I was feeling very accomplished this morning. I took Katie and Anthony to Target to get coffee for Bryan and to pick up the mozzarella and ricotta cheeses that we would need for tonight's dinner. I came home, happily told Bryan that I'd be making one of his favorite meals, baked ziti, for dinner, and then forgot about that dinner until 4:30 when he came upstairs and asked if we were still having the ziti for dinner.
Arrgh! This really is the story of my life. I plan to make something for dinner and then, usually right around dinner time, I realize that I never actually made anything. It's frustrating. But today, I told Bryan not to worry, I could slap together a ziti and have it ready in roughly an hour. It was looking promising until I realized that we also didn't have sauce. Can't make baked ziti without the sauce! Lenten Friday problem if ever I saw one. I'm pretty sure I have a mason jar of sauce in the basement freezer but just thawing that would take a nice chunk of time. I really do need to get better at planning these things.
Bryan and I ended up ordering take out pasta dishes for us, and since the kids won't eat pasta with sauce (unless it's baked manicotti, or ziti) we just made pasta at home for them. I'm not sure what it is about Lent that makes no meat on Friday seem so difficult. Year round we eat meatless meals on Friday, but for some reason those Lenten Fridays are fraught with dinner complications.
Next week I'll be ready with all of the ingredients! I'll have to remember to double check that I have everything we need on Thursday.
Showing posts with label Lent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lent. Show all posts
Friday, March 11, 2016
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Not Living Up to the Hype
I'm probably not alone in this, but I find it more than a little irritating when a book seems to be hyped up as one of those must read types of books and it's far from it. For a few years as Lent rolls around one of the books I always see in emails as a must read or great Lenten reading is What Jesus Saw from the Cross.
I procrastinated on ordering this book in the week leading up to Lent as I tried to decide what book I wanted to read, and it went out of stock. I have to think that that was actually a blessing in disguise. I wound up ordering The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales for Lent instead. Clearly that was my better choice. I love St. Francis, his wisdom is timeless as is his practical advice. He's one of those awesome saints who doesn't leave you feeling like sainthood is never within your grasp.
Probably a week into Lent I noticed that What Jesus Saw from the Cross was back in stock, so I ordered it. I've been reading it over the past week and a half and maybe a few chapters in isn't deep enough, but I feel like the book is not living up to the hype. As I read through it, I feel like I'm getting a tour guide narrative of what may have been. I'm hoping it gets better as it progresses, but I'm not holding my breath.
I write book reviews both here and on Amazon and I always say what I really think about the book. Some books don't appeal to me, although the ones that I do like far outweigh the ones I don't. When buying a book I always check out consumer reviews. If there are enough people saying they don't like the book I'll usually take their advice and look for something else. This book had a few reviews that echo the sentiments I presently have about the book, but there were far more glowing reviews.
I actually think it would be pretty cool if Amazon developed an algorithm that could accurately tell a consumer if he or she would be likely to like a particular book based on their reviews and ratings of other books they had read. Something like that would be very useful.
I procrastinated on ordering this book in the week leading up to Lent as I tried to decide what book I wanted to read, and it went out of stock. I have to think that that was actually a blessing in disguise. I wound up ordering The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales for Lent instead. Clearly that was my better choice. I love St. Francis, his wisdom is timeless as is his practical advice. He's one of those awesome saints who doesn't leave you feeling like sainthood is never within your grasp.
I write book reviews both here and on Amazon and I always say what I really think about the book. Some books don't appeal to me, although the ones that I do like far outweigh the ones I don't. When buying a book I always check out consumer reviews. If there are enough people saying they don't like the book I'll usually take their advice and look for something else. This book had a few reviews that echo the sentiments I presently have about the book, but there were far more glowing reviews.
I actually think it would be pretty cool if Amazon developed an algorithm that could accurately tell a consumer if he or she would be likely to like a particular book based on their reviews and ratings of other books they had read. Something like that would be very useful.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
So Much for Everyday
I meant to blog yesterday but between falling asleep on the couch for a few hours mid day and getting caught up in the History Channel Series The Men Who Built America my day rapidly disappeared. I spent six hours last evening watching three of the episodes from that series. It was nice not having to watch Sofia the First and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I feel like I see too many of those shows.
My gallbladder ultrasound is tomorrow morning. I'm hoping it will show the reason why I'm having so much pain on the right side. From there, we'll have to see what, if anything, the doctors are willing to do for me. I called and set up an appointment with a surgeon today at the request of one of my doctors only to have the receptionist tell me that I was wasting my time. It appears that there are certain medical conditions that make medical professionals unwilling to consider the possibility of treating you. As I told the one doctor I saw today, I'm experiencing pain at times that is more painful than labor, and lasts far longer than I've ever labored. I told the receptionist at the surgeon's office that I'd like an appointment anyway even if it is a waste of time. I'm hoping it won't be.
The more I described the pain I was having to the doctor I saw this morning the more she kept nodding and affirming what I was saying until she said that everything I described was exactly how she felt just before she had to have her gallbladder removed. She seems to think there's a good chance I have gallstones. All I know is if it's stones or an inflamed gallbladder, I want something done as soon as safely possible so I can stop feeling so awful.
I feel like I'm near useless at present. I've gone another week since doing any laundry or even setting foot in the basement. If it's not on the main level or upstairs, I pretty much have nothing to do with it. Outside of making sandwiches or a bowl of cereal for the smaller kids, I haven't prepared any food for anyone who isn't me. Fortunately Madeline, Ellie and Bryan can all make food and all know how to do laundry. Otherwise I think we'd all be half starved and wearing dirty clothes.
I took the older kids to confession on Saturday and while discussing my severe dislike of suffering, I got asked if I ever just want to time travel in those situations. Yes! I do! I really do. And finally, someone else gets how I feel! For instance, if I could go back a few months, I'd go and have my [then] infrequent gallbladder pain looked at and hopefully addressed. I'd also have insisted on seeing an ENT dr. before December so my sinus inflammation could be treated with the preferred treatment option. If I could go forward, I'd skip ahead to October or November. But I guess if I had the ability to time travel that I'd be skipping out on chances to offer up my suffering, as well as numerous chances to really lean on Our Lord for his grace and support. Do I want to suffer? Not at all, but if it's what I'm being called to do, then I'll do my best however imperfectly I may do it. I told Father in confession that I feel like it's been Lent for me for the past month. So while everyone else was on day four of Lent, for me it was day thirty-one and yet, Easter won't get here any earlier for me.
My gallbladder ultrasound is tomorrow morning. I'm hoping it will show the reason why I'm having so much pain on the right side. From there, we'll have to see what, if anything, the doctors are willing to do for me. I called and set up an appointment with a surgeon today at the request of one of my doctors only to have the receptionist tell me that I was wasting my time. It appears that there are certain medical conditions that make medical professionals unwilling to consider the possibility of treating you. As I told the one doctor I saw today, I'm experiencing pain at times that is more painful than labor, and lasts far longer than I've ever labored. I told the receptionist at the surgeon's office that I'd like an appointment anyway even if it is a waste of time. I'm hoping it won't be.
The more I described the pain I was having to the doctor I saw this morning the more she kept nodding and affirming what I was saying until she said that everything I described was exactly how she felt just before she had to have her gallbladder removed. She seems to think there's a good chance I have gallstones. All I know is if it's stones or an inflamed gallbladder, I want something done as soon as safely possible so I can stop feeling so awful.
I feel like I'm near useless at present. I've gone another week since doing any laundry or even setting foot in the basement. If it's not on the main level or upstairs, I pretty much have nothing to do with it. Outside of making sandwiches or a bowl of cereal for the smaller kids, I haven't prepared any food for anyone who isn't me. Fortunately Madeline, Ellie and Bryan can all make food and all know how to do laundry. Otherwise I think we'd all be half starved and wearing dirty clothes.
I took the older kids to confession on Saturday and while discussing my severe dislike of suffering, I got asked if I ever just want to time travel in those situations. Yes! I do! I really do. And finally, someone else gets how I feel! For instance, if I could go back a few months, I'd go and have my [then] infrequent gallbladder pain looked at and hopefully addressed. I'd also have insisted on seeing an ENT dr. before December so my sinus inflammation could be treated with the preferred treatment option. If I could go forward, I'd skip ahead to October or November. But I guess if I had the ability to time travel that I'd be skipping out on chances to offer up my suffering, as well as numerous chances to really lean on Our Lord for his grace and support. Do I want to suffer? Not at all, but if it's what I'm being called to do, then I'll do my best however imperfectly I may do it. I told Father in confession that I feel like it's been Lent for me for the past month. So while everyone else was on day four of Lent, for me it was day thirty-one and yet, Easter won't get here any earlier for me.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
A Thought for the First Sunday of Lent
"What a great pity that the desire for perfection is not itself sufficient for having it, but that it must be acquired by the sweat of our brow and hard work! Do you not realize that Our Lord willed to be tempted during the forty days He was in the desert precisely in order to teach us that we shall also be tempted during the entire time that we dwell in the desert of this mortal life, which is the place of our penance? The life of the perfect Christian is a continual penance. Console yourself, I pray, and take courage. Now is not the time for rest."
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Blogging for Lent
I spent a good amount of time thinking of things to give up or take on for Lent this year and due to certain circumstances giving up something such as a food isn't going to work this year. And while I love reading, I haven't been able to do a ton of that lately, either, so outside of reading one book of St. Francis de Sales Sermons for Lent, I don't exactly have a ton of Lenten reading planned either. I'm not even sure if I'll make it through the book. I hope I do.
I tossed about the idea of giving up Facebook for Lent, but even that seemed like something I wasn't being called to do. Then I thought about the neglected blog. And that's when I got the idea to write each day. So I'm going to give it a shot and see what happens. It's going to be an exercise in letting go for me, since the primary reason I haven't been blogging, aside from having too many demands on my time, is I don't always feel like I can just come here and write if I don't have pictures for you to see as well. I think it's pretty evident that I've read too many articles about how blog posts need pictures and a ton of other things if they want to be read. So I'm not going to worry about it. If you really want to read, you'll read. If not, no worries. In a way I think it has been pretty silly of me to worry about whether or not people will find the blog interesting if there are not a slew of gorgeous photos. My photography skills, despite years of trying, are not exactly impressive.
Much has been going on around here as of late. It seems like this is my year of medical misery. Last year I spent seven months battling on again off again sinus and ear infections. Since April I've had crackling sounds in my right ear anytime I swallow, and I find it a bit maddening. I finally went and saw an ENT dr in January and basically there's no chronic or serious issue, no hearing loss, and not anything they can do for me other than tell me to keep taking my allergy medicines and use a saline nose spray. The sinus and ear issues have led to me leading a mostly coffee free existence. The baristas at my local Target Starbucks miss me.
My newest medical issue seems to be my gallbladder. I've been having pain for the past few weeks and I'll be going for an ultrasound next week. At the moment, I'm trying to figure out what I can eat without being in pain. After talking to two doctors yesterday, it looks like dairy and a lot of other foods I like are off the menu. It's frustrating to say the least. I'm praying that's it's not anything serious and is hopefully something that can be resolved with some dietary changes, but I'm not sure if that's very realistic.
I told Bryan the other night that I sort of feel like Job. I feel like I'm really being tested right now and I'm trying very hard to just trust Our Lord with this, but He's certainly not making this easy for me. The past month in particular has just been very difficult for me. So please don't be surprised if there comes a day when you find me whining on here. I suspect it's bound to happen.
I don't feel as prepared or organized for Lent as I ordinarily do. I still need to get our merciful tree up on the basement door, and I waited until today to decide that I should replace our felt Jesus Tree with something that doesn't need pins to hold the ornaments onto the felt tree. I just don't have it in me to chase Anthony around the house trying to get the pins and ornaments back from him which I'm sure will be an all day, every day of Lent fiasco. So I ordered a set of ornaments from Jesse Tree Treasures. I'm looking forward to using them once they get here, but in the mean time I'll just use the felt ornaments we have until this set arrives.
So until tomorrow, I hope your Ash Wednesday is going well and I'll be back sometime tomorrow.
I tossed about the idea of giving up Facebook for Lent, but even that seemed like something I wasn't being called to do. Then I thought about the neglected blog. And that's when I got the idea to write each day. So I'm going to give it a shot and see what happens. It's going to be an exercise in letting go for me, since the primary reason I haven't been blogging, aside from having too many demands on my time, is I don't always feel like I can just come here and write if I don't have pictures for you to see as well. I think it's pretty evident that I've read too many articles about how blog posts need pictures and a ton of other things if they want to be read. So I'm not going to worry about it. If you really want to read, you'll read. If not, no worries. In a way I think it has been pretty silly of me to worry about whether or not people will find the blog interesting if there are not a slew of gorgeous photos. My photography skills, despite years of trying, are not exactly impressive.
Much has been going on around here as of late. It seems like this is my year of medical misery. Last year I spent seven months battling on again off again sinus and ear infections. Since April I've had crackling sounds in my right ear anytime I swallow, and I find it a bit maddening. I finally went and saw an ENT dr in January and basically there's no chronic or serious issue, no hearing loss, and not anything they can do for me other than tell me to keep taking my allergy medicines and use a saline nose spray. The sinus and ear issues have led to me leading a mostly coffee free existence. The baristas at my local Target Starbucks miss me.
My newest medical issue seems to be my gallbladder. I've been having pain for the past few weeks and I'll be going for an ultrasound next week. At the moment, I'm trying to figure out what I can eat without being in pain. After talking to two doctors yesterday, it looks like dairy and a lot of other foods I like are off the menu. It's frustrating to say the least. I'm praying that's it's not anything serious and is hopefully something that can be resolved with some dietary changes, but I'm not sure if that's very realistic.
I told Bryan the other night that I sort of feel like Job. I feel like I'm really being tested right now and I'm trying very hard to just trust Our Lord with this, but He's certainly not making this easy for me. The past month in particular has just been very difficult for me. So please don't be surprised if there comes a day when you find me whining on here. I suspect it's bound to happen.
I don't feel as prepared or organized for Lent as I ordinarily do. I still need to get our merciful tree up on the basement door, and I waited until today to decide that I should replace our felt Jesus Tree with something that doesn't need pins to hold the ornaments onto the felt tree. I just don't have it in me to chase Anthony around the house trying to get the pins and ornaments back from him which I'm sure will be an all day, every day of Lent fiasco. So I ordered a set of ornaments from Jesse Tree Treasures. I'm looking forward to using them once they get here, but in the mean time I'll just use the felt ornaments we have until this set arrives.
So until tomorrow, I hope your Ash Wednesday is going well and I'll be back sometime tomorrow.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Are we there yet?
The third trimester is really doing a number on me this time around. Keeping up with a two year old, trying to keep the house in order and get everything ready for the new baby along with making sure we stay on track with homeschooling is a lot of work. Most days I feel like I'm going to fall asleep while I sit in the parking lot at Ellie's school waiting for her to come out. Saying I feel exhausted at times would be a huge understatement.
I feel like our plans for Lent never really took off. I had planned to do the Jesus tree readings with the girls each day but the closest we ever got to doing it was me hanging up the felt tree and taking out the ornaments. They'll all still sitting in the basket waiting to be used. Aside from the kids just being busy with soccer practices and everything else that crops up, I just couldn't find the motivation to dig out the list with the daily readings and the picture bible that went with it. I feel so lazy with regards to this, but I keep reminding myself that the bean jar and merciful cross Lenten activities are going well. And, the girls are at daily Mass with me most days so that has to count for something.
I decided once again to do the 40 bags in 40 days thing for Lent and that's going really well. I've detached myself from a lot of material things and I'm still not done. I've lost track of how much we have given away, donated and tossed but I know we've gone past 40 bags or boxes. I just started going through the baby girl clothes today. My goal is to get through all of the sizes Katie has outgrown before Easter. I'm trying to whittle down what we have to a reasonable amount of clothing in case we ever have another baby girl. For the new baby, I'm trying not to buy more clothing that what we would reasonably need. I have a hard time resisting cute baby clothes so this is a bit of a challenge for me.
I'm almost ready for Easter. Candy is purchased and most of what I need for the baskets I have already procured. I still have a few items that I need to order and I suppose I should do it soon.
Tomorrow I'll be 36 weeks along. I've been feeling really off the past few days. I can walk a mile around the neighborhood and feel fine but going up a flight of stairs makes me feel like I'm going to pass out from exhaustion. At my doctors appointment yesterday they were concerned that my blood pressure was elevated but after having me lie down for a few minutes and taking my blood pressure again they were able to get a slighly lower reading. So I'm wondering if perhaps I'm on the brink of having some sort of issue. I really don't feel right and can't recall ever having felt like this with the other pregnancies. I go for a non-stress test and an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid level tomorrow.
Madeline's third marking period is behind us now and she's working her way towards the end. I have most of the lessons plans for the rest of the year finished. If we're able to keep everything on track even with a newborn in the house sometime in the next 2-5 weeks, she will be done before June.
Not knowing just when the baby will arrive makes me anxious. I really wish I knew when labor was going to happen. It would make things easier if I could just add it to the schedule. I'm hoping he makes his entrance sooner rather than later. Things are getting a bit cramped and uncomforable in my torso and I sure would appreciate the breathing room.
I still don't think Katie gets that we're going to have a baby in the house soon. We talk about the baby but it all seems to just go over her head. I'm really not sure how she's going to react when we bring her little brother home. She really loves babies so I'm hoping she will be happy to have a baby in the house but I'm bracing myself for what I suspect could be a difficult transistion for her.
I think this pretty much wraps up all the things I've had swirling around in my head that I haven't been able to blog about. I have pictures of Katie enjoying the nice spring weather we've had the past week or so and also pictures from the older girls' soccer games. I've gone to four soccer games in the past week! I'm trying to get to as many of their games as I can before the baby arrives since I don't know if I'll be at many or any for the rest of the season once the baby is here.
I feel like our plans for Lent never really took off. I had planned to do the Jesus tree readings with the girls each day but the closest we ever got to doing it was me hanging up the felt tree and taking out the ornaments. They'll all still sitting in the basket waiting to be used. Aside from the kids just being busy with soccer practices and everything else that crops up, I just couldn't find the motivation to dig out the list with the daily readings and the picture bible that went with it. I feel so lazy with regards to this, but I keep reminding myself that the bean jar and merciful cross Lenten activities are going well. And, the girls are at daily Mass with me most days so that has to count for something.
I decided once again to do the 40 bags in 40 days thing for Lent and that's going really well. I've detached myself from a lot of material things and I'm still not done. I've lost track of how much we have given away, donated and tossed but I know we've gone past 40 bags or boxes. I just started going through the baby girl clothes today. My goal is to get through all of the sizes Katie has outgrown before Easter. I'm trying to whittle down what we have to a reasonable amount of clothing in case we ever have another baby girl. For the new baby, I'm trying not to buy more clothing that what we would reasonably need. I have a hard time resisting cute baby clothes so this is a bit of a challenge for me.
I'm almost ready for Easter. Candy is purchased and most of what I need for the baskets I have already procured. I still have a few items that I need to order and I suppose I should do it soon.
Tomorrow I'll be 36 weeks along. I've been feeling really off the past few days. I can walk a mile around the neighborhood and feel fine but going up a flight of stairs makes me feel like I'm going to pass out from exhaustion. At my doctors appointment yesterday they were concerned that my blood pressure was elevated but after having me lie down for a few minutes and taking my blood pressure again they were able to get a slighly lower reading. So I'm wondering if perhaps I'm on the brink of having some sort of issue. I really don't feel right and can't recall ever having felt like this with the other pregnancies. I go for a non-stress test and an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid level tomorrow.
Madeline's third marking period is behind us now and she's working her way towards the end. I have most of the lessons plans for the rest of the year finished. If we're able to keep everything on track even with a newborn in the house sometime in the next 2-5 weeks, she will be done before June.
Not knowing just when the baby will arrive makes me anxious. I really wish I knew when labor was going to happen. It would make things easier if I could just add it to the schedule. I'm hoping he makes his entrance sooner rather than later. Things are getting a bit cramped and uncomforable in my torso and I sure would appreciate the breathing room.
I still don't think Katie gets that we're going to have a baby in the house soon. We talk about the baby but it all seems to just go over her head. I'm really not sure how she's going to react when we bring her little brother home. She really loves babies so I'm hoping she will be happy to have a baby in the house but I'm bracing myself for what I suspect could be a difficult transistion for her.
I think this pretty much wraps up all the things I've had swirling around in my head that I haven't been able to blog about. I have pictures of Katie enjoying the nice spring weather we've had the past week or so and also pictures from the older girls' soccer games. I've gone to four soccer games in the past week! I'm trying to get to as many of their games as I can before the baby arrives since I don't know if I'll be at many or any for the rest of the season once the baby is here.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Hanging in there
I have no idea how long it's been since I've blogged but I know it's been a little while. Everything is going well but I'm exhausted. I suspect the third trimester is just taking a lot out of me. I don't think I've ever felt this tired during this stage of a pregnancy before.
Last Friday I had an ultrasound and the baby, who is still a boy, is doing well. Based on the measurements they did they estimate that the baby is already 4lbs 5oz. They tell me this is around the 50% percentile for a baby at 32 weeks but it just seems huge to me. As of right now I have about 7 1/2 weeks until my due date. I'm really hoping that this little one decides to come early, or at least by his due date.
Saturday I had that awful tearing muscle pain that I experienced with Katie for several months. This time it was on the other side of my belly. Not fun at all, but I'm so glad that it only persisted for one day. I'm hoping that it doesn't happen again.
We had a few days of nice weather so I got to go out and walk around the neighborhood. I'd love to have nice comfortable weather for a few weeks straight so I could walk every day. It seems so crazy that it was in the 50s and 60s on Friday and Saturday and by Sunday night it was snowing yet again. I cannot express how tired I am of snow.
Since the ultrasound tech on Friday told me that the baby is definately a boy and this is the fourth time the baby's gender has been confirmed, I decided to just go ahead and wash the clothes I bought for the baby. So between Friday and Saturday I got all of the baby clothes washed and organized in the closet and drawers. It's funny. I did my best to make sure I only purchased what we would need and I still feel like we have too much. I did have a few people give me some hand me downs so that's probably why I have a bit of a surplus. I am doing really well with not buying more clothing for the baby. It's so hard to resist cute little baby outfits, but I'm doing it!
I realized the other day that I've been doing a dismal job of taking pictures of the kids lately. I guess it's another thing I can chalk up to being so exhausted. I am trying to grab the camera here and there and take pictures. It's just not happening very often.
On the VBS planning front I've made some headway. I finally got things together and registration is open. I have a friend who graciously offered to do all of the data entry associated with registration. Another friend is helping me to find resources that work with this year's theme, and two others are giving me input for the crafts portion of the program. I really just need to come up with a design for the camp tee shirts and get those ordered and I'll feel like I can relax a bit. Oh and so I don't have to run around like a crazy person the week of VBS I have not one, but two assistants! That makes me feel a lot better about running VBS with a two month old.
Lent feels like it's slipping by pretty fast. The girls are filling up the bean jar and covering up our merciful cross with flowers for each work of mercy performed. Our Jesus tree on the other hand is still bare. We just haven't found the time yet to read the stories for a single ornament. I keep telling them that we're going to have to do a few days where we cover several stories so we can catch up but it just hasn't happened yet. The third trimester is really kicking my rear!
Once again I'm doing the 40 bags in 40 days challenge for Lent. I'd say we're already off to a good start. We have already given away, donated or tossed at least 15-20 bags and boxes of stuff. I suspect we will have a lot more than 40 bags before Lent is over. I'm purging a lot of household items that we don't need duplicates or even triplicates of as well as a lot of clothing. I'm coming to realize that we can't save all of the girl's outgrown clothing. It's piling up way too fast and I'd rather see it go to people who can use it now rather than box it up with the hopes that some of it will get used by one of the younger girls. I have a lot of clothing to go through, but my goal is to keep only the items that I know will get used and give away the rest. I'm also trying to pare down the amount of games and toys we have since I've come to realize that the less we have the more the kids play with the toys and the easier it is for them to manage putting their toys away when they're done playing. It's a work in progress and an exercise in detachment.
I don't think I even got around to blogging about my nephew's baptism on the first Sunday of Lent. Bryan and I are his godparents. It was a really beautiful baptism and I was just struck when I followed my nephew's gaze as he was being baptized and realised that he was looking at the painting of St. Therese who was right above the baptismal font. It was a moment that just left me saying "Wow!" As I held him for the baptism I just knew by the the look of wonder on his face that he was looking at something and I had to look over my shoulder and find out what it was. I'm really glad I did.
Soon I hope to be blogging more and also sharing some pictures. Right now I just don't have the energy to edit my pictures and go through all the steps to get them uploaded and added to the blog. Provided I don't continue to feel completely run down I should be able to get back into blogging.
Last Friday I had an ultrasound and the baby, who is still a boy, is doing well. Based on the measurements they did they estimate that the baby is already 4lbs 5oz. They tell me this is around the 50% percentile for a baby at 32 weeks but it just seems huge to me. As of right now I have about 7 1/2 weeks until my due date. I'm really hoping that this little one decides to come early, or at least by his due date.
Saturday I had that awful tearing muscle pain that I experienced with Katie for several months. This time it was on the other side of my belly. Not fun at all, but I'm so glad that it only persisted for one day. I'm hoping that it doesn't happen again.
We had a few days of nice weather so I got to go out and walk around the neighborhood. I'd love to have nice comfortable weather for a few weeks straight so I could walk every day. It seems so crazy that it was in the 50s and 60s on Friday and Saturday and by Sunday night it was snowing yet again. I cannot express how tired I am of snow.
Since the ultrasound tech on Friday told me that the baby is definately a boy and this is the fourth time the baby's gender has been confirmed, I decided to just go ahead and wash the clothes I bought for the baby. So between Friday and Saturday I got all of the baby clothes washed and organized in the closet and drawers. It's funny. I did my best to make sure I only purchased what we would need and I still feel like we have too much. I did have a few people give me some hand me downs so that's probably why I have a bit of a surplus. I am doing really well with not buying more clothing for the baby. It's so hard to resist cute little baby outfits, but I'm doing it!
I realized the other day that I've been doing a dismal job of taking pictures of the kids lately. I guess it's another thing I can chalk up to being so exhausted. I am trying to grab the camera here and there and take pictures. It's just not happening very often.
On the VBS planning front I've made some headway. I finally got things together and registration is open. I have a friend who graciously offered to do all of the data entry associated with registration. Another friend is helping me to find resources that work with this year's theme, and two others are giving me input for the crafts portion of the program. I really just need to come up with a design for the camp tee shirts and get those ordered and I'll feel like I can relax a bit. Oh and so I don't have to run around like a crazy person the week of VBS I have not one, but two assistants! That makes me feel a lot better about running VBS with a two month old.
Lent feels like it's slipping by pretty fast. The girls are filling up the bean jar and covering up our merciful cross with flowers for each work of mercy performed. Our Jesus tree on the other hand is still bare. We just haven't found the time yet to read the stories for a single ornament. I keep telling them that we're going to have to do a few days where we cover several stories so we can catch up but it just hasn't happened yet. The third trimester is really kicking my rear!
Once again I'm doing the 40 bags in 40 days challenge for Lent. I'd say we're already off to a good start. We have already given away, donated or tossed at least 15-20 bags and boxes of stuff. I suspect we will have a lot more than 40 bags before Lent is over. I'm purging a lot of household items that we don't need duplicates or even triplicates of as well as a lot of clothing. I'm coming to realize that we can't save all of the girl's outgrown clothing. It's piling up way too fast and I'd rather see it go to people who can use it now rather than box it up with the hopes that some of it will get used by one of the younger girls. I have a lot of clothing to go through, but my goal is to keep only the items that I know will get used and give away the rest. I'm also trying to pare down the amount of games and toys we have since I've come to realize that the less we have the more the kids play with the toys and the easier it is for them to manage putting their toys away when they're done playing. It's a work in progress and an exercise in detachment.
I don't think I even got around to blogging about my nephew's baptism on the first Sunday of Lent. Bryan and I are his godparents. It was a really beautiful baptism and I was just struck when I followed my nephew's gaze as he was being baptized and realised that he was looking at the painting of St. Therese who was right above the baptismal font. It was a moment that just left me saying "Wow!" As I held him for the baptism I just knew by the the look of wonder on his face that he was looking at something and I had to look over my shoulder and find out what it was. I'm really glad I did.
Soon I hope to be blogging more and also sharing some pictures. Right now I just don't have the energy to edit my pictures and go through all the steps to get them uploaded and added to the blog. Provided I don't continue to feel completely run down I should be able to get back into blogging.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Pregnancy and Lent
Apparently I'm not the only one out in blog land that has been contemplating Lent while pregnant. Both Djiwa and Christine have discussed Lent and pregnancy on their blogs today and at the risk of beating a dead horse and looking like a copy cat and using far too many puns all at the same time, I'm going to do it, too.
We're just a few days away from the start of Lent and I've yet to decide on what I'm giving up and/or taking on for Lent this year. Eek! Part of this is because I already feel like I'm living a super long drawn out Lent while pregnant this time around. I found out back in October that things like deli meats, soft cheeses, and ceasar salad dressing are all foods you shouldn't eat while pregnant. Now I knew that moldy cheeses and feta were off limits while pregnant long before my first pregnancy, but it was news to me when I found out that hoagies, ceasar salad and fresh buffalo mozzarella were all off the menu. And being the sort of person who always wants what she can't have, I find myself longingly looking at Wawa and wishing I could have an Italian Hoagie.
When I'm not pregnant, I'm willing to give up certain foods or even eating out/ordering take out. Knowing how I am, I know those types of sacrifices while pregnant will make me and everyone around me miserable, so they're out. What I need to do is find something that is non-edible to give up for Lent.
When I was pregnant with Katie I gave up FaceBook for Lent. I've considered doing that this time around, but part of me would really hate to do it. Perhaps that's an indicator that I should give it up since doing so will certainly impact me. Some people are good with giving up internet during the day but I doubt I could handle that especially since that's how I primarily communicate with Bryan during the work day. Then again, I might be able to sacrifice browsing websites and blogs during the day but still utilize the messenger that I use to contact Bryan. I imagine if I cut out a lot of my internet usage or limited myself to only a certain amount of time on line per day that I'd probably get a lot more done around the house than I presently do.
As far as taking things on for Lent, in the past I have added things like going to daily Mass two or three times per week. I did that last year for Lent and by the time we hit Easter I was going to daily Mass Monday through Friday and have been doing so ever since. So, unless I decide to sacrifice my Saturday mornings, the only morning of the week where I get to sleep past 6:45, I don't think I'll be able to add going to daily Mass as a Lenten sacrifice.
I'm hopeful that I will be able to come up with something that is meaningful to give up and/or take on by Wednesday. If you have any suggestions leave me a comment.
We're just a few days away from the start of Lent and I've yet to decide on what I'm giving up and/or taking on for Lent this year. Eek! Part of this is because I already feel like I'm living a super long drawn out Lent while pregnant this time around. I found out back in October that things like deli meats, soft cheeses, and ceasar salad dressing are all foods you shouldn't eat while pregnant. Now I knew that moldy cheeses and feta were off limits while pregnant long before my first pregnancy, but it was news to me when I found out that hoagies, ceasar salad and fresh buffalo mozzarella were all off the menu. And being the sort of person who always wants what she can't have, I find myself longingly looking at Wawa and wishing I could have an Italian Hoagie.
When I'm not pregnant, I'm willing to give up certain foods or even eating out/ordering take out. Knowing how I am, I know those types of sacrifices while pregnant will make me and everyone around me miserable, so they're out. What I need to do is find something that is non-edible to give up for Lent.
When I was pregnant with Katie I gave up FaceBook for Lent. I've considered doing that this time around, but part of me would really hate to do it. Perhaps that's an indicator that I should give it up since doing so will certainly impact me. Some people are good with giving up internet during the day but I doubt I could handle that especially since that's how I primarily communicate with Bryan during the work day. Then again, I might be able to sacrifice browsing websites and blogs during the day but still utilize the messenger that I use to contact Bryan. I imagine if I cut out a lot of my internet usage or limited myself to only a certain amount of time on line per day that I'd probably get a lot more done around the house than I presently do.
As far as taking things on for Lent, in the past I have added things like going to daily Mass two or three times per week. I did that last year for Lent and by the time we hit Easter I was going to daily Mass Monday through Friday and have been doing so ever since. So, unless I decide to sacrifice my Saturday mornings, the only morning of the week where I get to sleep past 6:45, I don't think I'll be able to add going to daily Mass as a Lenten sacrifice.
I'm hopeful that I will be able to come up with something that is meaningful to give up and/or take on by Wednesday. If you have any suggestions leave me a comment.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Arma Dei Review: Advent & Lent Quest
Eeeek! Can you believe that we're just a week away from the start of Lent? I feel like it snuck up on us pretty quickly this year. If you're like me and you feel like you're about to be blindsided by Lent, then you might not have really spent much time thinking about how you'll be teaching your children to observe this season this year.
We do a few different things to "celebrate" Lent. It sounds so odd to say that we celebrate a penitential season, but I guess we do. For the past few years Lent has looked pretty much the same in our house. We have our merciful cross where the girls record the works of mercy and add a flower to the cross for each work performed. We have a bean jar to count good deeds, and we do daily readings for our Jesus tree which is sort of like a Jesse tree.
This year we're adding a new element. We're doing a Lenten countdown chain using the Advent and Lent Quest from Arma Dei. Advent and Lent quest is a craft kit that has pages you can print on colored or white paper [if your kids want to be the ones to add color] to make a countdown chain or to make a decorative chain as you go along. Each strip for the paper chain has either a challenge, or an interesting point of catechesis to help your child learn and practice our Catholic faith. The cool thing about the latest version of Advent and Lent Quest is it includes special pages for the Year of Faith which has some great Cathletics, and also Season with the Saints which celebrates many saints and lists his/her feast day, what he or she is the patron saint of, and a quote from that saint.
I couldn't just use one element from this kit for our Lent chain. In fact, I had a really hard time deciding which elements I wanted to use. There's really a lot to choose from in this kit! I decided to print out links for saint feast days that will happen during Lent. Then I picked a few of the Year of Faith selections and did the remaining ones using the Advent and Lent quest links. Sure I could have just printed out the Advent and Lent quest links for this chain, but I wanted to sample a little bit of everything!
The cool thing about this craft is you can use it for Lent, Advent and even throughout the year. During Ordinary Time you could print the Season with the Saints and Year of Faith links out and use them on feast days and maybe Sundays to teach your child about the Catholic faith and the Communion of Saints. Print the links out on fun colored papers and make a paper link garland that can decorate a room. Kids love making paper chains and this could be a fun ongoing activity. You could probably even find a way to work the Season with the Saints link into an All Saints Day party.
Printing out the links was a snap. I have the digital copy of this kit, so I simply opened up the PDF and scrolled through it to pick and choose what pages I wanted to print rather than print all of it at once. [We go through printer ink like there's no tomorrow, so I try to conserve it whenever possible.] The links are easy enough to assemble. Simply cut them apart along the lines [After cutting few pages with scissors I decided to break out the paper cutter.
] and glue them together. I used a glue stick and assembly took me just a few minutes. What took me the longest was making sure I had the saint links on the right day. I don't want the girls pulling off the St. Patrick link on St. Joseph's feast day!
The girls took a peek at some of the links as I was preparing the chain. They're ready to start pulling off a link a day, so I'll take that as a sign that this will be a kid approved activity. I'm sure it will make an appearance in a future blog post this Lent.
The way we're using this craft kit is just one variation on the way it can be used. Monica of Arma Dei is super creative and gives lots of great suggestions for how to use these links in the instructions for this kit. Every time I read over the instructions I notice another neat way to use these links that I hadn't noticed before. She has plenty of ideas that will make using this kit year after year lots of fun.
I was provided with a review copy of Advent and Lent Quest by the publisher, Arma Dei, in exchange for my honest review. Visit Equipping Catholic Families for more information or to buy a copy of this kit for yourself. Since this is available in an electronic format you still have plenty of time to order a copy of this and have it all set up for this Lent.
We do a few different things to "celebrate" Lent. It sounds so odd to say that we celebrate a penitential season, but I guess we do. For the past few years Lent has looked pretty much the same in our house. We have our merciful cross where the girls record the works of mercy and add a flower to the cross for each work performed. We have a bean jar to count good deeds, and we do daily readings for our Jesus tree which is sort of like a Jesse tree.
I couldn't just use one element from this kit for our Lent chain. In fact, I had a really hard time deciding which elements I wanted to use. There's really a lot to choose from in this kit! I decided to print out links for saint feast days that will happen during Lent. Then I picked a few of the Year of Faith selections and did the remaining ones using the Advent and Lent quest links. Sure I could have just printed out the Advent and Lent quest links for this chain, but I wanted to sample a little bit of everything!
Printing out the links was a snap. I have the digital copy of this kit, so I simply opened up the PDF and scrolled through it to pick and choose what pages I wanted to print rather than print all of it at once. [We go through printer ink like there's no tomorrow, so I try to conserve it whenever possible.] The links are easy enough to assemble. Simply cut them apart along the lines [After cutting few pages with scissors I decided to break out the paper cutter.
] and glue them together. I used a glue stick and assembly took me just a few minutes. What took me the longest was making sure I had the saint links on the right day. I don't want the girls pulling off the St. Patrick link on St. Joseph's feast day!The girls took a peek at some of the links as I was preparing the chain. They're ready to start pulling off a link a day, so I'll take that as a sign that this will be a kid approved activity. I'm sure it will make an appearance in a future blog post this Lent.
The way we're using this craft kit is just one variation on the way it can be used. Monica of Arma Dei is super creative and gives lots of great suggestions for how to use these links in the instructions for this kit. Every time I read over the instructions I notice another neat way to use these links that I hadn't noticed before. She has plenty of ideas that will make using this kit year after year lots of fun.
I was provided with a review copy of Advent and Lent Quest by the publisher, Arma Dei, in exchange for my honest review. Visit Equipping Catholic Families for more information or to buy a copy of this kit for yourself. Since this is available in an electronic format you still have plenty of time to order a copy of this and have it all set up for this Lent.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Book Review: The Sacred Heart For Lent
When it comes to Lent having a book with daily meditations has become a must have item for me. I like books of that nature because they do a good job at centering my focus on Lent. This year Fr. Williams' The Sacred Heart for Lent will be the book that will accompany me through Lent.
will be the book that will accompany me through Lent.I was intrigued by this book when I initially picked it up. I'm aware of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, but I'm not particularly familiar with it. After reading through several of the meditations in this book I found my self drawn to it and wanting to know more about the Sacred Heart devotion.
The book is very simple in it's format. For every day there is a scripture entry, followed by a reflection and a short prayer focused on the Sacred Heart. The reflections in this book really resonated with me. After reading just a few of the daily reflections I knew I had found the book I wanted for Lent.
Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a good Lenten read that will encourage you to take a better look at yourself and also draw you closer to the Sacred Heart.
I was provided with a review copy of The Sacred Heart for Lent
by the publisher, Servant Books, in exchange for my honest review.
Book Review: Rediscover Lent
. This particular book is focused on inspiring you to come to know your Catholic faith better.Like many Lenten books, Rediscover Lent
has a section for each day of Lent. For people like me who like to devour books, a format such as this forces the reader to take things slowly and ruminate the message for each day. Each daily entry contains scripture readings (you'll need your bible for these), a reflection, a meditation and a prayer. Using this book as a daily Lenten resource will require about ten minutes of your time, but you may find yourself pondering the daily meditation throughout the day.Overall, I think this is a decent book and I most certainly would have been turning to this book throughout Lent if I hadn't found a different book that resonated with me better.
I was provided with a review copy of Rediscover Lent
by the publisher, St. Anthony Messenger Press in exchange for my honest review.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Stupid Things I've Decided To Do For Lent
It's not even 6AM and I'm awake. How's that for starters? Why am I awake? Because I got the brilliant idea that going to Mass on Friday mornings when Bryan is working from home would be a good thing. Then I woke up at 5:30 (not using an alarm, I just woke up) and started thinking. I hate when I think in the morning. I was going to go to the 8AM Mass, but then I realized that I won't get home until it's time to take Madeline and Ellie to school (Ellie is off today, but she won't be for the other Friday's in Lent). Hmm...I instantly came to the realization that in order to make this work I will need to get my butt out of bed very early in the morning to make it to 6:45AM Mass. I'm insane. Why did I think this was a good idea a few weeks ago?
At the moment this is making my Facebook fast look like a stroke of pure brilliance.
At the moment this is making my Facebook fast look like a stroke of pure brilliance.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Showing Some Ash!
I found the time we spent sitting in the church before the service began to be rather amusing. I had two older women sitting in front of me loudly discussing some of the things they were seeing in the sanctuary. First, they were talking about the Lenten dessert scene that is now before the altar. They were intrigued about the broken clay pot. "Is there something in the Bible about that?" the one woman asked her friend. "I don't know, maybe." replied the other. The there was a slight pause. One of them mentioned that Jesus spent forty days and forty nights in the desert. The other then quipped "It doesn't seem very smart to break your pot on the first day in the dessert. Isn't that stupid? He must have been thirsty." I almost died. Really? I'm sure Jesus didn't go out in the desert drop his clay water container and say "Shoot, I'm going to be really thirsty now for the next 39 days I'm out here." In the bulletin last week they explained the significance of the broken clay pot. It represents our own brokenness. It's not there to tell us that Jesus dropped his pot and then wandered around thirsty because He had butterfingers. A few more minutes passed and the two women once again loudly said something that made me resist the urge to bring my palm to my face. "So why is St. Irish up there? What's he supposed to represent?" said the one woman. At this point I'm sitting there saying to myself "Really? St. Irish? What planet is this woman from?" then her friend says "I don't know. Isn't St. Patrick's day coming up? Maybe it has something to do with that." "Maybe." was the other woman's response. St. Patrick's statue is next to the lectionary because each month a new saint statue is placed there. I naturally assumed when I went to Mass on Saturday that he was there because his feast day is this month. My five and a half year old knew it was St. Patrick right away and was the one who pointed him out. Mercifully, the prayer service started shortly after that and I didn't have to over hear much more other than the one friend telling her companion that she thinks she could be a good reader since she enunciates well. To quote the Church Lady "Well isn't that special?!"
Kicking off Lent
I went to check my email this morning and I stumbled on this video of Abp. Timothy Dolan. Enjoy!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Ack! Lent is almost here!
I feel like Lent has really snuck up on me this year. I've been waiting for it, but I'm just not ready for it. For the past two weeks I've been meaning to put a Lent post together and this is evidence that I clearly didn't get the job done as quickly as I would have liked.
Read on to see how we will be celebrating Lent this year.
To start, the girls will be participating in Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure. It was a hit last year and we're looking forward to doing it again. I can't say enough good things about the amazing program they put out. Best of all it's free! You can't argue with that. I highly recommend signing up for the Lenten Adventure. Not only will your kids learn a lot, you might learn a few things, too.
We will have a bean jar for the kids in the kitchen. Anytime they perform a good deed they will place a bean in the jar. On Easter morning the beans will be replaced with a colorful jar of yummy jelly beans. This is a Lenten practice that motivates the girls to perform as many good deeds as they can so they can earn as many jelly beans as possible.
The Merciful Cross is a great idea that I got from Kimberlee at Pondered in My Heart last year. We tried it out last year and it was a great way for the children to learn the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. You can see pictures of our merciful cross from last year here.
We also will be doing another sacrifice garland. For this craft/decoration everyone in the family traces his or her hand on brown paper and cuts it out. Then, we glue a heart cut out of red construction paper to the palm of the hand print and write our Lenten sacrifice on it. To make a garland, I simply cut two slits in each hand cut out and string it on to a ribbon. The above referenced post from last year also includes this craft.
To further encourage our girls to make sacrifices and to perform good deeds, we make strings of good deed beads. These good deed beads also double as a one decade rosary. We like to use these when we do a decade a day during the Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure. My tutorial on making your own string of good deed beads can be found here.
Lacy at Catholic Icing created a great Lenten calendar that my girls will use again this year. I give them the option of either coloring it all at once or coloring one day at a time. I just make sure that they color each day the proper liturgical color. The girls get excited when they discover a solemnity on a space that they thought was going to be purple. In the case of solemnities, we try to do something fun on those days (usually a special treat).
This year we're adding a new Lenten practice, a Jesus Tree. I was inspired by the posts about this neat tradition that I found on Jessica's blog Shower of Roses. In the past week, I have acquired the felt kit to make the Jesus Tree and a children's bible that contains most, if not all of the readings for each of the 47 symbols. The kit is a lot of work, but I think it will be worth the effort. If anyone would like me to send them the file with the patterns for the ornaments just drop me an email. I was quite surprised when I opened the kit and saw that they ask you to copy the pattern for your reference and also to share with others. It's not often you see something like that these days!
So how about Lenten reading? I have a few books that are on my reading list for Lent. Once again I will be reading Fr. Longenecker's Gargoyle Code. It's written in the tradition of the Screwtape Letters and has an entry for every day of Lent starting with Shrove Tuesday. It's a great read. I'll also be delving into Magnificat's Lenten Companion. I thoroughly enjoyed last year's version and I'm looking forward to this year's. I recently had the opportunity to review Wondrous Encounters and The Little Way of Lent. Both have great reflections for Lent based on the Mass readings. Of the two, The Little Way of Lent is the one that speaks to me. And let's be honest, there's only so much Lenten reading I can do. I will likely rotate through the three books which reflect on the Mass readings for the day.
I'm a big fan of Busted Halo's website and their Lenten calendar. As if their calendar alone isn't enough, you can even win prizes. If I recall correctly, there's a daily prize, a weekly prize and a grand prize.
We also will have one of Catholic Relief Services Operation Rice Bowl collection containers sitting in our kitchen. By following their informative Lenten calendar, you can learn about those who are living in impoverished countries. Most days on their calendar have interesting factoids and there are several prompts for prayer, fasting and almsgiving. You can even sign up for weekly reflections on their website (referenced above). My girls, who simply adore putting money in collection containers, really like gathering up coins to pop in the rice bowl container.
As Lent progresses, I'll be posting some of the crafts I'll be doing with my children and the students in my religious education classes. I simply love to do all sorts of fun crafts during Lent. Something about Lent just inspires me to be crafty.
Read on to see how we will be celebrating Lent this year.
To start, the girls will be participating in Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure. It was a hit last year and we're looking forward to doing it again. I can't say enough good things about the amazing program they put out. Best of all it's free! You can't argue with that. I highly recommend signing up for the Lenten Adventure. Not only will your kids learn a lot, you might learn a few things, too.
We will have a bean jar for the kids in the kitchen. Anytime they perform a good deed they will place a bean in the jar. On Easter morning the beans will be replaced with a colorful jar of yummy jelly beans. This is a Lenten practice that motivates the girls to perform as many good deeds as they can so they can earn as many jelly beans as possible.
The Merciful Cross is a great idea that I got from Kimberlee at Pondered in My Heart last year. We tried it out last year and it was a great way for the children to learn the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. You can see pictures of our merciful cross from last year here.
We also will be doing another sacrifice garland. For this craft/decoration everyone in the family traces his or her hand on brown paper and cuts it out. Then, we glue a heart cut out of red construction paper to the palm of the hand print and write our Lenten sacrifice on it. To make a garland, I simply cut two slits in each hand cut out and string it on to a ribbon. The above referenced post from last year also includes this craft.
To further encourage our girls to make sacrifices and to perform good deeds, we make strings of good deed beads. These good deed beads also double as a one decade rosary. We like to use these when we do a decade a day during the Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure. My tutorial on making your own string of good deed beads can be found here.
Lacy at Catholic Icing created a great Lenten calendar that my girls will use again this year. I give them the option of either coloring it all at once or coloring one day at a time. I just make sure that they color each day the proper liturgical color. The girls get excited when they discover a solemnity on a space that they thought was going to be purple. In the case of solemnities, we try to do something fun on those days (usually a special treat).
This year we're adding a new Lenten practice, a Jesus Tree. I was inspired by the posts about this neat tradition that I found on Jessica's blog Shower of Roses. In the past week, I have acquired the felt kit to make the Jesus Tree and a children's bible that contains most, if not all of the readings for each of the 47 symbols. The kit is a lot of work, but I think it will be worth the effort. If anyone would like me to send them the file with the patterns for the ornaments just drop me an email. I was quite surprised when I opened the kit and saw that they ask you to copy the pattern for your reference and also to share with others. It's not often you see something like that these days!
So how about Lenten reading? I have a few books that are on my reading list for Lent. Once again I will be reading Fr. Longenecker's Gargoyle Code. It's written in the tradition of the Screwtape Letters and has an entry for every day of Lent starting with Shrove Tuesday. It's a great read. I'll also be delving into Magnificat's Lenten Companion. I thoroughly enjoyed last year's version and I'm looking forward to this year's. I recently had the opportunity to review Wondrous Encounters and The Little Way of Lent. Both have great reflections for Lent based on the Mass readings. Of the two, The Little Way of Lent is the one that speaks to me. And let's be honest, there's only so much Lenten reading I can do. I will likely rotate through the three books which reflect on the Mass readings for the day.
I'm a big fan of Busted Halo's website and their Lenten calendar. As if their calendar alone isn't enough, you can even win prizes. If I recall correctly, there's a daily prize, a weekly prize and a grand prize.
We also will have one of Catholic Relief Services Operation Rice Bowl collection containers sitting in our kitchen. By following their informative Lenten calendar, you can learn about those who are living in impoverished countries. Most days on their calendar have interesting factoids and there are several prompts for prayer, fasting and almsgiving. You can even sign up for weekly reflections on their website (referenced above). My girls, who simply adore putting money in collection containers, really like gathering up coins to pop in the rice bowl container.
As Lent progresses, I'll be posting some of the crafts I'll be doing with my children and the students in my religious education classes. I simply love to do all sorts of fun crafts during Lent. Something about Lent just inspires me to be crafty.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Good Deed Beads
Last year Madeline received a string of good deed beads from our church during the first Sunday in Lent. The good deed beads were essentially a one decade rosary that had a fixed Our Father bead and moveable Hail Mary beads. On the end with the fixed Our Father bead is a crucifix and the other end has a miraculous medal. These good deed beads, or sacrifice beads, can be used by the child to keep track of his or her good deeds throughout the day. All you do is pull down a Hail Mary bead for each good deed and the bead stays in place. Madeline loved keeping track of her good deeds last Lent. (Actually, she kept track of them well into the Summer.)
I liked the good deed beads for another reason, they're perfect for introducing a young child to the rosary a decade at a time. I like that the beads stay in place when you pull them. That makes it easy for a small child to keep track of how many prayers he/she has said.
Ellie developed a habit of grabbing Madeline's good deed beads a few months back and praying Hail Marys. It wasn't long before she was asking for a set of her own. After examining the beads that Madeline had, I figured out how to make them. They're really very simple to make and the kids love them.
I'm making good deed beads with my kindergarten CCD class this Sunday, so I decided to make an example for the class and snap some pictures to offer a tutorial here:
You'll need 11 pony beads, twine or crochet yarn (I used 100% nylon crochet yarn that looks like a silky twine), scissors, a crucifix and a miraculous medal (your local Catholic gift shop will likely have these). I also use a candle to heat seal the ends of the twine. Doing this step is optional, but it keeps the ends of the string from unraveling (provided the twine is not 100% cotton, only synthetic fibers will melt).
Your first step is to cut a length of twine that is about 18-24 inches long. (I like to make sure I have enough twine to work with when making knots.) Then, thread the miraculous medal onto the twine and knot it into the center. Once you make the knot, thread the twine through the pony bead. One side of the twine goes through each end of the bead. Then you pull the twine so that the bead is up against the knot. Repeat this step for the next nine beads.
Once the first ten beads are all threaded on the twine, then you make two knots (one on top of the other) about an inch down the twine from the last bead. (This is so the child can pull the beads for good deeds.)
Next you thread the Our Father bead onto the twine. (Make sure the bead rests firmly against the knot.) Both ends of the twine go in at the same time.
Then you thread the crucifix on the same way.
To finish it off, you make two knots between the Our Father bead and the crucifix.
Once you finish with the knots, you trim off the edges. This is where you may want to run the ends of the twine over a flame to seal the ends. Be careful not to get too close to the flame or you'll singe the twine and possibly yourself.
If you're doing Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure with your child this Lent, these beads would be perfect for the rosary portion of the Lenten Adventure since it covers a decade of the sorrowful mysteries at a time.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Candy, I shall miss thee!
Is it really Shrove Tuesday already? Am I really going to kiss my beloved candy goodbye for all of Lent? The harsh reality is that I am. I really am. I have a feeling this decision will hang heavily over me throughout Lent. It will require self control when the kids ask for candy as a snack. It will require me to not be mean to my husband if he prances around in front of me eating a Reese cup. It will require me to not be stingy in tossing Jolly Ranchers out to my 7th grade CCD class [for correct answers] because I can't have them. I am going to live as though Nerds, Jolly Ranchers, Sweet Tarts and the occasional chocolate (I'm not a fan of chocolate--it hurts my teeth and burns my esophagus.) do not delight me in the least. I will simply put them in the same category as chips and other foods which I don't eat and couldn't tell you where there are found in the store. But, I'm sure I'll have days where I miss my candy. Those will be the days where I'll need to dig deep and offer it up. I haven't done that enough in the past, so I'm sure this will be good for me.
Giving up candy isn't all that I'm doing for Lent. I'll be doing the 40 bags in 40 days challenge, too. I spent much of this weekend scouting out things that I can rummage through during Lent. Three years ago I began packing up our belongings in our old house in anticipation of our move. Some of those boxes, which were packed 4 months before we moved, are still sitting in our garage. I've picked through them and removed the items we needed, but there are lots of things that I haven't thought about in three years. Those items will likely find themselves at Goodwill in the near future. Over at Faith and Family, I said I'd rid my home of 40 Target sized bags of stuff. I think it's quite possible that I will be able to exceed that. When we doubled our living space, it was my hope that we'd have more space than we knew what to do with and that some rooms would echo. That is not our reality. I am going to do my best to eliminate as much stuff from our house as I can without causing a revolt.
Spiritually speaking, I'll be doing some Lenten reading. Fr. Longenecker's The Gargoyle Code will be daily reading for me starting today. I read the book back in November and I loved it. I'll spend a few minutes each day reading this book. I highly recommend this book. I'll also be delving into The Magnificat Lenten Companion. I'm hoping to get to adoration once a week during Lent. And since I'll be reading The Gargoyle Code, you can bet I'll go to confession at least once or twice this Lent.
I'll be doing the Lenten Adventure with the girls. I tried to convince Madeline that she should say the rosary with me every day this Lent, but she found the prospect of saying the entire thing every day to be a little overwhelming. So I told her we will focus on one decade of the sorrowful mysteries each day. That works for her, and it's something I know Ellie will be able to handle, as well.
I'm hoping that all the family activities I'll be doing with the girls will pull Bryan in, too. He happily complied with the hand tracing for our Lenten Sacrifice Garland. I see that as a step in the right direction. Perhaps he'll add a few flowers to our Merciful Cross, too.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Crafty Lent Preparations
I posted yesterday that I was gearing up for Lent. On Saturday, I hung our Merciful Cross on the door to our basement steps. If all goes well, the cross will be covered in colorful flowers labeled with good deeds by Easter. A flower is earned each time a spiritual or corporal work of mercy is performed. I think this will be a great way for the girls (mainly Madeline) to learn the spiritual and corporal acts of mercy. (I suspect it's possible that Bryan might even learn them, too. Do I get bonus points for catechizing my cradle Catholic husband?) Madeline is already chomping at the bit to get started. She's been reading the lists on the door and trying to figure out what she could do to earn flowers. By the time Lent is over, I think she will not only know the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, but she'll also have a pretty good idea of how they translate into everyday life. Part of me is wondering if I made the cross big enough. If I didn't, I'll know to make a bigger one for next year.
This is our Merciful Cross with the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy on either side.
These are the flowers which I hope will fill our Merciful Cross. They were cut out with a massive hole punch which I found at the craft store.
Last year we had a little issue with Madeline conveniently switching her Lenten sacrifice when it suited her. Want your favorite candy? Simply say that X is your new favorite and see if you can sneak what you really gave up. I needed to find some way to hold Madeline accountable. So I went searching for a craft. The Big Book of Catholic Customs and Traditions for Children's Faith Formation had the perfect idea which I adapted slightly. It's a garland that has cut outs of our hands. In the palm of the hand we glued a red heart with our Lenten sacrifice written in the middle. Since purple is the liturgical color for Lent, I strung the hands up with a purple ribbon and tied it around the basement door above our Merciful Cross. When Bryan gets home tonight I'll be adding his hand to the garland. I like that we'll have a reminder of our sacrifice on the door. It's a nice way to ensure accountability.
This is a close up of the hands on our Lenten Sacrifice Garland.
Making the Lenten Sacrifice Garland was really simple. You trace the child's hand onto construction paper (I chose brown to match our Merciful Cross). Then, cut a red heart to fit in the palm. To attach to the ribbon, I simply cut two slits in each hand so I could thread the ribbon through. You could easily glue or staple the hands to the ribbon, but then you lose the ability to adjust their position once the garland is hung.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Getting ready for Lent
I can't remember ever having such a difficult time trying to decide what to give up for Lent. This year I feel totally stumped for ideas, and conflicted over the ones that I have. Generally speaking, I typically do something that rates as being rather weak. (Nice, huh?) Last year, I gave up a particular Girl Scout cookie (carmel delights, or Samoas depending on your region) and I forced myself to wear my retainer every night. The result was I wound losing all desire to eat the cookies that were 70 calories a piece and I my teeth were perfectly straight again. (That made my parents happy. They get upset when the see my teeth shifting since they spent a nice chunk of money on orthodontics.) To be honest, last years effort was sad. I should have been wearing the retainer all along, even though I usually don't. And the cookies were easily replaced with other cookies. Not much of a sacrifice.
Chances are I would have settled for something equally weak again for this Lent if it weren't for Bryan declaring that he will be giving up all meat for Lent. That is a huge shock to me. This is the guy who generally balks at having for forgo meat on Fridays during Lent. Last year we had one Friday where it was 12:00PM and I caught him eating cold cuts. So I promptly pointed out that it was officially Friday and he needed to toss the meat. Instead, he stuffed it all in his mouth and ate it which totally irritated me. I can't think of a single Lent since I started dating him where he hasn't forgotten about not eating meat on Friday.
With Bryan going meat free for Lent, it has forced me to look at what I'm sacrificing and see if it's really even a sacrifice. Sure I could give up a particular candy, but wouldn't it mean more if I went without all candy? Then, I thought maybe I could just make it to one daily Mass a week. While that wouldn't be bad, it would really only require me to lose one hour of sleep a week so I could make it to the 6:45AM Mass. Or, I could not lose the sleep and just take the girls to the 6PM Wednesday Mass. Either way, both of those options feel like they would be taking the easy way out. Then I thought, maybe I can just hide behind reading something for spiritual growth during Lent. Nah, that doesn't work since I do that almost daily, but I will be reading two books daily during Lent (The Gargoyle Code and The Magnificat Lenten Companion).
As much as I hate the idea of a candy free Lent, I feel compelled to go in that direction. Bryan thinks it's destined for failure. In some ways I think that he's right, but I'm hopeful that I can muster the will power necessary to persevere. I do have to wonder how compelled I'd feel to do this if I didn't feel like I needed to compete with Bryan on some level. If he was just giving up coffee or soda for Lent, I probably wouldn't have even considered giving up candy. I have a massive sweet tooth and this will certainly be a challenge of epic proportion. Is it wrong to try to match your spouse's Lenten sacrifice so you don't feel outdone? Hmm.....I wonder if that's the sin of pride.
I'm still trying to figure out just how much I'm going to have the girls do for Lent. I signed up for Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure. I also got Madeline a Lenten workbook that looks like it will be a lot of fun. Last night, I taped our Merciful Cross on the basement door. I got the idea from Pondered in My Heart. The spiritual and corporal works of mercy are listed on the door. When anyone in the house performs one of the works of mercy, they can write it down on one of the little flower cut outs that I made and paste it on the cross. By Easter, the cross will hopefully be covered in flowers. (I'll blog about this with pictures later this week).
I still have to write up lesson plans for each of my CCD classes for the coming week. I had other lessons planned for the days that got snowed out, but I want to cover Lent this week. I need to find crafts and activities that are relevant.
I'm in for a busy week ahead. I can feel it!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Book Review: Magnificat Lenten Companion
I recently ordered myself a copy of Magnificat’s Lenten Companion. We subscribe to their children’s publication Magnifikid!, and it’s such a great hit with my daughter, that I decided that I’d give their Lenten Companion a try. Most years, I fall short in doing something to grow spiritually during Lent, and I figured that this pocket-size Lenten Companion would be useful in helping me gain focus during the season of Lent.
I haven’t read all of this Lenten Companion yet since I’m intending to use it daily during Lent. For the purpose of this review, I have flipped through the booklet and read a few of the daily readings to get a feel for the overall format.
In the beginning of this booklet, there is a brief overview, entitled Lent in France of the origins of some Lenten traditions in France and their significance. I found this article to be a rather interesting read. This article is followed by a brief (two paragraph) explanation of Church regulations on fasting and abstinence during Lent.
The booklet contains a short reading reflection for every day of Lent. Each daily reflection is based on scripture, and that scripture reference is listed. One could easily read the reflection, and then go and look up the scripture reference for further reflection. The reflection is followed by a short devotional. There is also a suggested penance for each day. One could very easily utilize this book to deepen their spiritual life during Lent. Daily suggested penance aside, reading this book, the referenced scripture and daily devotional shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes a day. The suggested penances vary and some could take more time and effort than others.
Besides the daily reflections, this book also contains the Stations of the Cross and a variety of other prayers.
I'm confident that this booklet will make for a more meaningful Lent. You can purchase this item here.
I wrote this review of Magnificat Lenten Companion for the Tiber River Blogger Review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods. For more information and to purchase, please visit Aquinas and More Catholic Goods.
Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000, to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases.
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