How Smart is Your Right Foot?

Received from an email:

You have to try this - it takes 2 seconds.

I could not believe this! It is from an orthopedic surgeon............

This will confuse your mind and you will keep trying over and over again to see if you can outsmart your foot, but, you can't.

It is pre-programmed in your brain!

1. While sitting at your desk in front of your computer, lift
your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.


2. Now, while doing this, draw the number '6' in the air
with your right hand.. Your foot will change direction.


I told you so! And there's nothing you can do about it!

Peacock and Dove

I can't for the life of me remember why I had Sophia make a peacock.  Weird.

Therese's dove is definitely because of learning more about the Holy Spirit/Christ's Baptism. 

You can find the crafts here and here.

Dani Girl

Here is the photo shoot which I requested last week. I really needed some updated pictures of Dani and she was happy to oblige.

Our dog, Hannah, loves apples.  I described just how much in this post.

See how patient she is - not discreet, but patient. The kids have to literally tell her to back off because she's so in their face.

Silly girls

Our fourteen year old sweetie!  What a great kid :)

Hoping

You'd think this was an inspirational post, right?  Wrong.  Well, I guess it could be - sort of.

Always in search of a perfect, standard chocolate chip recipe, I came across one this morning at Cooking on Clover Lane.  I'm going to have to give it a try.

2 1/2 sticks of butter

1 1/4 DARK brown sugar
1 c granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

Cream together.

Then add:

3 2/3 flour

2 T. corn starch

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. salt

a bag of semi sweet chips

Mix together.

Put in freezer for an hour.

But don't forget to eat the dough before it freezes. That's the best part.

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Give or take.

 But for today, it's just three leaf clover cookies. Green, of course!

Weekend Whirlwind

~ Birthday Wishes ~

Saturday was Dani's 14th birthday!  I never got around to posting her birthday post (shameful!) so it's going to be part of this bits-n-pieces post.  Sooooo...

HappyBirthdayDaniGirl!!

We love you so much and are extremely proud of the thoughtful, helpful and beautiful young lady you are today!  May God continue to bless you abundantly. 

I lost many of my pictures - I have to take a birthday shoot.  But I only like doing those outside; it's been very rainy here for the last 5 days. 

Photo shoot has been requested!

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~ First Confession ~

Sophia made her First Confession on Saturday.  She was so very excited.  We have always opted to take the kids ourselves instead of doing it with the parish's "retreat" - which is just a fancy word for all the kiddos making their First Confession :)  I think they do busy work (color) while waiting to make their First Confession - that's what I've been told. 

We currently only have one priest (our fabulous pastor) at our parish, thus the line was long - good, but long.  Father told everyone to say the Act of Contrition by themselves in line before entering the confessional to help speed things up a bit.  I thought this would've thrown Fia who is one for crossing all her t's and dotting all her i's - but surprisingly she was fine with it.  Come to find out, since it was her First Confession, Father let her say her Act of Contrition.  I thought that was so sweet of him.  So thoughtful, knowing she had prepared for this special day!

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 ~ Visit from Chris ~

My brother was in town for a quick visit on Saturday from Houston.  He was here attending a Pediatric Cardiology convention.  He was published in the medical journal (to capitalize or not? - is it the or rather a medical journal?) last year (or maybe even in 2008, I can't recall) and he was chosen among many of the contributors to come speak at this conference.  I'm also unclear on the numbers but it was maybe close to a thousand who were published and then out of those they chose 10 - 20 to come speak.  Anyway, he was one of the few chosen.  At the beginning of his profession, he is proving to be quite the brilliant doctor.  We are so very proud of him! 

And no post about my brother would be complete without a picture of this sweet guy,

Can't wait to meet you Lil' Ben!!

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~ Celebration ~

And Sunday was a small celebration for Dani's b-day.  Nothing fancy - grandparents and some good friends came for dinner.  Paul made some (awesome) pizzas and I made some hockey pucks cheeseburgers chocolate chip softball cookies.  Dani wanted a cookie cake and Paul had the idea of making them softballs.  They turned out awful in my book - they were so very hard, you couldn't even cut them with a knife.  Seriously!  I baked them way too long.  I wanted to make sure they were done because they were so big - they didn't look like they were browning much.  Bad mistake.  You know they're awful when kids won't even eat them!  LOL! 

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~ Illness ~

Looks like we're on the brink of the sniffles 'round here.  Again.  Charlie and Joseph both woke up many times Monday night.  I worry about Charlie since he gets all asthma-like.  A bit unsettling for this mommy.  I suppose being out in the freezing cold last night for softball practice didn't help matters much.  Where in the world is the warm weather!!!!????  I'm done with winter!  Done.

Hope you had a nice weekend. 

What's Cookin'?

What do you plan on cooking this St. Patty's Day? 

Instead of the corned beef that I've made in the past, we're just going to do Reuben Sandwiches and Colcannon.  I really like these reubens - the deli meat is so much better than the stringy fatty corned beef you find at restaurants - although more authentic, they don't make a very appetizing meal.  At least not around here.  Paul pretty much requested these, and that's saying something... he never requests anything!  Anyway, it's got to be a very quick meal because we've got lots of "activites" on Wednesday nights - it's got to be something not only easy but doable after school, before 4:45 AND Irish!   I may have to thrown in either green milk or maybe green milkshakes :)

Tonight I made this and boy, was it goooooood :)   Love making something different!

Coincidence...

... is a word God made up for when He wants to remain anonymous.  As in this amazing story:

March 9, 2010 (40DaysforLife) - I know you're familiar with the old saying, "God works in mysterious ways." Please sit down and read this whole story. Our God of mystery has outdone Himself this time!

A young woman in Indianapolis, Indiana - we'll call her Erin - woke up, saw her kids off to school, dropped her preschoolers at a friend's house, and noticed that she was late for an appointment ... at Planned Parenthood ... for an abortion.

So Erin picked up her phone and called to see if she could still come in. She thought she was calling Planned Parenthood. In her haste, she dialled a wrong number.

Instead of Planned Parenthood, she got Joseph, who was answering the cell phone that's being used by ...

... get ready for this ...


... 40 Days for Life in Indianapolis!


Joseph took a deep breath and tried to be as calm as possible. He took Erin's name and number and simply said that a counselor would call her back.


So Elizabeth, the counselor, called Erin. Elizabeth begged her not to hang up, and then explained that she had not reached Planned Parenthood. Asked if she was a Christian, Erin said "yes." So Elizabeth told her God's grace was at work in this "wrong number" situation. (cont. reading)

Quiz

Go here for an observation quiz.  I think my score was 17/25.  The only one I cheated on was the lugnut question.  I asked Paul and he was wrong.  So technically I don't think that counts as cheating.  ;)

Shedding Some Light (and Warmth!)

FINALLY!  We've had 2 unbelievably gorgeous WARM days.  Back to back.  Monday and Tuesday.  And even though it just happened  -  I can't believe it!  I can barely remember what it's like to feel warm!

So in order to take it all in and rejoice in the new found warmth we took the classroom outside!  Is that not so cool?!  I was getting really excited.  Nice blankets/parachutes spread out on the front dried-out, dead bermuda grass that gets all over everything, but mostly the dog, who brings it inside just to get all over the house all over the hardwood floors where it looks as though you havent vacuumed in weeks, but in reality you just DID!! ::sigh::, ahem... lawn.  Like I said, I was really getting excited.  That sun was beckoning us like it never has!

 

I don't know what it is about my boys, but they have this flashlight fetish!  What is that all about?  They go into a flashlight freakout frenzy if  a) some sibling has a flashlight and he they don't   b) there's only one working flashlight or none at all  c) there are no batteries or  d) similar to 'a', but it's a neighbor kid whose got the flashlight and boy wants a flashlight, but because of  'b' or  'c'  is unable to aquire a working flashlight. 

Why Charlie has this flashlight is beyond me. It's daytime and a pretty bright one at that (did I mention it was warm?).  I'm sure it's a badge of honor of some sort.  Actually it was probably to tick Joseph off.  That's our only working flashlight presently :)

 I had to pry it from his little hand before he clubbed someone (me) over the head with it!

I have to include the comedy of the outdoor school a bit.  There was whining by Charlie who couldn't mark in Dani's notebook.  There was Sophia complaining and having issues over a buzzing wasp/crawling spider. There was Joseph who was sent to his room for not behaving :(  The sun was too bright for Therese's eyes, so she opted to read in the shade.  And Dani left to go read by herself somewhere.  I think I was the only one in the front yard for a good bit!  LOL

Oh Well!  I surely enjoyed my sun shiny day!

Hope it was sunny where you are!!

Playing

Besides softball and baseball season on the horizon (practices have been in full swing for weeks), there's been a lot of this going on 'round here...

and the boys love playing with all the taken pieces!

On Confession...

Fr. Z’s 20 Tips For Making A Good Confession




We should...


1) ...examine our consciences regularly and thoroughly;


2) ...wait our turn in line patiently; (dare I say, "Quietly"? - I will/have/do say hello to someone and have a short QUIET conversation.  But some act as if this is a social event! Not only do I think it's uncalled for... it's simply distracting!)


3) ...come at the time confessions are scheduled, not a few minutes before they are to end;


4) ...speak distinctly but never so loudly that we might be overheard;


5) ...state our sins clearly and briefly without rambling;


6) ...confess all mortal sins in number and kind;


7) ...listen carefully to the advice the priest gives;


8) ...confess our own sins and not someone else’s;


9) ...carefully listen to and remember the penance and be sure to understand it;


10) ...use a regular formula for confession so that it is familiar and comfortable;


11) ...never be afraid to say something "embarrassing"... just say it;


12) ...never worry that the priest thinks we are jerks…. he is usually impressed by our courage;


13) ...never fear that the priest will not keep our confession secret… he is bound by the Seal;


14) ...never confess "tendencies" or "struggles"... just sins;


15) ...never leave the confessional before the priest has finished giving absolution;


16) ...memorize an Act of Contrition;


17) ...answer the priest’s questions briefly if he asks for a clarification;


18) ...ask questions if we can’t understand what he means when he tells us something;


19) ...keep in mind that sometimes priests can have bad days just like we do;


20) ...remember that priests must go to confession too … they know what we are going through.

Happy Birthday!!!

Dr. Seuss!

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You can't really tell in the pictures, but it's snowing here (again!).  Crazy man!

Stay tuned for snow pictures.  I think we're supposed to get a good amount!

Nice big fluffly flakes!

UPDATED PHOTOS:

Here you go!  And it's still falling.   The kids are chomping at the bit :)

Still waiting for spring....