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.