure they did not think it was dirty.  The conversation kept getting worse.  She seemed to not be bothered that this talk was going on (at school) for her boys to hear.  She said her boys know what a bj was too.  And this is a church going mom.  It bothers me that she is not bothered!  Oh, bother...

I am thankful my children have not asked me these things (yet).  At the same time I fear what their little ears hear, that I am not aware of.  I would have taken such a different approach and it makes me sooooo mad the way this mother handled the situation.  As far as I am concerned she added more fuel to the fire.  Will her children keep this information to themselves, probably not.  Do the elementary children who speak of these things get taught, that this is not "appropriate" subject matter, nope - do not even know who "they" are.  And do you suppose if we asked her own children, (now 5 and 7) what they thought of "it", would they really think of "it" as "beautiful"?  No, they will think it is gross.

And so, as I send my children out the door,

I pray to God to protect their little ears from the ways of the world.

We Have Twins!

Evan pointed out the other day:

"Mom, Aliza is twins with her monkey"

That is what she is

 our

 little

 monkey

CONSTANTLY CLIMBING!

I am sure there was supposed to be a bowl,

but it is so much more fun to spread your Fruity Cheerios out -

and have them stick to your jam bams...

Moving on,

I snapped a pic of what maybe the best deal

I

have

ever

gotten ~

So exciting,

I

know

So pretty,

I placed her at my sink

then

over here -

I realize this is strange

moving a plant around my bathroom

taking its picture...

Anywho

$2.50

(plus tax)

at Lowes -

Apparently Lowes does know!

Really that table is not as dirty as it looks!

windows/glass + my camera = smudge magnified

At least that is what I tell myself.