Outside my window...
it is still looking like a campground! The kids have all been having such a fun time camping in the backyard this week. We
all slept out in the tent on Saturday night, which made me realize that I am now
way too old to sleep on the ground... especially with a nursing baby. Ouch! I am still sore!
I am thinking...
about this morning's
(or I guess I should now say yesterday's since it is after midnight) doctors appointment. I still don't have an answer to what is causing my liver to be inflamed, and I will be going to see a specialist soon. I guess now they want to test for some autoimmune disorders. Don't they know that I don't have time for all of this? ;)
I am thankful...
that "when God closes a door, He opens a window!" I was recently reminded of that by my Dad's cousin, after posting on facebook a few weeks ago that I had just found out that the great teacher we had coming to our home once a week this past year (as part of the homeschool charter school we were using) won't be returning. I also said that I wasn't sure that I wanted to stay enrolled without her and that I had some decisions to make... Well, within minutes of that reminder, I received an email from a friend letting me know that she had just been hired by our charter school as the department head for Math and Science and that perhaps she could be assigned to our family! I couldn't have hand-picked a better person to help teach my children!! Not only is she incredibly smart and doing an amazing job of home educating her own children, she is Catholic, and also happens to be one of my Little Flower moms!
(And she also reads my blog... Hi Kathleen!) This past Thursday I stopped by the school, and it's official. She will be our new ES for this coming year. My husband is just as excited as I am, and we feel so very blessed.
(Even though we will still dearly miss Cynthia!)
Learning all the time...
I just finished ordering most of our schoolbooks for this coming school year! I still need to make a few decisions for Snuggles, who will be starting Kindergarten, but other than that I am really happy with our plans. The four oldest also participated in their very first online class this past Thursday, learning all about
Prizes and Penalties: The Ancient Olympics. It was the perfect way to kick off their Summer Olympics Unit Study!
(Thanks for the suggestion, Charlotte!)
Celebrating the liturgical year...
today is the feast of St. James and the memorial of St. Christopher! I have some fun
Transportation Themed Snacks, in honor of St. Christopher, patron of travelers, planned for the kids, which we will enjoy while reading
The Legend of St. Christopher. Hubby is also planning to make a "Spanish Dinner" in honor of St. James, patron of Spain. I organized a much needed Mom's Night Out at a local restaurant, but I should be home in time to make the
Coupe St. Jacques for dessert. Then, tomorrow, we have the feast of St. Anne, who is one of my patron saints! I'm still trying to decide what I am going to make, but I'm leaning towards some sort of "dessert" with lots of red and green fruits (strawberries, raspberries, grapes, kiwis, etc) representing the colors she is traditionally shown wearing - red for Divine Love and green for immortality. It might be fun to create a whole dinner in red & green! Spaghetti (julienned zucchini for me) and Red Sauce, Garden Fresh Basil and Cherry Tomatoes, Green Salad, and maybe even some sparkling grape juices. Yum!
From the kitchen...
special meals in honor of the saints, as usual!
I am creating...
a list of ideas for Twinkle Toes' birthday next month... She's up next, and has requested a "Camp" themed birthday. That shouldn't be too hard, right?
I am working on...
improving my health. I haven't been exercising this past week, but I have been eating extra well and taking my supplements. I plan to get back on the treadmill
soon today!
I am going...
to try and post a few more pictures from Captain's birthday party in a {pretty, happy, funny, real} post, but just in case I don't, here is one more that proves that Rose was indeed at the party! :) I hadn't realized that I didn't include a picture of her in my original post. I just wasn't able to get her to take a nap the day of the party and, sure enough, she fell asleep while eating her dinner and the slept right through the whole party!
(Pictured from left to right: my brother Brian with Bud, my brother David with Rose, and my sister-in-law and niece)
I am hoping...
that Bud's 2nd tooth breaks through soon. It is so close! The poor little guy has been miserable lately!
I am reading...
a
new blog, after seeing
Charlotte's link. After just clicking over to get the links for this post, I laughed at Barbara's comment... I too have recently "threatened" my children with giving away half (or more!) of what we own. I'm not sure I could go that far, but I sure wouldn't mind some extra inspiration!
I am praying...
for
Sam and her little Steven Thomas.
Pondering these words...
from
an article I read weeks ago on "The Busy Trap", after a friend emailed me the link. It has been on my mind since, and I have been re-evaluating all of our extracurricular activities for this coming year. Click on over and read the whole article... I'd love to hear your thoughts!
"It’s almost always people whose lamented busyness is purely self-imposed: work and obligations they’ve taken on voluntarily, classes and activities they’ve “encouraged” their kids to participate in."
I am listening...
to the baby swing rock back and forth, the air conditioner, and one of my little ones coughing in their bed. I just gave him some cough syrup. It sounds like we have another virus making it's way through our family. That
always seems to happen after I take my kids to the doctors office for their annual well child checkups...
sigh.
Around the house...
lots and
lots of laundry. How does it pile up so quickly?
One of my favorite things...
the sacrament of Confession! We all went on Saturday evening, stayed for Mass, and then went out to dinner. It was great!!
A few plans for this week...
- Followup visit with my Doctor
- Mail a couple packages to friends
- Celebrate the feasts of St. James, St. Christopher, and St. Anne
- Mom's Night Out
- Mass on Friday
- Opening Night of the Summer Olympics
*Basically this week is the calm before the storm... The following two weeks are jam packed with two more weeks of swimming lessons, one more week of golf camp (in the evenings), a Wedding (the boys will serve), the St. Anthony's Festa (boys will serve for that too), and more!
A little peek at my day...