Catching Up With The Joneses

During a recent trip to a big box store (the nicer one LOL) the girl and I abandoned the boys at the camping aisle so we can look at tv's.  I've been salivating over flat-screen tv's for awhile which is probably unusual for someone who doesn't watch a lot.  Today I was researching it again because I just gotta have a new tv.

My husband was teasing me that we seem to be moving up in the world now that I am researching tv's which around here is considered a big ticket item. I have to burst his bubble by pointing out to him that flat screen tv's are not status symbols.  Everyone in the planet owns them including our favorite elderly neighbor who finally chucked her vintage wooden framed tv last year. I'm pretty sure we are the last living creatures in the world who still have old school tv circa 2001.  Lest you think I am being avaricious, let me make my case, in photos -

our lovely tube -in all it's vintage cathode ray glory, it doesn't do the Lord of the Rings widescreen format any justice

it has survived many a crayon mark

the missing power button is the perfect compliment to more crayon marks

 

but I see the potential  (source)

How does one joyfully watch Alaska: The Last Frontier and Larkrise to Candleford on that!?!?  Sigh.

My husband threatens to get first dibs on playing his Wii games once the perfect tv has been found and purchased. But I think the old tv will suffice for video games, don't you agree?

Happy Weekend. I will be at the tv aisle ;-)

A (Homeschool) Post Before Midnight

Well, this is a first, it's the fourth day of the blogging challenge and I haven't yet ran out of ideas about  what to write.  The only problem now is which one to write about first!  Since I haven't written about homeschooling in so long let me get that topic out of the way...

Today was a good day, we finished our Latin book way ahead of schedule (that's also a first!). I can smell Spring Break! That's of course after another round of snowfall this weekend. As much as I would like to say that finishing Latin early was out of efficiency it was really out of boredom LOL.  This winter has just been so cold that it wasn't always possible to shoo kids out of the house to play.  So when you can't play outside you conjugate and decline Latin. It may not be considered a delight-driven subject but in this home we delight in Latin and History.

If you are considering homeschooling let me tell you now it is a journey like no other.  It is like a love story - you fall in love, you fall out of love, you persist through the falling out of love phase then you fall in love again.  At least that is my story.  I was all starry-eyed as a young idealistic mother, I really wasn't very young, I was in my 30's.  Even then I had all the youthful passion necessary to take on such a huge vocation - staying home, teaching children at home.  It was fueled also by a fired-up faith and a little bit of pride ;-)  If you asked me why I homeschool at different moments of my life you would have gotten a different answer every time.  But with every different answer lies a simple truth - I teach at home because I love. We are all called to love in so many ways, each unique to our state in life.  Being at home with my children is where I am best able to fulfill that prayer promise - fiat voluntas tua - as a response to the One who first loved me.

Not everyone is called to homeschool.  Not everyone is called to homeschool every child, every school year or forever.  And like any other vocation, cooperation with grace is necessary.  And like any other vocation, the opportunities for holiness abounds.  I think I might use it as my excuse when St. Peter meets me at the pearly gates LOL.

For those of you who are discerning the homeschooling path there are two things you need to start with - pray...a lot! and then cultivate a home environment where your children will love being home, being home with you and being home with each other everyday, 24/7.  If you are able to do that you will be able to do anything and for those that you can't Google will be your bestfriend ;-)

It Takes A Village Link-Up To Clean My Purse

Today I'm playing with Kendra at Catholic All Year and other bloggers for the Big Purse Dump.  When I was telling my husband about it he thought I said "Big First Dump". I had to explain it wasn't a potty-training link-up. We have enough potty-training issues over here, TMI not necessary.

Back in the day when I would read all those glossy magazines about what Hollywood stars have in their purses I thought wow, who cares?!  But in the spirit of cooperation and purse-cleaning I will play along because, darn it, if Hollywood stars are free to empty out their purses for the world to marvel at, so am I!  And no you don't have to care LOL.  Are you ready? (no snoring allowed!)

The Purse - from Charming Charlie

this is a photo re-post from Christmas, present from the husband and he even bought a statement necklace to match, he's a good man

this insert from Amazon keeps things from getting lost in the abyss

the usual contents - a nappy, keys, wallet and store coupons/receipts- I know, exciting! Unlike my covetousness for purses, I am a wallet loyalist, I've had this same one for about 14 years

medicine for the allergic child(ren)

the shopping list, mom notebook, tissue and store coupons

a broken candle from the Candlemas procession, devotional papers/bookmarks

vanity-needs, writing implements, the checkbook and of course a toy car, no mom purse would be complete without it

a mini-flashlight and a spare camera battery, just like Diogenes I use the flashlight to look for honest human beings ;-)  okay, I really don't know why I have it in my purse

spare gloves, because someone is always missing a pair - I will explain the crud on it....

here is the primo reason why I joined this link-up - to clean out the crud that once was the delicious coconut topping on a donut, note the cruddy spare gloves.

Okay kids, go over and visit Kendra for the rest of the fun.  See you here again tomorrow! I promise no dirty laundry will be aired out ;-)

A Momentary Escape From Winter

As I type this my kids are playing outside while the snow flurries dance it's twirly dance.  I'm sooooooo over Winter, there I said it! My husband may now stop badgering me to admit that Winter and I are officially over.

To combat the blues I've been trying to entertain myself on Pinterest looking at Spring fashions, Spring projects, Easter ideas, Lenten devotional ideas...anything, anything to retain my sanity and sense of hope that there will be light.

And then I remembered that trip we took to that warm old country where Winter is unknown. Perusing through the pictures bring back so many happy memories and the presence of light (at the beach!) is enough to help me out of my Winter slump.

I never did post the pictures on this blog contrary to my promise to those of you who loathe being on Facebook. So in your honor I am finally sharing it here albeit almost three years late.  Let's get out of this Winter funk together, shall we?  -

paradise found

one for me, one for me! LOL

now I'm hungry

getting ready to parasail - this was my "you only live once" moment as I conquered my fear of heights - I figure God loves me enough not to take my life away in a far-flung country while my five kids wait at home. I was right.

here we go!!! see the look of terror?

the boat in the distance is pulling us like a kite, I didn't throw up and yes, I would do it over again...tomorrow if I could

mango shake and coffee after a little bit of retail therapy, this is breakfast people!

the rain did start to dampen the vacay

a lunch date overlooking Taal volcano, it didn't erupt while we were there - another proof that God loves me

and because we're a little crazy we just had to zip line...after lunch...me in a dress, not very smart

that's us over the trees tempting God's mercy

and of course you don't go anywhere in the Philippines without bumping into religious sisters

more food

catching our plane back out of paradise into the jungle of the city

There's a ton more pictures that I could post but let's leave it here for now.  My faves are those with my family and friends and visiting my godparents. I might do a second post.  But for now I hope you enjoyed the pictures with no snow.

Spring Hopes Seem Eternal

With much of the snow all thawed out, the dead of Winter is still ever present in the brown grass and lifeless plants. Having gotten used to freezing temperatures, these last few days of sunny 40 degrees weather felt like a tropical relief. As this month comes to a close we come closer to Spring. Sigh.

As much as I love the thought of Spring, the reality of it in this household is allergy-related suffering. Not my favorite season for that reason alone.

We are milking this Winter for whatever joy we can get out of it. This past weekend, we went on a quick hike in one of our favorite haunts. The trails were empty which was a shame for such a beautiful afternoon. The fresh air is always a lovely treat as I think about the dreaded Spring allergies and Summer heat advisories that are to come.  But I will ignore that thought for awhile to share some pictures:

stopping for birds

the woods all to ourselves

viewing ducks and geese

my cheeks were numb!

it was a glorious afternoon for a hike

I hope you are able to get out of the house this Winter, not just to run errands but to bask in what (little) joy Mother Nature has to offer this season. There's only 23 more days before the first day of Spring.

Seven Day Blogging Challenge

Yay! This week I will be joining Jen Fulwiler and a throng of other bloggers in the 7 days 7 posts link-up.

When I joined last year I was grieving the sudden death of my dad while planning a trip back home to Canada. It was a hazy moment in my life as all times of grief are and as usual writing was my saving grace. It was painful, both the grieving and the writing.  I wanted to write something meaningful but my brain wasn't cooperating. I managed to complete the task but it felt like a sixth grade writing project, difficult and uninspired LOL.  Come to think of it I probably wrote better stuff in sixth grade!

This year should be a little bit better, maybe seventh grade writing level at best ;-) The one difference is that this time around I'm writing for the fun of it. Looking at the weather this week I have every excuse to hide in my winter cave and blog to my hearts content.

See you here everyday this week, k?

Who's Ready For Lent?

I am! To some of us who live in areas favored by Mother Nature, this Winter has been truly penitential. Still, there is something about this season of being at home, inward, cabin-fever inducing days that is conducive to self-examination. And Lent is the natural progression of this self-examination after the revelry of the holidays.

I have been pondering Lent for awhile, probably because I have the luxury of time with it's late arrival this year. With all the craziness of the past year, health scares, my father's death, I need every minute of Lent to soak it all in. I even thought about having a theme for this year's Lent to reflect this Scripture passage that has been on my heart and mind for awhile:

"Your inmost being must be renewed, and you must put on the new man." - Ephesians 4:23-29

When I pray this Scripture passage my challenge is identifying what is being a new man for me.  When I pray for my own conversion, what exactly am I asking God?  Where am I going with all of this?  I don't know, I hope that 40 days of Lent will answer that question ;-)

This also ties down very nicely with one of the prayers of the Liturgy of The Hours (feast of St. Stephen) that really jarred me into contemplating this new man -

 "Grant, Lord that we may imitate what we worship...."

We are made to worship, either ourselves, a created matter or another being, hopefully that another is God. When I was pondering this I thought of all the things that take up my time and compete for my attention. The counterfeit "gods" that I have created.  I need Lent to root that all out.

16 more days.  In the words of the Psalmist- My heart is ready, O God.

Valentine's Day - You Never Know What You're Gonna Get

As some of you know we are not a Valentine's Day people.  We don't hate but we just don't celebrate (I'm not going to edit that out, sorry LOL).  No box of chocolate, a restaurant date or bouquet of roses over here, it's just not our thing.

Be that as it may, our children look forward to this date every year because it means our homeschool group is going to throw a big hurrah to celebrate this feast day.  This bash keeps getting bigger and better each year, from our humble beginnings at a local library to a skating party (ice one year, roller the following) to this last two years at a bounce place.  There were Valentines to make (or buy in our case) and a big to-do over the best Valentine's box contest.  For me it is a wonderful break from the tedium of Winter catching up with my mama friends while the kids freely roam around with their friends. For a two-hour event I leave feeling so refreshed and thankful for this unique vocation of children attached to my hip 24/7.   

the youngest on the inflatable slide

"I'm building a church!"

Speaking of the Valentine's box contest, my children were so determined to win this year.  They made one box with a crank that opens a flap to the slot where Valentine's go.  As fancy as it sounds the design element was lacking - it was a box with a crank, it's not going to win anything.  With that constructive criticism well-taken they had to come up with a new idea. Appealing to the sentiments of Buckeye fans they decided to make one that looks like the 'shoe, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes (the football team, for those of you on the other side of the world).  The oldest was really concerned with not making it look like a "patch job" but when you have less than 24 hours to finish something, you just gotta go with the flow.

the beginnings of the stadium

the scoreboard with gratuitous ads

I haven't yet taken a picture of the finished box.  It is now somewhat mangled so I'll have to doctor whatever picture gets taken ;-)  The good news is they won!!!  They were super-excited so I think I win the best critical mom award for telling them to re-do their box.

kids going through their prizes, they were so happy

fifty four families with our gazillion children in a warehouse play place - that's what makes a successful homeschool party

awaiting the results of the contest, my oldest on the left hand corner in the red (red shirt, black hair) was so nervous

In the meantime, back home the clothes dryer stopped working. My husband started working on it tonight and look at the treasure he found:

a couple of buttons, some lint, a Little Flowers patch, Canadian coins and five francs

The good news is there's enough money in that pile to pay for the replacement part.  Until Tuesday our clothes will be happily mildewed in the washer LOL.  It's on events like these that I am thankful that my husband can usually fix what's broken and for that alone I do not need a box of chocolate.

Happy Valentine's Day!

A Sweet Letter

It's no secret that we are proud parents over here. For the most part our children are well-behaved and courteous aside from being funny.  That parental pride got hyper-inflated with a note that my oldest received. This note was part of a CCD, Sunday School to you non-Papists ;-), project where they had to write a letter to someone who was an exemplar of virtue.  It can be to anybody and not necessarily to someone in class.  My oldest wrote to a relative, it's a surprise so I can't really say who it is because said person reads this blog. 

Anyhow, when the child handed me the note to read I was floored.  This letter is so sweet and true. There was no "are you sure he's talking about you?" moment LOL.  This letter is truly who my son is and for another child his age to recognize this about him was just amazing.  What made it really awesome was they are not old friends, they just met at the beginning of the school year and they don't even play outside of CCD/Youth Group (the friend is not homeschooled). 

So without further ado, here is the photo of said letter.  I had permission to post it but I blocked out the names to protect the innocent:

"Certainly sons are a gift from the LORD, the fruit of the womb, a reward" - Psalm 127:3

A Perfect Ending To Basketball Season

Today was the last day of regular play for basketball.  That can only mean one thing....Spring (baseball) is almost here!!! I don't care if we're getting another round of snow fall overnight, Spring is almost here.  So I haven't written much about the oldest playing basketball. I can only fault my forgetful brain for that. I take the camera to the games but in the heat of competition I forget to take pictures!

This was the first year he played. He is a baseball guy so basketball was a completely different game for him.  I'm still not sure he likes it but he's a hard-worker and a willing student evidenced by how hard he paid attention to learning the game. So today, finally, my brain worked properly as I manage not to take pictures but videos!!!! And how timely as he made this three-point shot, they are the white and green team: (umm, yeah that was me screaming the loudest)

They finished first in their division/group. We're waiting for the tournament schedule to come out.  We have very high hopes of winning the championship.  I'll be sure to post about that.

And how cool/odd is this that both kids wore number 15 jerseys this year?  My Irish twins ;-)

Winterpocalypse Version 2.5

We continue to dig out from another round of winter loveliness in the form of ice and snow.  This time around we had about 6 inches of snow with a coating of ice on top.  We were under a level 2 snow emergency yesterday. I don't think I remember what dirt looks like anymore, everything is white around here. But as the old maxim goes if Mother Nature gives you snow, you make a snow fort. So I finally gave in and let the children have a snow day which meant I also abandoned my chore list, yay!

I pray that you all are warm and safe in this crazy, prolonged Winter. Some photos to share:

when my middle child was a little baby he thought my faux fur was a live animal - when he saw it laying on my bed he ecstatically squealed "PUPPY!!!", to this day whenever I wear this coat he comes up to me and squeals "PUPPY!" LOL this is him giving "puppy" a hug

the girl was packing the snow in to make a fort

using a fiddlestick to dig out, long story short our shovel was buried in the snow and we couldn't find it

fortunately my neighbor had two shovels to spare, she hires out her plowing and landscaping so she has no use for shovels so my oldest was happy dig our cars out

the six-year-old brushes off the snow on our walkway

Mama Mary, Queen of Snow!

after all the shoveling it was time to make a snow fort

I love this, I can breathe, I can sing a psalm of praise to the Lord, maker of snow ;-)

we played tirelessly into the night as the snow continued to fall

the girl and hubby built this pile for the makings of an igloo

Today we were back to the grind of school and chores and basketball practice(s) even as the snow remains.  Happy Winter! We are closer to Spring than you think ;-)