Friday, October 28, 2011

Seven Quick Takes Friday (19)



Thanks to Jen for hosting over at conversiondiary.com.  This was a quick one for me.  Didn't even require much thought... some weeks are easier than others I suppose!

-1-

Snow!  We have snow!  Thursday night I put my one year old to bed before the three year old.  I have taken to staggering bedtimes so that hopefully the one year old falls asleep before the three year old can start freaking out about having a dream.  Luckily sitting in the room with said three year old has been helping, probably that I'm sitting there praying doesn't hurt either.  Anyway, after putting Hannah down and playing with Alicia for a few minutes, my mom comes into the room and says it is snowing out!  So being one who LOVES the snow and Alicia seeming to follow suit, we put on her rain boots (I still have yet to get winter boots for her) and her new winter coat (thanks memere for getting her one just on Wednesday!) and outside we went.  I didn't put on any extra layers, which probably was silly, but hey, I'm a New England girl!!!   What can I say?  SO EXCITED!


-2-
I am also very excited for Halloween this year.  It seems that Alicia is actually excited about it and keeps telling people that she's going to be a dinosaur.  Hopefully, we do not have a repeat of this:

 


-3-
Really bummed out that hubby won't get to be there for trick or treating on Halloween this year.  His work schedule really has to change.  Three years is enough of this night time schedule, right?  I don't know how couples do it that don't get to have dinner together regularly, no nighttime routine schedule together with the kids on a permanent basis.  And this also means I have BIG TIME RESPECT for any single parent, mom or dad.  Definitely is tough on everyone, parents AND kids, I think.

 

-4-
Going to meet up with some homeschool moms from our parish on Friday night for a "Busy Bag Night."  I'm hoping that this will give our three year old a new interest other than movies.  I have weaned her down to one movie per day, but I really want her to find some things to do for some "quiet time."  Hoping that this does the trick.


-5-
I cannot believe that hubby and I will actually be going on a date on Saturday.  Our usual 'dates' include trips to the grocery store, rides in the car or other things like teaching teenagers the Catholic teachings on sexuality.  Really looking forward to going to the movies with him.  Going to see "Courageous", so long as it will still be in theaters.  I have a hard time going to see any "normal" movie these days.  Last movie I saw in the theater was "Something Borrowed."  Had a hard time with everyone cheating, the lack of morals - I found it a little gross.  Some of it was amusing, but I seem to see things so much differently these days.  Maybe I've lost my sense of humor.

-6-
And we will also be going to a hockey game Saturday night as a family with memere and pepere.  So excited.  Wondering how Hannah will sit still, and when she will konk out.  Hopefully she gets in an extra nap somewhere, but she's taken to having just one nap a day.  Hopefully if it snows, it won't be too bad for traveling...


-7-
Met up with a friend from my parish this week that I hadn't gotten together with in over a year, basically since we each had our babies.  It was great to catch up, but I hope that it isn't that long until we get together again.  Was really great to see her and have our children play together for a while.  Both of my girls fell asleep in the car after our visit so I was able to run some errands without any chatter.  I had the radio off and really enjoyed some quiet time.  Boy was that necessary! 

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Wondrous Wednesdays (12)




In the spirit of gratitude, I’m listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 


(1)
It's absolutely wondrous how easily Alicia has gone to bed the past two nights, when for three or four nights in a row it was over two hours of struggle.  It was starting to become a nightmare but I decided to stagger bedtimes so long as Hannah has only had one nap.  Hannah goes to bed first and when she's just about alseep I start the routine with Alicia.  This way Alicia is pretty tired after going all day without a nap.  I I think she feels more safe with me staying in the room, so it's been working out alright so far. 


(2)
What is also wondrous about this new routine is that it gives me a time of quiet for prayer. Time to pray for my girls, talk to God about what is really important.  I've been finding that I'm making some progress.  FINALLY after what seems like maybe a few years of confessing the same thing I may actually make some headway on prayer.  The recommendation of our new pastor helped too.  There are lots of little moments when I'm stressed, aggravated, or the girls do something really sweet, cute or have a fit of the giggles.  These are all times I can use for quick little prayers when I can either ask for help in moments of difficulty or give a quick praise to God for these endearing moments.  So far this idea has really worked out well for me.  I'm hoping to continue to make progress with prayer.


(3)
The last class we taught this past Sunday for the confirmation students was about dating with purity and purpose.  For the most part, disregarding the handouts thrown in the trash on their way out by a select few, the students definitely were paying more attention.  Probably because it was more a how to live this stuff out, a class that was more a guide about dating.  It was truly wondrous to see them sitting there actually looking at us instead of with their heads down, giggling over whatever it is that caused them some distraction.  I still wish that they opened up for discussion a little more, but the seeds are planted and maybe some of them will talk about the class with each other outside of the classroom.  And maybe, next time around, we will manage to figure out a way to get them to open up earlier than the last week of class.  

Friday, October 21, 2011

Seven Quick Takes Friday (18)



Thanks to Jen for hosting over at conversiondiary.com.  A few things I've seen this week...

-1-

I think part of the reason I started my blog when I did was that I was tired of seeing friend after friend on Facebook post about Larry King, Elizabeth Taylor, and Tiger Woods failed marriages as a "why not gay marriage."  I'm just going to leave this at : here's the newest FB thing going around that is irking me:



-2-
Jason and Crystalina Evert have a book out called, " How to find your soulmate without losing your soul" and all week this week they have been on Women of Grace on EWTN.  I posted the link on Facebook and am glad to see that someone shared it.  Putting the link here because if you know someone who is single and struggling in bad relationships or tired of being lonely, the first show can be viewed online, then with a free subscription you can access the other four episodes this week.

-3-
We are going to be giving our students a CD (so long as I can make a copy in time) called "Do's and Don'ts of Dating" also by Jason Evert.  It shows ten simple strategies for finding true love while navigating the modern minefields of impurity, peer pressure, and heartbreak.




If you would like a copy, let me know and maybe I can get a copy to you, but give me some time.

-4-

I had a conversation maybe about a month ago about Disney princess movies. Basically what horrible messages they provide for girls.  This picture really says a lot.  I tend to not watch them often but occasionally my girls do like to watch a few of these.  Somehow we will have to counteract these messages.  Or maybe stop them from watching these altogether.



-5-
Movies I want to see: "Courageous" and "The Way." Has anyone seen either of these?  Hoping that maybe hubby and I can go on a date night next weekend since our TOB classes will be done.  Really hoping that they stay in theaters in our area for a few more weeks. 
-6-
So I really like hockey, and I really do miss having season tickets to college hockey, but luckily we now have good cable and I can watch my fair share on TV these days!  Anyhow, Boston College hockey team is ranked #1 in the nation.  They have beaten Michigan State (5-2), North Dakota (6-2) and UNH (5-1).  Their only loss was their home season opener to Denver (4-2).  I do not like the team being ranked #1 because the only way to go is down!  My parents will be taking our oldest daughter to the game tomorrow night and I'm sure they will have a great time.  Someday we will go again on a regular basis instead of such spotty attendance!
 
-7-
So Thursday night it took well over an hour and a half of my three year old saying "I don't want to dream" before she could get to sleep.  I guess her fears and bad dreams have not gone away.  There were about 5 trips to the potty, the last one being after I put her down after an hour and a half.  Will try the holy water which someone suggested last time I posted about this.  It's so hard to not lose patience with the incessant I-don't-want-to-dream statements, but it's hard not to be sympathetic when she starts crying and freaking out.  Poor little lady.  Oh and as I finish this up in the wee hours of early Friday, she has woken up four more times to go potty.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Wondrous Wednesdays (11)




In the spirit of gratitude, I’m listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 


(1)
My parents are back from Italy.  It is nice to have them home again and it was just so sweet seeing both of our girls keep repeating memere and pepere over and over again the first few days.  I just love watching our girls play with them.

(2)
Ahhhhh.... I went to reconciliation again.  It had been two and a half months, which was definitely too long.  Our new priest is a wonderful confessor and had some really great tips for me!  I truly think most people don't understand how beautiful reconciliation is!  What an awesome sacrament Jesus gave us. 


(3)
Wondrous giggles at the dinner table!  Both the girls had a case of the giggles Tuesday night.  They laugh at the strangest things, but such joy from little ones is contagious.  They had me and memere in fits of giggles too!





Below is a linky list if you’d like to add a link to your own Wondrous Wednesdays. (1) Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your post and not your main blog URL. (2) Include a link back here.












Friday, October 14, 2011

Seven Quick Takes Friday (17)


Thanks to Jen for hosting over at conversiondiary.com.  This week my quick takes are some favorite pictures from our trip to the Southwick Zoo this past Wednesday (I couldn't choose just seven pictures - I tried!).  Definitely should be my quickest quick takes yet.  After this weekend I should be back to some regular blogging.  I have to take a break when I'm preparing for teaching TOB.  Two more classes left and most of the prep work is done now!
-1-
Alicia LOVES turtles so she really liked these huge tortoises that were at the beginning of the zoo.  There were kangaroos nearby too and we spotted one with a lil joey in her pouch on our way out!  SOOO cute!


-2-
Alicia enjoyed feeding the goats and the peacock with her daddy!

 

-3-
We spent a few minutes at the playground near the lions and tigers...


-4-
Don't worry, it only looks like we left our one year old near a 4 foot fence with a tiger lurking behind her, but there is a second and much larger fence behind it!  And there was a fence between myself and the lion, I FINALLY managed to get the camera to stop focusing on the fence and take a good shot!



-5-
There were quite a variety of monkeys at the zoo.  One cute little monkey particularly enjoyed watching Hannah in the wagon!

-6-

Nana came along for the trip and she (and Alicia too!) had a great time buzzing around in her motorized scooter.



-7-
We had such a wonderful day at the zoo!  Spent all afternoon walking around and having a great time!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Wondrous Wednesdays (10)




In the spirit of gratitude, I’m listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 


(1)
Having two days off mid-week with hubby to enjoy quality time with our girls will be really wondrous, even if the girls are sick.  We don't take week long vacations these days and we haven't done many day trips with our girls.  So I am pretty thrilled that we have two days to go do something fun together.  I'm hoping Alicia doesn't get sick in the car again because we are going to try to go to another zoo.  And then maybe just spend a day relaxing.  YAY time off together!

(2)
I've been enjoying sharing movies with the girls that I watched as a little girl.  This week we put in Annie since I hadn't seen it in a while and Alicia loves dogs.  I forgot how long it was...  but I have to say that you see thing so differently as an adult than you did as a child.  During the very first song "Maybe," (and quite a few others) I started to get all teary eyed when Annie sung, "their one mistake was giving up me!"  What seems so sweet and romantic as a child, is definitely viewed differently when one has the knowledge of what some kids go through.  I've become an emotional mess since 1.  getting married and 2.  having kids.  I never used to tear up at movies like this.  It's ridiculous and wondrous at the same time.

(3)
Mind you, our 1 year old doesn't do much watching of the said movies like the one I discussed in #2.  She mostly walks around like she's going to take off into a sprint.  She is having such a great time but isn't quite as good at steadying herself as she needs to be.  She bonked her head on the hardwood floor and has a small-ish egg that I think will probably turn all kinds of colors.  Then later, she almost twisted her arm as she was holding one finger and running around me in circles.  I just couldn't keep up.  What a pistol!  As I've said before, she's going to be fun!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Seven Quick Takes Friday (16)

Thanks to Jen for hosting over at conversiondiary.com.  This week there is no unifying theme...

-1-
Our three year old seems to have had a pretty disturbing dream.  She says, "there was a guy in the room, I played with him, touched him and he went into the carpet and he was dead."  Now, I am not one who gets freaked out very much by supposed ghosts and stuff, but this whole thing has me a little concerned.  Ever since, she doesn't want to go into her bed, and doesn't want to go in the playroom downstairs.  I try to reassure her that there is no guy.  I hold her hand when we go into a room.  I've been saying the "now I lay me down to sleep prayer" in her ear a second time while she lays in bed.  Just trying to help her with it, but I really am not sure what I should do here.  We think it may be the result of a book that we read to her recently, but we can't be sure.

-2-
Been thinking about taking a local couponing seminar in early November.  I keep seeing friends and families who post all these items they bought for less than one dollar!!!  I could SO use that, but I'm wondering if I will be buying things I need, where exactly I will put a stockpile of anything and if I will be just doing all the work to mostly donate stuff.  I don't have extra time to do this if it isn't helping us actually save money and I'm buying stuff I won't use.  Might be worth it though...

-3-
The dog is at is again, but I think it's my own fault, well sort of.  She threw up grass in the toy room which I had to clean this morning, not just on the wood floor, but on the play mats we have down and the toy house we have that our youngest loves to crawl though.  I was not impressed.  Then after emptying the dishwasher this morning and seeing nothing on the dining room floor, I went in there after I put the girls down for a nap this afternoon and voila!  poop!  She had been outside a few times already and this didn't even happen during all the rain earlier in the week.  What is she doing?!?  I didn't wake up until 8:15 this morning, so that's way off her schedule, but why didn't she poop before I woke up! 

-4-
So I've been thinking I need to get to confession.  Maybe this Saturday, maybe next week on Saturday.  Can't manage weeknights with hubby's schedule.  I haven't done a good examination of conscience just yet but it's definitely time.  I can tell it's time because I'm getting cranky easily.  I should have stuck with the every six weeks schedule I was on.  Or maybe I need to make it a monthly ritual.

-5-
First Friday Adoration tonight.  I'm looking forward to this.  It will be my second time going.  Hopefully this time I don't come out of it thinking "boy I suck!"  I've improved, albeit slightly, in my relationship with Jesus.  Baby steps I keep telling myself.  He knows I care, he knows I'm trying.

-6-
A few weeks back I went to a baptism for my cousin's daughter, where the priest mentioned that it is important that our children see our faith, not just at church, but also in our homes.  One of the things he mentioned was having kids see rosary beads hanging on the bedposts and being able to play with rosary beads.  I always thought that there should be more reverence for the rosary, but after thinking about it I figured the more exposure they have to our religious traditions the better.  I decided to give each of our girls rosaries that I think they can't break, they do each have at least one set of really nice rosaries.  Alicia has enjoyed playing with them and likes to put her arms and legs through.  Hannah broke the crucifix off hers literally a few minutes after I gave her the "nonbreakable" ones I had as a child that were glow in the dark.  So I've let her use another one that is definitely breakable but we will obviously have to keep an eye on her.  What is very cute about Hannah is that she likes to hold them up under her chin and grin.  We say "pretty" or "beautiful" and she just beams her crocked little smile.  Haven't managed to get this on camera yet, but that grin is just too much.

-7-
 I figured out the costumes for Halloween for our little ones.  Alicia is going to be a T-Rex and Hannah a Triceratops.  They both are really into playing with dinosaurs so I'm hoping this will work.  Last year's Halloween was a spectacle. Alicia was crying because we dressed her in a monkey costume to go with Hannah banana.  The whole time I was getting her dressed to go trick or treating she was crying and saying over and over "I don't want to be a monkey, I want to be Alicia!"  I'd put the video here, but I think it would take too long to upload to blogger.  For now, here's a picture of the sad faced monkey named Alicia and her screaming banana Hannah from last year when we tried to get professional pictures taken.  Here's hoping this year we won't have a sad T-Rex or Triceratops.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Wondrous Wednesdays (9)




In the spirit of gratitude, I’m listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 


(1)
What is really wondrous is when you are mostly caught up on laundry and there are very few dishes in the sink.  Cannot say how wonderful that really is.  It has been a while since I felt almost on top of things.  Granted there are a ton of 'projects' that need doing, but to feel like the everyday stuff is close to where it should be is truly wondrous. 

(2)
Had a night earlier this week where hubby and I were just able to relax and enjoy watching some TV together.  May be something you think, well what is so wondrous about that?  But with him working an odd schedule and getting home late, all the craziness that has happened the past few months getting ready for this or that, it was like a little bit of heaven to be able to just sit down and hold hands while enjoying a favorite TV show.  Another definitely wondrous moment!


(3) 
My third wondrous moment was that I was able to 'speak' with my mom via FaceBook chat this week.  They left for a two week plus vacation last Wednesday so it has been odd to be here, living in their home, without them here.  Truly wonderful to have a few minutes to check in, even if it was just online.  I knew that the girls would miss memere and pepere and I knew that I would too, but I think sometimes we take for granted speaking with someone every day.  We should never forget that some people do not have the opportunity to do so for one reason or another.  So thankful for getting to spend lots of time with my mom and dad these days.  I am truly blessed.