A Special First Confession

Our miracle baby made his first confession last night and it was incredibly special. His big brother helped him pick out some nice clothes. His older sister encouraged him. His godparents prayed for him. And when we came home he celebrated with a big bowl of sorbet and CocoWhip.

JF has a few special needs and so his preparation looked a little bit different than what we did for our previous two children. We brainstormed with his tutor, our priest, and some good friends, including one whose adult son has special needs. Their insights were invaluable and along with having frequent conversations with JF about sin, mercy, prayer, and our relationship with God, we figured out ways to help him in his struggles with speech, reading, and anxiety.

JF has been diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech which can make it difficult for him to communicate, especially when he is tired or upset, and occasionally make him hard to understand. To help in that area we had our priest over for dinner last month. He and JF played card games, which allowed Father to get used to the way JF speaks and let JF feel more comfortable with Father.

We were also afraid that James would be so nervous and anxious that he wouldn't be able to read or remember his list of sins. To help with that we took pictures of him acting out his sins and then made a small booklet. The booklet included not only the pictures, but captions that he or Father could read if need be, and on the back was the act of contrition. We used it as we practiced and JF took it with him to confession. This worked so well and I'm so grateful to my friend who suggested it to me.

To help with his anxiety, Father heard JF's confession first and did so in the sacristy, where JF could see me right outside the door. You guys, it was beautiful. Father was amazing and James had an excellent experience.

I wanted to share this with you all because sometimes we need reminders that good things are happening in this broken world, too. There those of us who not only believe but live out the fact that everyone has dignity, that God's grace and mercy are for everyone, that life is beautiful, and that in real life people are awesome.

How We Watch Elf

Each December the family sits down and watches Elf together. We watch it in a special way and as I was telling some friends about it one said it needed to be on the blog. So here it is, how we watch Elf.

Needed Materials:
pajamas
blankets and pillows
one copy of Elf starring Will Ferrell
cotton candy, preferably white
mini bottles of Coca-Cola 
hot chocolate
gum drops (we used Dots)
candy canes
marshmallows
cookies
popcorn


First:
Feed the children lots of veggies and protein for dinner. This important because soon enough they will be inundated with sugar. Have them drink water, too.

Next:
Get everyone ready. Pajamas, favorite blankets, snuggle down, pop the popcorn, start the movie.

Then:
Wait for key phrases and scenes in the movie. When they happen pause the movie and pass out the food. (Or keep the movie playing - whatever works best for your family.)

#1 - "I'm a cotton-headed ninny muggin" = everyone gets a bit of cotton candy. I usually pass it out while calling everyone cotton-headed ninny muggins because I'm such a good mom.

#2 - Buddy walks through the Candy Cane Forrest = pass out a candy cane to everyone.

#3 - Buddy tells of how he ventured through the sea of swirly whirly gumdrops = each kid gets a small handful of gumdrops.

#4 - At dinner with his family Buddy guzzles a 2 liter bottle of Coca-Cola = pass out mini bottles of Caffeine Free Coca-Cola (watch out for Buddy-sized burps from the kids)

#5 - Buddy and Michael have the snowball fight = throw marshmallows at your kids.

#6 - Buddy takes Jovie on date and she drinks the World's Best Cup of Coffee = mugs of hot chocolate

#7 - When Buddy etch-a-sketches the apology / good-bye letter to his family (I'm sorry I ruined your lives and crammed eleven cookies into the VCR.) = everyone gets a cookie (or eleven, but I would stick with one small one.)

And that's it. If everyone sings along to "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" at the end that's a lot of fun, too.  And honestly, I either do the coke or the cocoa and not both.

My kids look forward to this every year, and honestly, I do too. It's such a fun tradition.

Things Kids Say

Ben: I can't wait until tomorrow.
Me: What's tomorrow?
Ben: School.

Me: Is MJ awake or asleep?
Jofis: She's wide asleep!


Resa telling me the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Me: So what's the lesson we can learn from that story?
Resa: Don't say the name of dangerous animals over and over again or one might show up.


Me: Thomas, can you say your name? Say "Thomas."
Thomas: Train. Choo-choo!


Unnamed Child: Why do we always have to go to Mass?
Me: Because Daddy and I love God very much and He loves us. We go to Mass to be with Him in the Eucharist, so we can pray and be close to Him.
Ben: Jesus talks to me in prayer.
Me: Really? What does He say?
Ben: I don't know. I couldn't hear Him....
Me: What do you mean?
Ben: Last week I was praying at Mass and I saw Jesus come up to me. He shook my hand and we chit-chatted a bit.
Me: What did you chat about?
Ben: I don't know. I couldn't hear. There was thunder.
Me: Like it was raining outside and there was thunder?
Ben: No, there was thunder in my prayer.


L: Miriam calls me Mommy!
Resa: Miriam calls me Mommy!
Me: Miriam, what's my name?
MJ: -


MJ, licking ketchup off a plate: Mmm, mmm, mmmm!


Resa: Can you hurry up and have that newborn baby?!!!

Our Harry Potter Birthday Party

Over the summer we introduced our kids to Harry Potter and they were very pleased to make his acquaintance. 

We checked out the audio books from the library and the kids were entranced. As we finished a book we'd watch the movie, which we did four times over. On July 31st we even celebrated Harry's birthday. Ben listened to the fifth book but then was told he couldn't listen to any more until he'd read the ones he'd listened to. L, our oldest, lost patience with our pace in audio book 3 and picked up my old copies, finishing the whole series in no time. 

It wasn't a surprise then when Ben and JF, both with September birthdays, requested a Harry Potter themed birthday party. You guys, I have been waiting for this day for years! 

We started with Hogwarts acceptance letters, which were tied to a flock of white (balloons) owls, and hand delivered around town. Of course I didn't get a picture of them but they pretty much looked like what Kathryn did here.

I then enlisted the kids' help with decorations. I addressed envelops to Harry, had the kids seal them and draw red "sealing wax" circles on the back, and then we made H's for Hogwarts on the circles. These came flying out of the fireplace, just like what happened on 4 Privet Drive. 

When kids arrived for the party they entered through Platform 9 3/4.

Their first stop was Ollivander's Wand Shop. We printed off a sign and taped it to our tv in the living room. Then on a small table we put a plate of wands (pretzel rods - some plain, most covered in chocolate, and most of those with some sort of sprinke). The kids chose a wand (or the wand chose them) and they started snacking. 

We then ushered them into the Great Hall. I had rolled up paper, stapled slips of yellow construction paper to the top, and hung the "candles" from the ceiling. L colored the Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw house crests that I printed off the internet and we mounted them on construction paper. We also used Harry's glasses, a Gryffindor scarf, and a wand for the centerpiece. 

Next we started the Sorting Ceremony. This was a favorite part of the entire party.

Days before the event I texted every parent and asked them to give me three words to describe their kids. If the parent was familiar with Harry Potter I would confirm the House I planning on sorting them into, otherwise I just did my best. 

Before the guests arrived we sent our kids into the backyard to play and our friend Joel snuck into the house with his bluetooth speaker. He and Travis strapped it to the back of a patio chair we had brought into the Great Hall. Because of the design of the chair and the average height of elementary school aged kids the speaker was right behind their heads. Then Joel hid in a bedroom down the hall with a list of all the kids, the adjectives their parents had given me, and their House. 

When it was time for the Sorting Ceremony Travis, who was linked to the Bluetooth speaker, called Joel, who gave an Oscar-worthy performance as the Sorting Hat. Everyone cheered, laughed, and clapped and was so excited to see which House they would be in. Even the kids who had never heard of Harry Potter loved this part! 

Once all the kids were sorted we started classes. I kept JF and his friends in the kitchen for Potions class. They mixed mermaid water (Sprite) with unicorn tears (food coloring) and fairy rocks (Poprocks). This was another huge hit. 

Meanwhile Ben and his friends were outside finding dragons in Care of Magical Creatures. They also just ran around, played on the swingset, and jumped on the trampoline. Each class then switched. 

After classes were done, Travis pulled out the Marauder's Map and made each kid solemnly swear they were up to no good. He then led them through and around Hogwarts while I switched over the Potions classroom into Honeydukes sweet shop in Hogsmeade. They went out the backdoor, in the basement entrance, through a maze Trav had made in the basement, through several rooms, and out the egress window, around the house, and back to the kitchen.  You can see it on the HP Party Video on my Instagram account.

Some kids took a quick stop in the bathroom, where they saw Moaning Myrtle, to wash their hands...

and then they indulged in lots of good treats and sweets at Honeydukes.

We sang Happy Birthday to the boys and served the cake and the kids had refills on their mermaid water.

After all the sugar they were sent outside to run around until their parents came to pick them up, greeted, of course, by our front porch's scarecrow who had dressed himself up for the party.

It was such a fun day, and while it took a lot of time and planning to pull it all off it didn't feel like much work at all because of how fun it was for me. Also, we had those envelopes and candles up for at least a month!

My kids loved the party and their guests had a great time. I will confess, there were probably as many parents who were re-living their childhoods right along with me at this party, too. I know HP is not for everyone but it has been a blessing for our family and this party was just the best.

There's a pattern

Baby #1 - lost early in pregnancy
Baby #2 - Girl
Baby #3 - Boy
Baby #4 - Boy
Baby #5 - Girl
Baby #6 - Boy
Baby #7 - Boy
Baby #8 - Girl
Baby #9 - ???

Due in mid May 2019!
We are so happy!

The Last Bits of Summer

This will not be a sentimental post. 

The weeks before the kids go back to school are super stressful and overwhelming to me with the overload of errands, appointments, paperwork, and more. The house is constantly messy, the kids are bored of the slip n' slide, there's all kinds of fighting, and I am just so tired of feeding them. They want to go back to school and I want them to, too. How did people do it for thousands of years? How do homeschoolers do it? 

To me this is not the end of summer. Summer basically ended on August 6th. I will get out my Fall decorations on September 1st -ish and this time in between is a purgatory of stress and heat and exhaustion. (As an aside, some people think I'm a bit dramatic but I just don't see it.)

I made a playlist to get me through these next weeks. You can see how badly I want to get on with my life in that I titled it "September 2018." Some of the songs are pretty new to me and so I cannot vouch for all the lyrics and content, but if you want to discover some new songs right along with me click over and check it out. There's some safe ones, too, like Ben Rector and Mat Kearney. ;)

School starts with a half day on Thursday, so here's a look the last bits of summer, the things that happened at the end of July and the first week of August. That is, the things that I want to remember.

Jofis celebrated his 5th birthday. He wanted a train cake and party and since his favorite color is green I was able to make all his dreams come true super simply. A few of his classmates and cousins came over, everyone played outside, and we ate wacky cake and drank lemonade. He got a bug catcher and water balloons and his life was made. 

I celebrated my birthday, too. I turned thirty-seven and to celebrate I got coffee with friends, went shopping at Target with Travis, bought a new dress, asked people to donate to baby Olivia's GoFundMe, found a few new grey hairs, and overall had a good day. 

We also celebrated Harry Potter's birthday. The kids listened to several of the audio books this summer and L read the whole series for the first time. They have watched several of the movies, too, so it was a lot of fun to surprise them with a table filled with candles, pretzel rod wands, and this birthday cake. They snacked in the candlelight while watching the first movie before bed. And just so you know, there's a bit of a back story for this cake and you can hear about it if you watch the You're a Bad Mom video here.

In other news, we were given a Days of Creation paper chain (which you can see here) along with a beautiful, giant floor puzzle from WeeBelievers. Both are super sweet but we especially love the floor puzzle because we are just floor puzzle people, people! I mean, look at how happy Tee is with it! The illustrations are so sweet, you guys. I really love it. But the best part is that it's two sided so it's two, two, TWO puzzles in one!

In other news, I caught this super sweet picture of Travis and Tee sleeping one morning a few weeks ago. I mean, be still my heart. 

And now I'll tell you all a secret: this summer we attended 7am daily Mass Monday - Friday. The vast majority of the time the whole family went: Travis, me, and all seven kids. We missed a few days, and occasionally some of us had to stay home but usually we were all there.

Now this was even feasible because:
#1 - we did not have a newborn / someone recovering from major surgery (like last summer)
#2 - Travis is a teacher with summers off and this summer his handyman jobs were all local so he was almost always around to attend with us.

The reasons I wanted to do it are:
#1 - For years Travis and I were daily communicants and I was really missing that Gift.
#2 - I knew that if we attended 7am Mass all summer long our days would still end around 8pm which meant we could keep the same bedtime and evening routine. I knew I wanted to have time with Travis every night and I hoped that the return to the school would feel less like a crash and burn this way.
#3 - I'm hoping it will inspire my boys to love the priesthood and I pray that one of them has been given that vocation.

I don't know what will happen next summer but I know that being able to attend daily Mass this summer was such a gift to me. Even when my kids complained. Even when MJ would not be contained to the pew and had to wander. Even when we had to sit in the cry room because we were so late. It was such a gift.

 Speaking of Mass, this seems like a good time to show you the preview copy of Ginny Kochis's new Mass Journal for Kids. Ginny sent it to me and I promptly passed on to my 10 year old, L. It's really lovely, you guys, and if you're looking for something you can either gift to your own children, godchildren, students or use as a family to prepare for or review the Sunday Mass readings I really encourage you to try this.

L and I were both really taken by the layout and feel of the book. It's big; has room for doodles, journaling, and note taking; and includes all the readings + reflections, quotes from the saints, and more. I also like that it goes by seasons - this one covers the Autumn months - so it's not too bulky nor too big of a commitment. If you're looking for a nice Back to School gift this would be a great one, I think.


One last note: the winners for the Sheenazing Awards have finally been announced! You can head to the original post to see who earned the top three spots in each category! Thank you to everyone who voted - over 1,100! - and congratulations to the winners! I hope everyone had fun along the way!

Alright, time to get a move on. See you soon, you guys!

A Potluck Post

What a week this has been! It's crazy how some times it feels like life is going at full speed and we are hustling from one thing to the next only to run into a long, slow pause in the day where grogginess and boredom seep in. 

The slow pauses aren't all bad, though. They are were I have been finding time to read. My current book stack looks like this:

I've been enjoying A Wind in the Door which was given to me by a teacher friend who was purging her classroom bookshelves. 

I read an older edition of Queen Bees and Wannabes a couple years ago but decided to go ahead and get the newest edition for my own bookshelf. This is the book that inspired Tina Fey to write Mean Girls and I have found it very helpful already. 

I haven't started Loved as I Am but a friend dropped it off for me yesterday and I'm looking forward to jumping in since I love Sr. Miriam James' podcast. 

Finally, Living Your Strengths - The Catholic Edition has been an interesting read! The test says my top five are Belief, Connectedness, Developer, Activator, and Adaptability but I know the last one is dead wrong. I didn't understand some of the questions and so answered them... well not in the truest sense of what they were getting at. I think my #5 might actually be Includer but I haven't finished the book yet so maybe something else will ring more true. If you've read the book and taken the test tell me what your Top Five are. 

(PS - All of these books can be found at your local library or here.) 

Speaking of books...

We are still making our way through the Harry Potter books. Well, L could not wait for us to listen to them - she had to know! - and she finished the 7th book yesterday. Ben is actively listening to the audio books and is on the 5th one. Occassionally the other kids will listen with him, and I often try to when I can (causing me to fall far behind in podcast-listening), but mostly it's Ben. When he's done we will allow Ben and L to watch The Order of the Phoenix movie. JF, who has been having nightmares about "spooky castles," and the younger kids will not be allowed to watch until they are older and have read / listened to the books. I know there's a lot of people who don't like Harry Potter, and I totally understand and respect that stance, but I have loved those books and characters for so long and it's been such a joy to share them with my kids and to really talk about the themes, plots, humor, and such with them.

We've had really fun family movie nights with the first four movies. We even made "wands" as a snack. I dipped the pretzel rods in melted chocolate (Enjoy Life! brand chocolate chips + a bit of Earth Balance "butter" + some coconut milk) and then let the kids add whatever toppings they wanted. It was fun and all the kids enjoyed the added treat to the normal popcorn.


On the 4th of July we went to my in-laws home for their small town's celebration. It was so flippin' hot but we still went to the park and watched the parade. I came home with the two little ones but Travis and the five older kids stayed for fireworks, which were fabulous - or so the kids said.

Earlier this week L went back to the cardiologist to have a one-year follow up appointment. Her echo looked good, she looked good, everything looked good. Interesting fact: before her open heart surgery a year ago L was in the 65th percentile for height and the 35th percentile for weight. Now that her heart is not working triply hard she is in the 63rd percentile for height and weight. Isn't that amazing?!

Oh! One more thing before I forget - right now shipping is free for all the items in the Blessed Is She shop! This deal ends on Sunday and  if you haven't purchased a planner yet but were wanting to this is the best deal you're gonna get! My affiliate link is right here - thank you so much for using it!

So that's that - everything I wanted to get out of my head and down "on paper." I love these little potluck posts where there's a little of this and a little of that and mostly it's just the best parts of my life showing up. You know, like a potluck. 

Have a good weekend friends. xo

Seven Quick Takes: music + books + summer

I'm linking up with the wonderful Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum for one of my favorite old school blogging events: Seven Quick Takes Friday


 - ONE -

The first time I heard this song I thought it was Peter Gabriel. It's Francis and the Lights featuring Chance the Rapper, though if you listen you have to give it to me: it sounds a lot like Peter Gabriel, amiright?

 Man, do I love this one.


- TWO -

This summer I signed myself and the kids up for the Summer Reading Program at the local library. I count any time spent listening to the Harry Potter audio books, reading to my kids, and these babies here. Along with my Bible, these are the books I'm reading. 

Orthodoxy has been hard for me - it's so dense with it's page long paragraphs - but I'm sticking with it because those truth bombs he drops are so, so good. 

I've really enjoyed re-reading Sense and Sensibility for the first time in years. I often find myself laughing out loud and unable to explain why to my kids. Jane Austen would surely not approve  but I'm just not as clever. 

Who Does He Say You Are? is an incredible book and I'm so glad I picked it up. I highly recommend it to read by yourself or in a group. Super good. 

A Wrinkle in Time is one I read in middle school and re-reading it now I'm shocked that it was part of my 6th grade public school curriculum with all the talk about Jesus and quoting Scripture. I'm gonna guess that Oprah's version of the movie changes some of that. True?

- THREE - 

My friend Nell gifted us with the sweetest little dress for sweet little MJ. The material has a Secret Garden print on it and is soft and stretchy and just lovely. I wanted to share it with you because Nell's re-stocking her Etsy shop - Whole Parenting Goods - with all kinds of sweet dresses just like this. The shop re-opens at 10am CST on Monday with it's limited stock so be sure you check it out Monday morning for first dibs! You can get a preview on her Instagram account and if you sign up for her shop's newsletter you'll get a coupon code this weekend! Everything I've gotten from Nell's shop has been top quality and super adorable. I promise you'll love it!


- FOUR -
Tomorrow morning is the first meeting for the Blessed Is She summer study I'm holding with women from the area. I'm only cleaning my living room and bathroom. That's totally legit, right?

I baked these little rectangular gingerbread cookies so I could pipe sweet little pretty things on them to serve with the coffee. The rectangles look wompy and wiggly and who knows if I'll have time to pipe anything on them in the morning. I'll post it on Instagram if I do and then you can see how unimpressive they turn out to be. ha!

Update: here they are! Roses, Fiats, and Marian symbols. You can almost hear the trombones playing, can't you? Womp, womp, woooooommmp!

And as an aside, if you're looking for a good gingerbread cookie use these from Mary Haseltine. Such a great recipe. We use Crisco and egg replacer and they still are amazing!



- FIVE -

My new planner arrived and I started filling in important dates for August. First day of school, you guys! It's on the calendar! Also, see those pens lined up in a row? That's how I organize my life.
Black = whole family
Silver = Travis
Gold = Me
Purple = L
Orange = Ben
Blue = JF
Pink = Resa
Green = Jofis
Red = Tee
Periwinkle = MJ
So this way I only have to write the what, when, & where on the calendar and not the person because the color tells me the who. It's really nice.

And if you're still looking for a planner Tea with Tolkien did a very nice review of some really popular brands. She was fair and honest about all the pros and cons, and the Blessed Is She planners (regular and mini) are included.


- SIX -
I know I just talked about the beginning of the new school year when summer isn't even half way done yet. We've had a good run so far and I thought I'd share some highlight pictures:

Trying to win a free vacation from a local radio station. We're shameless. 

Sprinkler parks: fun and free. The heat index was over 100 this day so I put on my suit, too. 

Our very dear neighbor volunteers at a local museum and we were so happy to get a special tour from him. 

Corpus Christi procession - Ben was asked to help carry the canopy and he was so honored. Nervous, excited, and so honored. 

The fair came to town and we made the kids clean the whole house and then we took them. 

- SEVEN -

Just a reminder about the Kickstarter campaign for Catholic musician Matt Faley's next album. Go, back it, and then make sure you let me know so I can enter you to win some of the suh-weet prizes that are special just for my blog readers. You won't be sorry you did!



And a great big THANK YOU to Kelly for hosting!

A Good School Year

The 2017-2018 school year was sooooooo much better than last. Last year we had good teachers and a lot of fun but this year lacked things like incredibly difficult IEP meetings and open heart surgery. There were a few bumps along the way - which is life - but overall we loved 4th, 2nd, 1st, Kindergarten, and Pre-K4.

This year L loved her teacher, broke her right arm roller skating, began altar serving, and earned eight badges in American Heritage Girls.

Ben had a beloved teacher this year, made his first confession, and received his First Holy Communion. He also had a lot of fun in Boy Scouts, got braces, and impressed us with his penmanship and ability to retell Bible stories.

JF spent his mornings at our parochial school for Religion and then headed to the public school for the rest of the day. His teachers and aids were all amazing and he really made ground in speech and reading.

Resa L O V E D kindergarten. She loved her classmates, she loved her teacher, she loved learning, she loved recess. The only thing she didn't love was being hot in the air condition-less school.

Jofis got a lot out of pre-k4 but he also struggled a bit. Some of his classmates were a year older than him and the gap was obvious at times. He had a great teacher and some really good friends last year but he'll be doing pre-k4 again next year so he can really be ready for kindergarten instead of struggling and hating school.

"I am excited about learning. I want to be a Mommy and a baker when I grow up. I love to color and bake."

"My favorite part was EVERYTHING. I want to be a baker. I love all my teahcers, baking, Granma Bert and Papa, Mormor and Grandpa, reading, PBS Kids, Daddy and Mommy, Tomas, Meriam"

"I am excited about First Communion. I want to an engineer, train driver, when I grow up. I love pizza, friends, fishing, and working with Daddy."
"My favorite part was Math! I want to be a priest when I grow up! I love God, playing ball tag, and pizza."

"I am excited to play at recess. I want to be a choo choo man when I grow up. I love to play with cards, play Old 97 with Joseph, fishing and going on a walk."
"My favorite part was Math. I want to be a train engineer. I love hamburgers, sausage, inside recess, Star Wars, Grandma Bert, Mormor."

"I am excited about going to school. I want to be a Mommy and a rock star when I grow up. I love
Thomas, going to Neighbor's house, reading books, and going to Mrs. H and Bill's house."

"My favorite part was Math. I want to be a Mom. I love Jesus, strawberry pretzel salad, playing at school, Mommy and Daddy."

 

"I am excited about riding the bikes and trikes. I want to be a Dad who's not allergic when I grow up. I like to ride bikes and trikes and scooters and eat. some. bacon! And ice cream with sprinkles and oatmeal with sprinkles."

"My favorite part was playing. I want to be a train driver. I love chocolate bars, ball tag, B from school, and Jesus."

We have some fun things planned for the summer - the library reading program, a trip to a Lodge, and lots of adhering to the Summer Daily Schedule. We'll see how this goes.