hey everyone, this is Kris' daughter Naomi. Just here to say today is My moms Birthday so HAPPY BIRTHDAY!


Naomi

More wise words........

from Leila over at http://ourmothersdaughters.blogspot.com/2009/01/buy-low-sell-high-or-efficient-frugal.html

"I don't decorate. I put my pretty things around, but I don't decorate."

(Poor lady, she probably imagines I am stalking her :). I just love her blog and her perspective on life.)

How true. I've often wondered how/why people hire a decorator to decorate their home. To me, it seems what you have in your space should be things that inspire and delight *you*. A personal thing. How can someone else interpret that for you? I guess people can try and do make a good living at it. ;) I don't know how *I* could do that for anyone else ( not that anyone else would want me to;). I mostly just find things I really like and look for ways to incorporate them around here.
I really like that definition.

Ingenuity

Noah and cousin Jay spent last weekend out in the garage ( when it was 11 degrees, I might add :) building this. Complete with a hinged door and little bench inside. It sort of looks like a hunting shed to me, but the littles will have great fun in their new *club house* :)

The one who got away........

is here! (Ave Maria U)
Zak and Papa in front of his dorm
Common room
Church with meemaw and Mary

You might........

be tempted to pat yourself on the back regarding your skills as a home educator when your 5 yo inserts the

Pythagorean theorem

into a conversation he was having with you.

Until you learn he heard it in an Adventure in Odyssey cd. ;)

10 great things about having a house-full of boys....

1. You'll feel like *Top Chef* after every meal.

2. If you have the teenage variety who are taller and brawnier than you, you'll never have to climb up on a ladder to reach something nor lift anything heavy. An added boon when you love to re-arrange rooms or drag interesting furniture out of the trash. ;)

3. Generally emotionally stable. Not much drama with boys. :)

4. No matter how you look, they make you feel like Miss America.

5. Very protective of their mama.

6. They are hard on the walls and furniture, but I think I have somewhat learned to chuckle at their boisterousness and nutty ideas of fun.

7. Since their standards of cleanliness are so low, they often refer to me as Mrs Clean. hahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!

8. You really could get away with supplying a wardrobe for them of just two t-shirts and a favorite pair of jeans (or gym shorts, whatever the season may be). Underdupe negotiable.

9. Since they enjoy eating so much they often turn into very good cooks ( smacking my lips and rubbing my hands waiting for Dyl's birthday dinner ;)

10. It is lovely seeing them turn into men you know will be good dads and good husbands someday ( or good priests :)? keeping my fingers crossed, Lord! ;) ;) and devoted to the body of Christ.

Walk 4 life? ( or pictures you'll NEVER see on the news!)

Shrine of the Immaculate Conception


Connecting with Frederick Douglass




Dyl, Andrew and I'm not sure. :)
Looks like quite a crown. No matter, maybe if we ignore them ( like we do every year) they'll go away. pfffttt

The Verizon Center.
Yep, folks, FILLED with those looney pro-life types. ;)

Dylan told us a funny story about his time in D.C. Apparently there was a young man standing in front of a museum they were visiting and noticed they were from Michigan. He came over to them and said "Oh wow! You're from Michigan, too! So am I!"
and then added.... "Were you here for the inauguration?!"
To which Dylan replied "No". :)
Silence.
"Oh--so you are here for-- the walk?"
"Yep, the MARCH" says Dyl.

He walked away a bit dejectedly muttering "Enjoy your stay".

Daybook Week of January 26, 2009

Monday, January 26, 2009

FOR TODAY . . .I don't know, we haven't gotten off to a good start. :( I'm not helping matters by being on the computer.

Outside my window. . . VERRRRY cold, but bright and sunny.

I am thinking. . . does it ever get easier? Missing a child who is far away, that is? Mom and Dad went to see him yesterday and I was holding back the tears as I was talking to her about the visit. I am so very grateful that they went,and all they did for him((!!) but it just reminded me of him not being here, and not being here for a long time. Yes, I know I am being overly sentimental.

I am thankful for. . . well......a sweet story from yesterday. The priest who gave the homily at mass was one who went on the March for Life with the *Right to Life* group. He was talking about being a Christian witness to the world. An example he gave was while he was eating a meal with some boys on the March, they began by saying grace without him having to remind them. :)

He was impressed by their witness. Later I found out that dear old Dyl was one of the boys sitting at that table. So, all that to say, I am thankful for children who remember to be good while they are away from home. ;)

From the schoolroom. . . Since Geo/Jax are studying the Jesuits who evangelized the Canadian Indians, I thought it might be good to find a movie to reinforce what they are learning. I thought of *Black Robe*, but it is rated R and I do remember some pretty disturbing parts in it. I guess we will have to settle for *The Mission* with Robert De Niro. Not that same geographical area, but it might get the point across :)

From the kitchen. . . for some reason, strawberries are in abundance at the stores, so I am going to make some freezer jam. Yesterday we had roast beef, pork, mashed potatoes, gravy,steamed green beans and mushrooms and grandma ople's apple pie. :)

As I am still trying to keep tabs on just exactly how much we eat: note to self.....

4 lb roast

4 lb pork loin

10 lbs potatoes

2 lbs green beans ( estimate)

2 pies

1/4 of pork roast left, 1 c potatoes, no gravy, only one pie eaten.

I am wearing. . . George just told me I look like I am going to the Highlands. :) Black, white and gray plaid skirt, black leggings underneath, white tank top and black sweater. My warm green nellos'.

I am going. . . It never seems to happen that I go nowhere, but for the moment, that is what I am planning. :)

I am reading. . . Georgiana and Elizabeth. More English history.

I am hoping. . . I could do a little better being a mature adult this year. (My birthday is this week :)

I am hearing. . Ella and Manny discussing what video they want to watch. Little do they know this is a fruitless discussion ;)

Around the house. . . .well, we cleaned up on Friday.....everything except the laundry room and garage, and that is where Noah and Jay decided to spend all their time building a fort ;)

One of my favorite things. . .an uber chilly weekend that gives you the excuse to hunker down at home. :) We watched lots of movies Saturday and Sunday while attending to chores ( I can't ever just sit there and watch a movie unless I am in a theatre). First, Naomi and I watched *Pride and Prejudice* (Keira Knightly version). She had never seen any version of this on screen (!?!?). I think it is a good one, but we saw the actor who played Mr D' Arcy in another film where he was a total buffoon so it was hard to swoon over him. ;)

Premonition with Sandra Bullock. I don't know how I always end up watching movies with Sandra Bullock. I don't think she is a particularly great actress, but this one looked interesting. It was pretty good, a little confusing.....or maybe not so much confusing as it didn't make sense ( that isn't the same thing! :) A good watch while ironing.

Under the Greenwood Tree ( a novel by Thomas Hardy). Not the best BBC film I have ever seen, but lighthearted and sweet. Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon fiddling with pictures and couches that need recovering :)

Wuthering Heights on Masterpiece Theatre. I wish I had skipped this and watched Food Network Recipe Showdown. :( It was just rather choppy. This isn't my favorite story anyway ( too dark) but this one, (OF COURSE) focused much too much on Heathcliff's eccentricities and creepiness...... which begs the question, why on earth did Kathy adore him so? At least Sir Lawrence Olivier made you like him (Heathcliff) a bit, or at least have sympathy for his tortured soul. ;)

A few plans for the rest of the week. . .just the usual....

Here is picture thought I am sharing. . .

Surfing the web..........

“The most radical thing you can do is stay home,”

from the article by Rebecca Solnit*

[...] the pleasure of staying home means being reunited with, or finally getting to know, or finally settling down to make the beloved place that home can and should be, and it means getting out of the limbo of nowheres that transnational corporate products and their natural habitats—malls, chains, airports, asphalt wastelands—occupy. It means reclaiming home as a rhythmic, coherent kind of time.[...]

Will we stay home and grow more of our own food with dignity, humanity, a little sweat off our own brows, and far fewer container ships and refrigerated trucks zooming across the planet? Will we recover a more stately, settled, secure way of living as the logic of ricocheting like free electrons withers in the shifting climate? Some of these changes must come out of the necessity to reduce carbon emissions, the unaffordability of endlessly moving people and things around. But some of it will have to come by choice. To choose it we will have to desire it—desire to stay home, own less, do less getting and spending, to see a richness that lies not in goods and powers but in the depth of connections.

HT Study in Brown

http://www.studyinbrown.com/brush-strokes/2008/2/21/small-things.html

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There’s a lot of ambivalence out there, and a lot of unspoken grief too, I think. So you never know. Pro-choice may have won the day—but sooner or later, that day will end. No generation can rule from the grave. When that time comes, another generation will sit in judgment of ours. And they are not obligated to be kind.

http://www.frederica.com/writings/the-judgement-of-the-next-generation.html#entry2889785

***********************************************************************************

The truth is, children will only end up wearing a few outfits on a daily basis. They don't like change; they like predictability. Not only is it no use fighting this trait, it's counterproductive. Their drawers and closets are so full of things they don't wear, they actually live out of their laundry baskets most of the time. They simply can't put things away.


http://ourmothersdaughters.blogspot.com/2009/01/laundry-problems-start-with-clothes.html

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. Did you know that if you put a coconut in the medicine cabinet it will crack the mirrored door when you close it? I guess that wasn't evident to a 5 yo.

2. I have to say I shed a few tears watching the inauguration this week. A bit because of pride in our democracy, more because I felt REALLY bad for President Bush. It seemed very sad watching the media glory in the new president's inauguration after the way they treated him. Whatever you think about his politics, there was no reason for the vitriol and nastiness he had to deal with. He has furthered gained my admiration for sticking it out and hanging tough.

3. We finally made it. To Sonic, that is :). I decided to try going around 1:30-2 PM. My theory was the lunch crowd would be gone and the after school crowd not there yet. There were still 15 cars in the drive-thru, but by some strange Providence, we found a drive in spot. I was sure the fact that it was empty meant you had to wait an hour for someone to bring out your food, but I was pleasantly suprised by the speedy delivery. Yes, it was worth the wait. ;)

4. I opened a few windows today because it was about 35 degrees and felt REALLY warm.

5. What is better, no naps (for the preschoolers) and an early bed time or vice versa? Hard to say some days. :)

6. I keep getting busted by the "no sledding" police. Once at the Clinton Macomb rec area.....we found some smaller hills that were just perfect for the littles, ( and there were lots of people there when we first arrived, but started thinning out just as we were getting started....I guess we missed the memo). A security guard came by ( quite agitated, I might add) and told us we had to get off. Yesterday we tried going at George George. We found a little hill and had some fun but as I was walking back to the car with sleds in hand a caretaker was riding through the park and was giving me dirty looks. He was far enough away not to be able to talk to me, and I guess he saw that I was leaving so went on. I fully expect a *no sledding* sign there the next time we go.
I guess the world is not our oyster. :)

7. Aretha Franklin's hat ROCKED! I bet hats will make a comeback because of it. I love them, but don't think they look particularly attractive on me. :)

Room RE-do's

My new space :) Not enough stuff on the walls yet, though! LOL!
My desk ( from Neana, of course! ;) Joy!
Guest bed ( or.....if- dad- is -snoring- too- loud- keeping- mom- awake- and-she- needs- a- new place- to- sleep- bed :)
Phew- all this moving makes me tired!
J/M's bed
Darling, I love my new room so much I could kiss you!
Snug a bug
Nothing like being two and able to climb in and out of your crib. Ack!
Fun times in the wardrobe! ( They were playing *camping* :)
I will call this the *half and half* room LOL! as perfectly illustrated here!

Ella's bed. As is often the case ( the hand of Providence!)-- I had the blue and white cowboy themed material, but not enough for another curtain. I headed to my home decor headquarters- The Salvation Army and found that cute *Indian and horse* patterned sheet that actually has some of the orange wall color in it for a curtain! Perfect!

Will you?

Light a candle for LIFE?

LIGHT A CANDLE FOR LIFE

On the evening of Thursday, January 22^nd – everyone is encouraged to place a candle in the front window of their homes at sundown on January 22^nd. The candle serves as a reminder of the millions unborn and almost born babies who have been aborted since the heinous Supreme Court decision of Rose v Wade.