January Recap - Daybook Post

Outside my window ~

Thunderstorms (the nice kind)

Slugs (all the way up on the second story window)

I am thankful for ~

* brisk, early, morning walks where the quiet allows me to enjoy time with God

* youth who are pro-life : defending the rights of the most vulnerable; women (and men) in the womb as well as the sick and elderly.

* cheap airline tickets!  (I'm taking three of the kids to go visit my mom mid-Feb.)

From the school room ~

A look into our Chemistry class (Homeschool Connections)

For labs, Miss Ester first watches the teacher complete the lab on a YouTube video and then performs the lab herself.

 (At that point, I put the camera down and asked where the plastic table protector was??)

From the kitchen ~

I really dislike meal planning.

I try not to complain since we do have food at least.

Last year, I took the challenge of preparing a monthly menu for each month.  I had so many recipes that my monthly plans rarely resembled one another.  The best part is that I remembered to actually keep each one.

What I just read ~

SO good!


In addition to that, I  recently finished the book, Winter Garden, and I do not recommend it.

The story lines (there were two main conflicts going on) were real however, the one was so different from the other that my brain had a difficult time adjusting from one conflict to the other.  There was sex, and the sprinkling of elicit description really was unnecessary and kind of ruined the book for me.  I would not want my daughters to read this because of the descriptive sex scenes.

My plan is to read 25 books this year.  We shall see!

Around the house ~

I ordered our newest peg doll from my favorite shop on Etsy.  He is nearby as we read our St. Valentine books.

These two marched in the March for Life (Dallas).

A recent date with my man that consisted of Capri pizza and Pinot Noir.

We recently celebrated Miss Clementine turning 6!!  Oh my!!

I am listening to ~

the hum of the furnace.  Our mornings are chilly, but the afternoons are gorgeous.  Tomorrow, we are going to the zoo for the day.

Coming down the pike ~

Wednesday - Field trip to the Dallas Zoo

Thursday - ice skating lessons for Miss Mabel and Miss Clementine

Friday - basketball tournament for Stan the Man

A last photo to share ~

Bike rides.  Lots and lots of bike rides these days!

Can you believe that we are at the end of January?  Already?!

~  Patty ~

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Be a Unicorn in a Field of Horses!

How can it be?!  Our sweet and sassy Texan turned 6 years old! 

Her brother gave her a unicorn puzzle.  Miss Ester bought her some unicorn pajamas.  That adorable, unicorn wallet was given to her from Miss Mabel.  Mommy and Daddy gave her the unicorn purse and necklace as well as some new doll furniture and play food.

And since it wasn't a birthday party year, she invited just one friend to help her celebrate her day. :)

Miss Clementine LOVES Cheddar's and that was her choice for a birthday lunch.  (We were unable to go out for dinner since Stan the man had a basketball game that night.)  Her favorite parts of the restaurant are the large fish tank and the huge, "fancy ceiling fan".

Back at home, we played a fun game of pin the horn on the unicorn (and her friend was in a fit of giggles when David played with them).

She had such a fun day! 

(Unicorn birthday supplies came from Target except for the cupcake toppers which I found on Etsy.)

At the end of the day, she put on her new nightgown from Grammy and snuggled with her new doll (from Grammy as well), Ruby.

Happy birthday, sweetie pie!  Mommy and Daddy love you so much (southern sass and all)!

xoxo

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Sweet Day

The weather has been back to its balmy mid-60's.  The kind where blue skies reign and sunshine pours down.  No jackets by mid-morning kind of days.

Miss Clementine met up with a few playmates at a park for play time and a picnic.  Then we headed over to shop at an old-fashioned candy store.

The littles had so much fun filling their baggies with all kinds of bulk candy.  The smell of popcorn  and home made fudge filled the air.  Goodness!

We also popped in at Emporium Pies for mom-sized treats.

Aren't the carry-out desserts wrapped up so sweetly?!

I brought home a piece of Snowball for myself :: creamy coconut custard topped with crunchy toasted coconut.

For David, I brought a piece of Melted Snowman :: cookies and cream custard in a chocolate cookie crust.

Hoping your winter days are finding you all healthy with a bit of sweetness on the side!

Patty

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Our Snowy Day

The weathermen were talking about it for days and days in advance.  I was receiving weather alerts five days out on my phone.  The day before, I ran to the store to stock up on coffee, deodorant, and Cottonelle flushable wipes!

The clouds blew in.  The temperature plummeted quickly.  Shortly after dinner I heard a bit of freezing rain pinging against the window.  I had a little one who went to bed hoping and praying for snow.

This is what we woke up to ::

While reading books on snow, I remembered that I had some painted snowflakes artwork that the older kids painted way back when.  As I was hanging them up on the bulletin board by Miss Clementine's desk, we decided that she, too, should have one on the wall!  So off the the craft store I went.

While the paint dried, we gave her little finger nails a snowy effect ;)

Then it was time for some, "Frozen", while we continued to wait for the painted snowflake to dry.

Ta Da!  Just like her big brother and sisters' painted snowflakes.  She was SO excited to do this art project!

All of this activity called for a special snack.  I found these cute chocolates right after Christmas and hid them away for a special, snowy day :)

Yummy!

At the end of the day, after waiting and waiting for what seemed like forEVER, we pulled out the snowballs for a friendly fight.  (My mom sent these to us a couple of winters ago - so much fun!)

And I am now exhausted!  I don't have the energy in me that I use to, but how I love having a little one in the house that brings so much joy!

Happy winter days, friends!

Patty

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A Refreshing Punch Drink

I once drank this punch (only a different flavor), at a friend's house.  It was very refreshing; not sugary at all!

It consists of only 2 ingredients (easy peasy) and you can mix up the flavors if you like.

I served this for New Year's day and the kids really enjoyed it.

Ingredients:
 64 oz Juicy Juice (or some other brand of 100 % juice) - I used Fruit punch flavor

33 oz Walmart's Clear soda - I chose Strawberries & Cream

Directions:

Just mix one part juice and one part soda.  - I mixed together half of the 64 oz bottle of juice with the entire bottle of clear soda.

The fact that it is refreshing and you can switch the flavors up, makes this Refreshing Punch Drink a winner for year round holidays and parties.

Enjoy!

Patty

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Creamy Corn Casserole

Creamy Corn Casserole

We made this with our Christmas dinner this year.  I wanted something "new" to try; something southern.  This family loved it, and it was easy!! The older girls brought a dish of it to a Christmas party later that night.

Ingredients:

1 (15oz) can cream style corn

1 (15 ox) can sweet corn - drained

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter - softened

1 (8ox) sour cream

2 large eggs - slightly beaten

1 (8.5) oz box Jiffy cornbread mix

Salt to taste

Instructions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Mix everything form corn - eggs together.

3.  Add 1 box Jiffy cornbread mix and stir.

4.  Bake in a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan for 20-35 minutes until the mixture has set.  It may still be slightly jiggly, but that okay!

Prep Time - 5 mins
Cook Time - 35 mins
Total Time - 40 mins

Servings: 1 casserole

Recipe found over at showmetheyummy.com.

Enjoy!

Patty

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Little Flowers Class - St. Katharine Drexel

I had to teach one of the Little Flowers classes earlier this month.  This group of girls (age 8-12, in wreath 2) is SO SWEET!

The saint they studied was St. Katharine Drexel.  While the girls colored the coloring page of St. Katharine that came in their books, I had them listen to her beautiful story using my Glory Stories CD.

The next item was crafting!

The virtue was generosity (St. Katharine was incredibly unselfish with her family's wealth).  I found a craft online (teachers pay teachers)  that encouraged generosity in giving compliments.

Each girl cut out, decorated, and wrote a sweet compliment (gift) to each member of the group.  When they received their presents, they glued them onto the paper.  Each girl took home a sheet full of compliment presents.

I cannot tell you much they truly enjoyed being so "generous" with their compliments for one another!!

The other craft was making a daisy bracelet out of fun beads I brought with me.  We chose daisy bracelets since the flower for this saint is the daisy.  (I'm not sure why though??)

As the group leader for the night, I had to supply the snack to my group.  I had Miss Mabel and a friend make these daisy cupcakes, and they turned out adorable I think!  I heard no complaints from the little ones ;)

I have to teach the younger group in February (Miss Clementine's group).  She is so excited to have her mama teach ;)

I love the virtues the girls learn and the crafting is fun to gather ideas for, especially with the help of Pinterest!  (I'd be lost without Pinterest!)

St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us!

Patty

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New Year, New Changes - Daybook Post

Outside my window ~

On the Feast of the Epiphany, David led our family in a house blessing.  This isn't just a Catholic practice either; many denominations practice this.  It is so beautiful!

The family gathers to ask God’s blessing on their home and on those who live in or visit the home. It is an invitation for Jesus to be a daily guest in our home, our comings and goings, our conversations, our work and play, our joys and sorrows.

A traditional way of doing this is to use chalk to write above the home’s entrance, 20 + C + M + B + 16. The letters C, M, B have two meanings. They are the initials of the traditional names of the three magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. They also abbreviate the Latin words Christus mansionem benedicat, “May Christ bless the house.” The “+” signs represent the cross and 2016 is the year.

I am thankful for ~

Christmas break with Sarah home!!  I took her back to school last Saturday and helped her get all settled in.  She loves it there and is really in her element.  

(Photo credit: Sarah)

I hadn't said much, but she had a rough first quarter.  Room mate issues.  Nightmare room mate issues.  Sarah moved herself out by mid-October due to the problems that came up.  The former room mate really needs prayers.  Her lifestyle included every form of horrible decision-making that parents have night mares over.  I feel sorry for her because it all began with her home life.  

At any rate, Sarah ended up using the gifts that God blessed her with and received a 4.0 her first semester!!  

From the school room ~

The biggest change of all is that this semester finds our guy, Stan the man, in the public school system.    

Stan just needs me to be "Mom".  It's been coming for a couple of years, and I've been praying and hoping things would get better.  They didn't.  Back in October, we made the decision that he would enter public school at the new semester (there are no local Catholic schools around).  

Almost 1300 students in this one middle school. (I about died when I heard that from the registrar.) I was brought back to life when they showed us that 6th graders have their own wing and lunch hour, and the same goes for the 7th graders and 8th graders.  Can you imagine?? 

The first three days we drove him to school and picked him up after as we waited for the system to catch up and assign him to a bus.  (Don't even get me started about the bus.)

This was my view (car line) and it feels so surreal.

He will either end up loving it or hating it - no in between.  So far, he really likes it.  I'm giving him a two week adjustment period before I can get a good reading on the entire situation.

Stan has been seeing Ms. D (his AMAZING counselor) for some time.  She's helped us all out so much.  We love her!

Today was his first bus ride.  Please keep my little guy in your prayers for a peaceful transition. 

From the kitchen ~

My little baker made these Abigail's Biscuit Poppers ::

She (and her friend) made these little cupcakes for the Little Flowers lesson I had to teach last week (the virtue was generosity, the saint was St. Katharine Drexel, and the flower was the daisy) ::

What I am reading ~

My oldest sister told me about this challenge - reading the Bible and the Catechism in one year.

It sounded rather intimidating at first, but once I looked at the program (through the Coming Home Network), I knew I would accept the challenge.  It's making a lovely change to my daily routine.  :)

And Jack Frost arrived after Christmas! He makes a cute edition to all the winter books in our winter books bin.

Around the house ~

I'm taking part in another saint peg doll exchange and can hardly wait to see all the finished saints!

I painted St. Maria Goretti (my Confirmation saint).

There's 21 ladies involved again, and we will meet early in February for a brunch and exchange.

My husband recently converted the wood burning fireplace to a gas log fireplace.  Now I can start the fire without worrying if I will blow the place up!!

I am praying for ~

* an end to abortion.  (March for Life is coming up next weekend.  Two of my teens will be marching in Dallas.)

* a very special intention on my heart, something I need to handle and am seriously struggling with what to do.

* for Stan's transition into public school

* students everywhere as they begin the second semester

I am listening to ~

The wind hollowing outside as a cold front moves in

Coming down the pike this week ~

Thursday - ice skating lessons start up for Miss Mabel and Clementine.  They'll have 9 weeks of lessons.

Friday - Field trip for Miss Clementine

Saturday - There is a basketball game for Stan who is in Upward Sports again this year.

A last photo to share ~

I just LOVE the new tea kettle that Miss Ester gave me for Christmas!!

Wishing you all a warm cozy rest of your week!

Patty 

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