In 1492...

...Columbus sailed the ocean blue!

Captain Christopher Columbus' ensign (banner) pictured a cross and the crown-topped initials F (for King Ferdinand of Spain) and Y (for Queen Isabella of Spain).

Happy Columbus Day!

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Therese and Sophia worked on a Columbus booklet, John Paul colored a ship, and Dani had to find how many words were in the title Columbus Day; all of which I downloaded from this awesome resource.

And since I have no memory, whenever I read that the Santa Maria sank [after landing] - the other two made it back to Spain - I'm always like: Oh, wow! I never knew that! Not only do I learn something new everyday, but it's always recycled!

God Bless America!

Not Just for Animals!

Yeah, we see the statues in the gardens and such. But I often wonder. Do these people really know who St. Francis of Assisi was? I don't know tons about him, but I do know that he is more than a 12th century Steve Irwin.

*He received the stigmata [wounds of Christ] only 2 years before he died
*He was considered a religious nut, for a time, going door to door begging [when he had come from such a wealthy family and had given all his belongings away]
*He was not a priest

St Francis, Pray For Us!

It's a Fia!

Not a Monet. Not a Picasso. But an original by Sophia - using MagnaDoodle [probably toxic too] as her medium.

I give you Sophia's interpretation of Charlie:--->

He kind of looks 80-ish, but cute.

It makes me smile :O)

Pasta Baby: Take Two ------>

Forget the jar baby food! As soon as Charlie saw the kiddos eating spaghetti for dinner - he screamed - demanding to have some. I just know he remembered how much he loves that saucy meal! And there was a lot of sauce!

Not the most fun thing to clean either! [the spaghetti, that is] Thank God for our dog! And She's thanking us for the baby!

After each couple handfuls he'd *scream* to have more. Nevermind there was tons of it on his tray - it just wasn't in the huge heap anymore! So...we'd have to push it all back into a mound for him.

I don't understand how in the world a little belly could hold so much spaghetti. When he was eating who knows how much was actually making it into his mouth - but then I started shoveling it in with his spoon. He was getting some major food down.

He loved his bath afterwards - that is, until he choked on some water! :O

The Little Way...

St. Therese of the Child Jesus ~ Pray for Us

I'm It!

I've been tagged for this Meme by Therese from Aussie Coffee Shop ~ and yes, of course I love the name of my new found friend [my frogger.... friend + blogger, see?] from Down Under [sorry if any 80's songs get stuck in your head at this point!].

Here's a fun quiz made up especially for bloggers. The rules are easy. Just post the quiz on your blog and answer the questions, then pass it on to five other bloggers, and link to them in your post. Be sure to link back to the one who sent it to you.

1. Do you attend the Traditional Latin Mass or the Novus Ordo? NO - for Novus Ordo :O)

2. If you attend the TLM, how far do you drive to get there?NA

3. If you had to apply a Catholic label to yourself, what would it be? Ummm...Faithful.

4. Are you a comment junkie? YES! I know how much I love seeing comments on my blog - I love chatting with everyone. Our Catholicity is such that we have a beautiful foundation for long distance friendships - some further away than others!

5. Do you go back to read the comments on the blogs you’ve commented on?Yes, sometimes. Especially if I can remember where I've been!

6. Have you ever left an anonymous comment on another blog? Ya know...I think one time. But I don't know why or to whom. It was definitely left to someone I didn't know.

7. Which blogroll would you most like to be on? I'm already on it!!

8. Which blog is the first one you check? Besides mine...probably Bases Loaded ;O)

9. Have you met any other bloggers in person? Well, yes. Weekly!

10. What are you reading? I'm thinking the Holy Bible is a given here...pretty much a constant. Just finished The South Beach Diet [cause it's needed! - oh baby, is it needed!].

Bonus Question! Has your site been banned by Spirit of Vatican II? I'mmmmm not sure, but I don't think so and I don't care!

Okay! I'm going to tag these other froggers....
Megan, Vicki, Karen, Paula and Kelly - GO! Oh, but don't forget to refer to this blog in a link! Thanks!

First Fall Game...

Yes, I know it's football season. But Dani is playing fall ball this season - softball, that is. And this past Thursday was their first game. They are the Red Team - the girls got to choose their team name - the Tamales! Cute, huh?

Fall ball is a bit unlike the spring season - in that the focus is more on teaching them the fundamentals and less on the competition of it all...not that they want to lose, mind you :O)

Dani is having a blast. She really loves softball and has been practicing so much. She's been practicing extra hard on pitching too.

So the whole Party of Nine went including Grandma and Grandpa.

These were taken before the game:

Remember Petey from Little Rascals? The first 10 minutes we were there Joseph got filthy!

I don't know why she likes to cross her eyes or is it eye?

There's our #3! She was a bit bummed. She's got a thing for the #9. So I told her it's a three for the Blessed Trinity. I think she kind of liked that :O)

See! She's in the circle. Pitching her very first game! Very exciting! She did very well.

So they did end up losing, but they really are a young team and it's their first game. They'll work out all the kinks and learn to work together as a team. Go Tamales!!!

After Ballet Class...

...and here's the rest of our Wednesday.

Here, Therese had made a castle out of our new blocks:Dani had softball practice. Getting warmed up for their first game tomorrow:

I just sat back with the 3 kids I had brought in tow - Therese, Sophia and Charlie - and snapped some shots:

Our Ballerinas

One of the homeschool moms from our group set-up a homeschool ballet class at a dance studio right down the street from us. Therese has been dying to take ballet - so this seemed the perfect opportunity. We signed up Sophia and Therese and they're in the same class too - which is nice. They've had 3 classes so far and are doing some really neat ballet-y things. Too cool.

Well, here they are. Our pretty ballerinas:

At any rate, they are having so much fun. I can't wait for their recital in the spring!

For All the Mommies Out There...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=W95Y8hNQiH8

This one's for YOU!!
Get your tissues out...but, not for crying.

John Paul Cutie Pie ~

A couple days ago the kids were on the swing set. Dani told me the following exchange when they came inside. John Paul was swinging on the knotted rope when Sophia approached him saying:

S: John Paul can I show you something on that real quick?

JP: No. I'm oozing [using] it right now.

S: John Paul....I'll give it right back.

JP: Well, alright. But make it snappy.
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It's funny what I don't know that my kids know! I have no idea where he gets that word from. Because I don't use it. But I might start to. The girls seem to know where he gets it from though.
Here's another little funny.

John Paul is our first son - and he and Sophia are 1.5yrs apart. When John Paul was a crawling baby - we all just started calling him Boy! "Hi Boy!" But what was even funnier was that Sophia always called him that. And when he got into what she was playing with, you could hear her [annoyed - as 2yos get]: Boy! Oh, no, Boy!

That's much cuter than how she reacts to him nowadays! ::sigh::

Look Out "Bases Loaded"!

Sophia: I wish we lived in an apartment.

Me: Well, it would be really small. It wouldn't be fun.

Sophia: Well, I think it would be fun.

Me: Well, when you move out and leave home you can live in an apartment.

Sophia: Yeah, with James...

Let's just say your crew had better beware!! I think there are a few spoken for :O)

Comic Relief for La Petit Clan...

I could go on and on [laughing that is], but remember this:

Did you grow up near a power plant or somethin'?

Don't be a Square!

Rubic Cube Generator

Of course, I have to once again mention A Catholic Mom in Hawaii here. Thank you :O) Pretty cool stuff, huh?

That's my niece Ceci and our dd Danielle. You can see -- quite evidently -- how beauty runs in the family!

Fall has Arrived!

Therese, Sophia, and John Paul cut out all these leaves for our strung leaf garland. We got the craft idea and leaf template here. When I carried Charlie into the schoolroom after we had hung the garland, he just followed it with his eyes. It's so cool that he immediately noticed the autumn decor. As I mentioned before, fall is my favorite time of the year. I welcome the cool crisp air after the summer's heat. Especially after this summer's heat - triple digits...I can do without!It's a bit warmer today than I'd like, but that's what we get in Atlanta. I'll count my blessings and call it a day!

Happy B-Day Therese!

B does not stand for birthday here, rather Baptism. Her spiritual birthday. And it's one I always remember since she shares this day with St. Pio - or Padre Pio as he is better known by the faithful.

Attention Cat Lovers...or Haters!

For a little comic relief you'll have to watch this. Oh, and Karen, this one's for you! Remember what we were talking about tonight about when something makes you laugh when you're by yourself? A big Thank You goes out to Ester in Hawaii for sharing this! Mahalo!

http://cdn.chillibean.net/perl/reels-10.0.pl?xhtml=G418NUFJ&%3bT=WL

Night Time Creations ~

Here are the farm family and animals that the girls made during their campout last night. Here's the whole gang:

The Family

My personal favorite:

The chickens and ducks

The Horses

The Doggies

I would never have heard the end of it if I did not include this character.

A Two Year Old's Bragging Rights!

One of the milestones in a toddlers life is opening doors. As parents [I think I can speak for all parents here] we hate this feat. Yes, hate is a strong word...and I mean it!

The other not-looking-forward-to milestone is when they finally realize they can turn on the lights! This is where Joseph is at.

For the past couple months he'd go around with some long object - always his sword - and use that to flip the switch on the lights. Within the last couple days though, he's found out that he doesn't need anything except his tippy toes to reach the switches. Hence another of my nightly chores is to shut off all the lights he's decided to turn on! In a few more months he'll be able to shut them off too.

So hooray for Joseph! You're getting to be such a big boy! :O)

Pasta Baby and Tumbleweeds ~

Spaghetti is definitely a thumbs up for this babe:He had it for dinner Friday and lunch & dinner today! Every so often I'd have to mound it all up again so he'd see that he still had some. Of course, Hannah the dog got most of it :O)

And Charlie is all over the place now. Including the dreaded stairs :O0 We have to get a gate or some blockade device. We have a wide staircase so the 'piece of wood' that Paul got for this reason is too short. And yes...he does own a tape measure. Quite a few of them actually. Apparently he needs to go to one of those How to classes at Home Depot to learn how to use it! [Just kiddin' Honey! - they've all seen the Pottery Barn knock-off...] ;O)

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And while Joseph - the 2yo - and Charlie were *playing* together [well, okay they were playing near each other in the same room. And Joseph probably wasn't really playing either. He was probably touching something that he shouldn't have been. ie - the camera, the phone]. *Anyway* - so Joseph was so sweet as he walked over to me saying, "Here, Mommy, here," handing me a clump of fur! He just knew that Charlie could potentially stick that in his mouth. Such a thoughful little fella. The thing with our hardwood floors - which I really do like - is that the dog's fur collects and travels around the floor like mini tumbleweeds! Didn't I just say a few posts ago that we needed to call the groomer?