Sunday Mass Preparations

I have been pouring over Helen's posts for Sunday Mass Preparations have started doing a few new things. These posts are wonderful because they are so simple, yet so meaningful for small children.

Here is what we have been doing to learn about the Psalms.

• Three weeks ago we started learning the Psalm refrain beginning on Wed or Thursday. Before we did this, we re-read the story of David and Saul and looked at the Psalms in the bible.
• On Wed., or Thursday, the girls use the psalm refrain as copy work, and then someone pretends they are the cantor, raises their arms and we practice singing it.
• They are thrilled at Mass on Sunday when they recognize it.

First Fruits of Prayer

I have been reading First Fruits of Prayer: A Forty-Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew since last Wednesday. Here is a description of the book from the website of the author, Fredrica Mathewes-Green. I'm finding these concepts of sin from the Orthodox tradition very challenging and provocative. It's a very ancient way of approaching Lent, but very new to me.

Wed., February 28

I can't believe it's almost March. Caroline turns 1 tomorrow.

• I slept in. I read too late last night. Pete was with girls until 8 when I hauled myself out of bed. Cartoons this morning. Caroline screaming. NOT a good start. I showered and dressed and then got breakfast for them.
• Practiced greeting people after breakfast. "Hello Mrs. Asel" etc. and practiced shaking hands.
• Madeleine and Erika did copywork at table for about 10 minutes and then punched holes in their papers and hung them on their dining room table chairs. Ha! So lovely.
• A VERY large tea party then took place in our living room while I tended to Caroline and cleaning up the house from my absence during the morning hours.
• Talked too long with Cathy on the phone. Phone calls just CANNOT be part of my day EVER. Whenever they do, it's pretty much all down hill from there. Today was no exception.
• I sewed a couple skirts together while Caroline napped. We put a couple songs that we've been wanting to learn on repeat....and learned them! Dorothy played the Pouring Game.
• Read aloud from Devotional Stories for Little Folks and Little House.
• Lunch.
• Made peanut butter cookies.
• Girls played in bedroom. Caroline played in her crib next to them. I zoned out in front of computer.

Emily's Baptism Party

Emily came over this morning to celebrate her Baptism Anniversary. She doesn't have K on Tues. morning, so Kristina dropped her off at 8:30. We hadn't seen her in awhile so they were all excited to see her. We....

1. Colored Baptism coloring page while I read the story of Jesus baptized by John the Baptist and Today I Was Baptized.
2. Did 2 Atrium presentations about Baptism - light/candles & Trinity. They colored the Trinity page.
3. Built a Baptismal font with blocks
4. Played with Geo Boards
5. Brunch - Tea party. Baptism cookies for dessert and opened presents.
6. Outside play time until 11:30 when Kristina picked her up.

• Quiet time after she left - glory stories in bedroom. I fell asleep nursing Caroline. Surprise, surprise.
• ME played tea party and did atrium presentations with each other. Dorothy and I read some of her books and snuggled. She's bugging me lately, so I thought I better be with her when she's not annoying me.
• Girls outside to play.
• Pete held up - didn't make it home for dinner. Apricot/orange chicken in crock pot ~ new recipe from a crock pot cookbook from Pete's mom. It was really good.
• Normal nonsense after dinner.
• I caught up on ironing after they went to bed.

Back to "Normal"

...whatever THAT means. Our kitchen is put back together from the week-long-floor-escapade. So, it's back to business.

• Caroline up early, so she was back down to sleep when the others sat down for breakfast.
• After breakfast, reviewed Madeleine's sight words and she read a couple pages of "3 bears" reader. E-drew, D-played dolls
• Chapter from Little House on the Prairie while girls did stamping and made fingerprint-figures.
• Sat and talked on the couch. Read a couple picture books.
• Watched Signing Time video. Guy showed up to buy Pete's truck. I got dinner ready and cleaned up the kitchen.
• We all made Baptism cookies for tomorrow, Emily is coming over for her Baptism anniversary.
• Girls outside to play. Lunch outside.
• Quiet time: C-napping, E-lying on the floor, me, D,M on couch listened to Rosary CD. Madeleine kept scolding me b/c I was falling asleep.
• Play time for them. I worked on computer, made phone calls, did laundry.
• Amy over. Dorothy Jo and Amy played in Living room. Madeleine and Erika played in bedroom.
• Everyone outside to play for an hour until dinner.
• Dinner-calzones and salad. Madeleine quizzed Pete about the order of the pres of U.S - from the placemat. Read Dolly Madison story about the George Washington portrait during dessert.
• Clean up
• Lent reading.
• Jammies, storytime, bed.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Jemma over for an hour this am.
Math-U-See. Place value with madeleine. Erika did some building but doesn't want to say the numbers. she'll write them though. Dorothy did puzzles, sorted jelly beans by color, building with blocks.
Worked with D on sign-cross and the words for Hail Mary. Folding shirts, putting on socks. showed her how to put plates inthe dishwasher and how to wipe the kid's table.
Read from Lent bible stories - Jesus 40 days in the dessert. Took turn narrating paragraphs.
Madeleine did a few pages from K workbook....O, E vowels words.
Finished Raggedy Anne book. 2 chapters.
Girls played at Julee's in the PM.

Thursday, February 22

Kitchen is STILL in a shambles. Waiting for 2nd patch job.
Spent day decorating for Lent. Put up Stations Cloth, went through SOC-box, set up candles, bows, front door decoration, Lenten-paths for girls, candy box, prayers, lent/easter book basket.
Girls played outside, even though it was pretty cold.
Quiet time - Katharine Drexel Glory story.
Went to Aquarium with Grammy.
Started Lent Bible Stories. this is a gREAT resource. they LOVE it!

Light Weigh Recap

Just for future reference, I keep meaning to write down my Light Weigh story. Finally...before I forget!

Nov 1999 - wedding. 135-140 lbs.
Jan 2005 - 14 months after baby #3 -- 164 lbs.
Gained 30 lbs after 3 pregnancies.
Light Weigh session beginning in Feb 2005 - Lost about 14 lbs. in 4 months, then got pregnant again (June 2005). I gained 40 lbs. with the pregnancy, (150-190 lbs).
Caroline was born March 1, 2006

Went through a second Light Weigh session (May 2006) after baby #4 was born.

May 1, 2006 - 170 lbs.
July 1, 2006 - 160
Mid-August 2006 - 150
October 2006 - broke 140
Oct-Present - hover around 137 lbs., which is probably about the same as when I got married.
In a perfect world, I would be 130 lbs. Thinking about doing another Light Weigh session during Lent and Easter.

Lenten Plans

Not much happened last year in our Domestc Church during Lent as Caroline was born on Ash Wednesday. So, I'm sure I am way over-reaching, but in a "perfect world"...

Color Alleluia sheets

• sometime b4 Ash Wednesday
• on Ash Wed hide them under the purple banner that will hang in the living room.
• Purple banner is a piece of purple fabric that isn't even hemmed up. Maybe one of these days I'll get to that.
• Practice singing the Alleluia and Gloria for Sunday, as it's the last time we'll hear it.

Front door decoration:

• Gather sticks from front yard and make a cross to hang on the door.
• Tie appropriate holy cards to it with purple ribbon.

Centerpiece

• Hang a Crown of Thorns from chandelier with toothpicks stuck in.

Stations of the Cross

• Print out.
• Girls color them in on W-TH-F right after Ash Wed to hang around the purple banner.
• Get stations-of-the-cross-box ready.
• Put prayers in basket along with candle snuffer.
• Set up Advent Wreath log with 13 candles on window sill, covered with purple cloth.
• Say SOC every Friday, maybe more.

Lenten path

• Girls color them in; they'll each have their own.
• Hang them in prominent spot.
• find stickers.
• come up with a couple of things they can do every day for Jesus and print on purple sheets of paper. They decide at b-fast.

Stories of Jesus' life

• Bible readings of Jesus' life from Children's Lenten devotional at least a couple times / week. Some of these may be over their heads; we'll see. I want to try it. May have to adapt.
• Either at breakfast or after dinner with Pete.

Reading Baskets

• Request books from library
• Bring up our Lent/Easter books.
• Set up reading baskets.

Make Last Supper Figures

• collect toilet paper cylinders 12
• cut out robes, cut yarn for hair, sticks for hands.
• Girls can make these throughout Lent

Resurrection Scene

• Make tomb out of straw hat. put "earth on it'. find rock for the front of it.
• Figures from Nativity set.
• Make a Jesus with white robe and resurrection banner. havent' thougth this one out yet.

Read through Atrium presentations. Decide which ones to do. Prep for them.

February 13

• Whirlwind day. Lots of enthusiasm and new discussions all over the place. I could barely catch my breath.
• Everyone slept in as I stayed up late last night planning for Lent; I always seem to do this when Pete is out of town. Up, quick shower with the girls playing on my bed. Caroline bit Erika's cheek, so it was a quick shower. Got everyone dressed and then on to breakfast. Oh my gosh...questions question questions....where is daddy? show us on the map. what is sugar made out of. when is caroline's next tooth coming in. what temperature will it be today? how long does it take an adult to say a rosary AND a divine mercy chaplet? How long is the esophagas? how come your poop is sometimes green and sometimes brown? how come santa claus only brought us ONE box of "sugar cereal?" and on and on and on.....
• So, I FINALLY get everyone settled in with their oatmeal, my coffee warmed up for the MILLIONTH time and Caroline's food ready to shove in her mouth when, OF COURSE, someone spills their milk. Breakfast is crazy; it's amazing I ever make it past 9 am.
• We lingered at breakfast b/c I wanted to talk a bit about Lent. So, we did.
• Caroline down for a nap. must've been all that howling she did at breakfast.
• Everyone cleaned up and moved to the big table. Drawing (more hearts) while I read the Bernadette / Lourdes book that we started the day before. Waaayyyy too many questions and interuptions for me to keep from exploding, so i put myself in time-out, and said the Divine Praises in the hallway. back to the table.
• Practiced singing Alleluia loudly, cuz Sunday will be the last time we'll hear it. Went over psalm refrain.
• Floor installer here to give me a bid. 30 minutes. He commented about our Guadalupe statue in front yard.
• Went for a long walk.
• Back in to play with our findings from the walk.
• lunch
• clean up and play
• Quiet time:everyone listened to Glory Stories. D, C fell asleep.
• M,E played "baptizing babies" and I cleaned up kitchen and checked email.
• Madeleine did "St. Valentine" copywork.
• M,E started coloring their "lenten path" sheet. I explained it to them.
• D up. Anne over. I left to go pick out linoleum.
• Girls melted chocolate and froze it. all kinds of containers of brown water are in my freezer and i have NO idea WHAT I'm supposed to do with them now. they just told me to "leave them in there." so, I do.
• dinner
• lots of free play time, as I spent too much time on the phone with pete and my mom and michelle. but, they just kept wanting to play. Dorothy had her dollies saying the rosary. so cute.

February 11

• Morning routine.
• Breakfast. Caroline went back to sleep before we were done with breakfast, so I started reading Raggedy Anne. Raggedy had breakfast with us too.
• Read Joseph's story. They LOVE this book. I think it's really good, but wordy. They love every word and can tell if I'm changing the words. going to egypt is the favorite part. Drew Joseph pictures and more hearts.
• Had fun with some silly poems. Went through lots of Flower Fairy poems, discussions about the pictures. St. Valentine's day poems. talked about the weather. lots of questions about the weather and sharks. Had to call pete for an answer about some of the shark questions, though. they were some tough questions.
• Read Saint Valentine book and Bernadette book while ME drew and D did blocks.
• Lunch
• Madeleine drew Mary on a donkey while E,D played in liv room.
• Talked about Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart. Got pictures down and looked at them. they tried to draw the hearts but it was too hard. NEXT!
• Walk outside
• In for drawing time. Rosemary twig, budding cherry tree branch, pinecone, catkills. I drew too....rosemary. Madeleine was very impressed.
• Watched Song of Bernadette while I prepped dinner.
• Dinner. Pete gone
• Jammies. sat in their room onthe floor and said rosary and litany of the saints.
• Madeleine and Erika slept together in Erika's bed. They were so thrilled with themselves....they came out to tell me at about 8:00 that they said the Rosary together! And to think I was about to "blow it" with them for not going to sleep. Thank goodness I didn't. Erika said she prayed for people who were sick and sad and for people who didn't have homes. Madeleine prayed for people who didn't have any friends. (how's THAT for a typical "sanguine" temperament?) LOL!
• Took Caroline to Bob's for 20 minutes so that I could ZIP around the house and get a few things done quickly! It's such a big help that my neighbors LIKE to hold my baby for 20 minutes at night when Pete's gone!
• I stayed up late reading and planning for Lent.

Straight from Madeleine's Mouth

• convinced
• tragic
• doomed ("I'm doomed," as Caroline knocks over her block-castle)
• strolling
• redeemed

Grandpa Gord will be so proud. Now she just needs to put "utensil" in there somewhere, and we'll be all set for a true Grizzly-bear-grand-daughter to carry on the verbal traditions of the family!

Sunday, February 11

• An actual smooth morning of getting ready for Mass. Amazing.
• We learned about Psalms this week: reading about David and King Saul and talking about what the Psalms are and the place they have at Mass. Memorized the Psalm refrain throughout the week and M and E were tickled pink when they heard it this morning! Sang right along with it. So, all that work was NOT in vain!
• Madeleine went with me to Wendi's, while I got my hair cut.
• a bit of cooking in the kitchen with mom
• Pete ran errands with Madeleine (it's her lucky day!) D,E read with me on the couch and then we all had quiet time there too.
• Meat loaf, potatoes, beans for dinner
• Girls playing in our bed for an hour while Pete got ready for work and I cleaned up kitchen.
• I eventually joined them, and we finished Little House in the Big Woods.

Misc. and What I'm reading

We've been all a bit under the weather lately. Nothing major. Just can't seem to shake the gooby-goobies for the past MONTH! And it seems like it's catching up with me during the past week. I have been purposefully NOT writing down what we've been doing, and of course, I don't remember by the end of the day if I don't write it down. So much for my memory.

I've put a hold on working on pictures/scrapbooks lately, and been reading a bit more. I miss curling up in bed at the end of a long day and shoving my nose in a book and losing myself. Hmmm, couldn't be that BLOGGING has something to do with this, now could it? Anyway, my nose is a bit more content lately, having found itself in front of books instead of a computer screen. So, here is what I've been reading:

Beatrix Potter Biography ~ after seeing the movie a few weeks ago, I've been totally engaged in this book. Fascinating.

Book of Exodus. Chapter/day. Along with my study guide.

Woman Clothed with the Sun. 1 more chapter left. This was an EXCELLENT book. Loved it.

True Devotion to Mary. St. Louis de Montfort. ~also follwing along with the 4real discussion, although it's been hit or miss. I've wanted to read this book for years.

Real Learning - going through for the second time.

Sharing Nature with Children

Charlotte Mason, Vol. 6. A Philosophy of Education. Also trying to follow along on the 4real boards. This first chapter has me hooked.

Managers of Their Chores - I have been trying to make my way through this book for the past 6 months. Blogging sort of interrupted it. There is A LOT in this book. Who would've thought there was so much to say about children and chores!

Saint Philomena: the wonder worker

Flame and Shadow. Poetry by Sara Teasdale

Anne of Green Gables.

Monday, February 5

• Breakfast. Had to be quiet, as Caroline was still sleeping in "her box" in the living room. Although, a "quiet" breakfast is NOT what I would call what we had!
• Girls played dolls and dollhouse and barbies in living room while I cleaned up, fed C and made NFP calls.
• Everyone at table. Colored Valentines while I read chapt of Raggedy Ann and St. Valentine book. Lots of discussions about shapes, colors, and random art-stuff.
• Madeleine drew. E,D sat on floor with me; read poems. C down for a nap.
• Lunch
• Snuggled up on couch for picture books. Cinderella, Papa Gatto, Rumpelstiltskin, etc.
• We all watched MUS video.
• M,E watched previous MUS lessons while Dorothy Jo and I napped on couch.
• M,E quiet time on couch also.
• Caroline up. Draw-cut-paste-more Valentines at table. I prepped Atrium
• Dancing and craziness to Nursery Rhyme CD.
• M,D worked with Mass kit. E still making very colorful hearts.
• Anne over. I left for an hour.
• Dinner
• Early jammies, hung out in our bed. Read chapt "Little House". Pete came home. everyone in bed. i'm going now too, to ward off another cold.

Candlemas - February 2

If Candlemas be fair and bright
Winter has another flight

If Candlemas brings clouds and rain
Winter will not come again.

~ English Proverb ~

• Read flower fairies at breakfast and "Mary's story" - Presentation section and then they wanted me to keep going. Helen Caan's pictures do that to ya!
• Dorothy played with blocks/dollhouse while Madeleine and Erika colored Presentation coloring pages and did "Candlemas" copywork. Memorized above poem.
• Girls brought up all our candles from downstairs and set them up on the altar. Not going to Mass this morning cuz M and C are still a bit sick. And, I don't want to look at catholic school girls in extremely short skirts.
• Read lots of books on couch once Caroline went down for a nap.
• Floor lady came over to measure kitchen floor and discuss installation.
• Lunch
• Games in living room as I coordinated a change up in the afternoon plans cuz Pete wouldn't be home.
• Left for Caroline's doctor appointment. She's still not growing. Ugh!
• Home to furnace guy.
• Girls quiet time in living room with Miss Pattycake while I veg out on the computer.
• Dinner by candle-light-only. Girls told daddy all about Candlemas and the Presentation. Recited poem. Said 4th decade of the rosary after dinner.
• Pete did Jammies / Books while I cleaned up kitched and fed Caroline.
• we'll watch a movie while I scrap tonight.

Thursday, February 1

• Madeleine is sick. Fever, sore throat.
• D,E eat breakfast, then do play-do at table while I tend to Caroline and sick-Madeleine.
• Dorothy and Erika were pretty much on their own for the day: dollhouse, cut-paste, downstairs, outside, rice bin, coloring, blocks. They did pretty well....except for the part where they kept asking for food, thinking that I wouldn't remember that they just ATE 30 minutes ago!
• Phone guy out to fix line.
• Pete had to take car in.
• Lots of sitting with Madeleine and chasing after Caroline.
• leftovers for dinner.
• Pretty depressing day.