My Daybook :: June 9, 2010

Outside my window... their is a big concrete truck and quite a few contractors working on our foundation!

I am thankful... that I was well enough to attend the Blue Knights Festival and our Little Flowers Mother/Daughter Tea Party!  I got *really* sick on Friday which I think was due to food poisoning.  I didn't think I was going to make it anywhere over the weekend and was trying to think of who could take my place at the Tea Party with my girls.  :-(   I was so thankful that I woke up Saturday morning feeling almost completely better, just very weak.

I am hoping and praying... for my friends, Andrew and Julie, who were both in my class at Christendom.  They are trying to adopt a little girl right now!  Would you please keep them in your prayers?

From the kitchen... All sorts of things as I work on emptying my cupboards.  I think pretty soon the inspectors are going to be fighting over who gets to come up here for our inspections. . . At least until my oven is torn out! ;)

From the learning rooms... The boys are finishing up a couple projects this week and then they will be done for the summer.  My "learning room" will soon be my temporary "kitchen/dining room" so I am looking forward to putting the majority of the school books away for awhile.

Living the Liturgical Year at Home... I just realized I never did get a chance to post the compilation of recipes for June over at Catholic Cuisine.  Hopefully I will have a chance to do so this week.

I am creating... room in my closet for some of my dishes and other kitchen items.  Where am I going to put everything?!

I am reading... the latest issue of Mater et Magistra and finding it completely inspiring, as usual!

Our little Rose... is crawling!  I can't believe it!! She isn't really sitting up on her own very well, but I think that is because she just CAN'T sit still, and wants to move around.

Noticing that... there have been quite a few searches for "School Room" lately.  Right now my school room is a bit of a mess, as we wrap up our school year, but you can see what it looked like at the beginning of the year here:  The New School Room.

Towards personal care... Last week I purchased a package of Crest 3D White Whitestrips and, after just a few days of using them, am so amazed at how much whiter my teeth look already.  (I had tried a generic brand a few years ago and didn't notice any difference.)  {Big Smile!!}

Now, if only I can find something for the dark circles and wrinkles around my eyes.  I know some extra sleep would probably really help, but in the meantime I am going to try a couple products from Neutrogena.

One of my favorite things... The Tiddliwinks Brown Dot Moses Basket!   My Brother & Sister-in-law purchased this off my baby shower registry and it has been one of my absolute favorite new pieces of "Baby Gear."  Unlike Snuggles, Rose does not love the swing or bouncy chair (she refuses to spend any time in them) and prefers to spend time in her little basket, both sleeping and playing.   I love the color of the wicker, and it is so convenient to move around and take places as well.

(Note:  For those of you that have emailed asking about the basket, my only complaints are that the handles flop over into the basket (so I just tuck them behind the fabric) and this past week there is a little break in the top wicker (I'm not sure what you call it) piece. I'm hoping I can use something to "tape" it back together.  However, I am really not surprised since we have used it SO much, and I thought it was a great basket for the price.)


A few plans for the rest of the week:

• Return Books to the Library and pick up a few more books to finish up "Z" Week.
• I have a dentist appointment on Friday.
• My sister's (JoAnn & Mary) Graduate from High School on Friday night!!
• There is a Baby Shower on Saturday for my friend Trina.  (It is going to be at Marci's house!!  She has been really, really busy!!)
• And on Sunday, after Mass, we are headed to a 1st Birthday party for my friend Ann-Marie's twin boys!

Add to that our last week of school, and contractors working each day, and it is another very busy week!  :-)

A Picture thought I am sharing:

It has taken me most of the day (a minute here and a minute there) to get through this Daybook post, so here are a few pictures from today!   

(Note:  Rascal took this one. . .   I wasn't about to go out there and start snapping pictures!) 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Our Little Flowers' Tea Party 2010 ~ The Games

After each course of our Tea we had a game for the girls to play, while the tables were being reset with the next course.  At last year's Tea Party we played Setting the Table for Tea, The Tea Tray Memory Game, and She Loves It, She Loves It Not. They were all very fun, however I decided to change it up a bit this year and came up with a few new games at the very last minute, while waiting for paint on the favors to dry.  ;)

Here are the games we played this year:

~ Tea Party Bingo ~ 

In between our first and second course, we played Tea Party Bingo!   I found this game over at The Tea House Times.  (Here is a link to the pdf.)

Each girl was given a Bingo card and instructed to fill in the squares with the words from the provided list in the empty boxes, mixing them up so each player would have a different card.

When they were all done I read them the story.  When they heard a word that was on their card they marked it off and the first 4 girls to get Bingos were given a small prize! 

"Dear Party Guests:

Thank you for coming to our Little Flowers Mother/Daughter “Tea” today. What better way to celebrate the completion of Wreath II than by having a “Tea Party” among “Friends.”

“Tea Time” was very popular during the Victorian Era. Tea Time became a way of life. It was Anna Maria, the Duchess of Bedford (one of “Queen Victoria’s” ladies-in-waiting) who left the most memorable impression of tea-drinking habits. Hunger between the midday and evening meals gave way to her new found custom of eating “cakes” and “sandwiches” with Afternoon Tea. The Afternoon Tea experience delighted Anna Maria so much that she repeated it daily. The Queen embraced Anna Maria’s ceremony of Afternoon Tea which became a much loved activity.

Traditionally, Afternoon Tea is served between three and five o’clock and includes several kinds of finger “sandwiches”, “scones”, mini desserts, “sweet breads”, and fancy “cakes”. The Victorian Hostess set out her finest china and silver for Tea. Nowadays, many of the fine Tea Rooms offer “Afternoon Tea” at any time of the day.

There are many ways to enjoy Afternoon Tea. Some like their tea with “milk” and “sugar” while enjoying a “scone” with “clotted cream” and “jam”. Some like to wear fancy “hats” and pretty “gloves” to tea. No matter how you enjoy tea, be sure to take out a pretty “tea cup” and “tea pot” often. Use a “strainer” for loose tea. Use a “tea cozy” overtop of your pretty pot to keep it warm while you enjoy time spent with friends & family. Get out your finest “silver”, your mismatched “china”, pretty linen “napkins” and favorite “teaspoon”. Appreciate the luxury Afternoon Tea brings along with the chance to linger with friends. Enjoy!"

It was very fun and a great way for the girls to learn a little bit about Tea Time! 

~ Tea Tray Memory Game ~ 

After the second course, we started the Tea Tray Memory Game.  

The girls were all given plenty of time to study the tray of items that Marci had put together.  We decided to wait until after the next game AND the third course of our tea before seeing what they could remember.   I was so surprised that a few of the girls were able to remember all 18 items! 

Here is a link to the page I created to go along with the game, in case anyone would like a copy.

~ Wreath II Virtue Word Search ~ 

As soon as we covered up the Tea Tray the girls moved on to a Word Search I created, using the Virtues from Wreath II.  It actually started to rain for a few minutes, so the girls all headed inside for this game.  Thankfully it cleared up quickly so we could all go back outside for the last course of our tea.

The Word Search was quite challenging for some of the girls, but I think they all enjoyed it just the same! 

I uploaded the Wreath II Virtue Word Search (plus solution) to Scrib to share, as well as another one I created using the Flowers from Wreath I.    Both of them were created using an online generator that provided text to create your own document.

~ Croquet ~ 

After our third course, and finishing the Tea Tray memory Game, the girls all played Croquet and Tic-Tac-Toe in the beautiful garden.

It ended up being such a beautiful and fun filled day! 

Our Little Flowers' Tea Party 2010 ~ The Menu

This year we had our Mother/Daughter Tea Party in the home garden of the grandmother of one of my Little Flowers!  Our menu was almost the same as last year, with just a few changes.

~ Drinks ~

Tea served with Cream and Sugar

Ice Water

~ The First Course ~

Grapes ~ Strawberries ~ Scones

Served with Whipped Cream, Apricot Jam, and Lemon Curd

Oh, YUM!!  I had been craving Kathleen's Lemon Curd since last year!  

~ The Second Course ~

Tortilla Roll Ups ~ Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Salami and Cream Cheese Sandwiches

~ The Third Course ~

Brownies ~ Cream Puffs

Lemon Tea Cookies

Just like last year, my friend Trina (who is due next month with her 7th!) also volunteered to coordinate and supervise the servers for us, and we were served by four very sweet girls who are also all Little Flowers! (Two are Trina's daughters and two are older sisters to two of our own Little Flowers!) Thank you all so very much for your help!!

Well, our contractors just arrived and I have a mountain of laundry to get started from the past few days, so I'll be back later today, or perhaps tomorrow, with a few more pictures and our Tea Party Games.  

I hope you all have a great day! 

Our Little Flowers' Tea Party 2010 ~ The Attendees

♥ The Little Flowers ♥

♥ The Mothers ♥

Me, Amy, Erica, Marci, Julie

DeeDee and Kathleen

♥ Me and My Girls ♥

♥ The Babies ♥

"Bump" and Rose...

...who were both barely on their way last year!

I'll be back soon with more pictures from our Tea Party, but right now I am off to try and get some sleep...  It has been a busy weekend!

Blue Knights End of Year Festival

I'll be back sometime soon to post pictures from our lovely Little Flowers Girls' Club Mother/Daughter Tea Party this afternoon, but first here are some pictures from this year's Blue Knights Festival!

~ The Invitations ~

~ The Knights Fortress ~ 

~ The Knights Table ~ 

~ Feasting ~ 

Drumsticks, Meatballs, Salads, Rolls, Veggies, Grapes and Cheeses! 

~ Festivities ~

Name the Saint:

Father/Son Tournament:

Each Knight completed a series of challenges based on the virtues from the year, with the help of their Fathers.  They had so much fun!  

Challenge #1:  Virtue of Faith

Build a Church out of Blocks

If you tell my Husband to "Build a Church,"  you can be sure that it will be built in the shape of a cross!

Challenge #2:  Virtue of Humility

Sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat as loud as you can 3 times, despite "how bad" you may sound singing! 

Challenge #3:  Virtue of Love of God

The Craft/Symbol for this virtue was the arrow, so the boys were to throw three arrows through a hoop.

Yes, Captain takes most directions quite literally! 

Challenge #4:  Virtue of Self-Control

Hop on one foot for 10 seconds and freeze for five seconds.

Challenge #5:  Virtue of Respect

The Knight does three things requested by the Father.

Challenge #6:  Virtue of Work

Hammer three nails into a piece of wood.

Challenge #7:  Virtue of Fear of God

Using your shield protect yourself with a healthy "Fear of God" as you run to the finish line while your Father throws bean bags at you!  

The Dads (and Boys!!) all loved this one!  It *almost* made up for making them sing! ;) 

I wasn't listening too well when the game was explained, but the last two Virtues (Hope and Justice) probably had to do with Hoping to get the best time and Justice (Prizes) for completing the course... 

~ A Few More Pictures ~

~ The Blue Knights ~ 

 Dear St. Joseph, who took such good care of the baby Jesus and His Holy Mother Mary, be our protector too.  Guide us on a path that is safe and sure and be with us all the way to heaven.  Amen.