Bowling with GodTeens

Rebecca was hilarious! She basically would just drop the ball at the line & give it a little nudge. After about 3 minutes it would make it to the end! She would wiggle her body one way or the other trying to direct the ball. There was only once that the ball actually bounced back off the pins instead of knocking them over! What a riot. She was everyone's cheerleader as well.

"That was really good, ____!"

"Wow! Nice bowling, ___."

"You're a big striker, _____!"

It was a nice time to spend just Rebecca & me. We bowled, chatted, & shared a bag of Nutter Butters. Gotta love girl time.

Pinewood Derby

Andrew's car is #2. Nice wheels, huh?

Dear Andrew,

When did you get so huge? Please, slow down.

Love,

Mommy

Frosties

Grandparents Day

We started a new tradition for Catholic Schools Week & had Grandparents Day! Any grandparents that could were welcome to enjoy a free lunch with their grandkids at school. Andrew was lucky enough to have ALL of them come to celebrate with him. They even got to stay & play at recess. What a lucky boy! They stopped here before & after, too, so we were able to enjoy their company as well. We're all blest!

I hope that this can become a CSW tradition & maybe add in a little something to make it more of a day. Maybe we could have the Living Rosary that day? Or have them all stay to play Bingo with the kids? Or have them sing a few songs or something? There are such great opportunities... do they do Grandparents Day at your school?

Love Letter

Catholic Schools Week

I love Catholic Schools Week.

It's a great time to celebrate how blest we are to have such wonderful places to send our children. They can grow into smart, happy, holy little girls & boys all in a place that they feel comfortable & know they are loved. They get to go to daily Mass, be taught by priests & sisters, & talk about Jesus. What a gift! This year they had dress-up themes for everyday on top of other special activities. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures until the last day. :( Andrew dressed up in his Cub Scout garb with his buddy Grayson for Twin Day, donned his flannel moose print for Pajama Day, wore his skeleton shirt backwards for Crazy Day, topped himself with a Husker cap for hat day, & covered up with his Husker jersey for Spirit Day. Rebecca was only interested in the last... she was a cheerleader on Friday.We went to their Open House on Thursday night & were able to see all the special projects they are working on in their rooms. Here's Andrew exhibiting his journal. They write & draw on a page everyday. It's rather amusing!

Here he is with Mrs. M. (& Puxatawny Phil)

Rebecca with Mrs. C.

A bunch of characters

Hello, unicorn pegasus Rebecca!

(She made that horn herself!)Barefoot officer TeresaOfficer Leo

Ringmaster Veronica

Cheeseball Nicholas

Trivial

We had another fun time at St. Teresa's Trivia Night this year!We were "The Green Machine". Everything at our table (except the food) was made from stuff out of the recycling bin. We had a riot assembling it all!

Our crowns worked pretty well, but the milk jug hats were a little small for the guys' heads. Kelly just resorted to wearing a bucket. :)

Amber & Nikki were part of a super-fast cake decorating competition...

& they won! Our team didn't win, but we were only 1 off in guessing how many questions we would get right out of 80 questions... AND we had a blast. Thanks for a fun time everyone!

Did you know?

My friend Cynthia tagged me (a few days back) to share 10 things you probably don't know about me... let's see what you do!

10. Drawing is one of my favorite pasttimes... though I rarely get the chance anymore. I specifically enjoy doing charcoal drawings of kids. Eyes are my specialty.

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9. I'm a Facebook rookie. I finally made my first entry a couple of weeks ago, but it hasn't gone much further than that. I'm pretty clueless, but I don't mind. This blog is where I prefer to share! Though I do enjoy keeping up a little with non-bloggers there.

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8. On that note, I really enjoy blogs. Sometimes I feel fellow bloggers are the only non-next-door-neighbor friends that I can keep up with! It's such a challenge to foster friendships in this busy time of little ones much less have a clue where to even start when we actually see each other... glad we can smile with & support each other even when we are too exhausted to get together!

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7. We lead a Sophomore GodTeen group at our parish. They are awesome. It's the perfect outlet for me to get my high schooler teaching fix each week without having to do 9 preps. ;) Plus, it encourages me to know our Catholic faith better & also has been like practice with raising teenagers. More practice necessary before they are our own, please!

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6. My favorite flowers are daisies. They look so bright & cheerful plus they last outside forever & in a vase for almost as long. Just seeing them on the table brings a smile to my face.

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5. I volunteer at Birthright as a counselor for women in crisis pregnancy situations. It's the most powerful pro-life work that I've ever been involved in.

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4. Though I've only had them a handful (ha!) of times in my life, I LOVE a good pedicure. Manicures are nice, too, but there's just something fabulous about happy feet. :)

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3. I've made it a point not to buy Nutella. The stuff is too darn good! I could put it on bananas, bread, waffles, cookies, pretzels, pizza?, well just about anything. If we have it in the cupboard I can't stop eating it until it's gone. I think it is my one true food addiction.

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2. I am a gamer. Not video gaming particularly, more board gaming. I could play Boggle all day long & still not get enough. Taboo, oh yeah. Cranium, you betcha. Pictionary, definitely. The only board game I can think of that I don't love? Chess.

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1. We've added another member to our family... baby #4 is due to arrive on September 1st! We are so excited. :) It's been an interesting ride so far, so please keep our family in your prayers. Thank you!

Terrible Twos

Baby Andrew was a challenge. He drooled all over, screamed, didn't eat, was cranky, wouldn't sleep... you name it. Of course, we were also first time parents so we didn't know that this odd & exhausting behavior usually was directly related to teething. Then all of the sudden a beautiful new white crown would pop through those gums & we would sigh in relief that this wasn't just a new phase in our little one.

Rebecca was easier to peg (since we had a clue). With a little ibuprofen before bed & usually a quick rub of Orajel to counteract the screaming around 3 a.m., we made it through just fine.

Teresa was a breeze. Sure, she would get a little clingy (which I loved since she's not generally that way), only want to drink & eat yogurt, & sometimes would cry in her sleep, but that was pretty much it. She rarely even got the ibuprofen & managed just fine.

But now we have encountered the terrible twos... two-year molars that is. ( The motherly mind is a marvelous thing & I somehow forgot just a couple of short years later that teething isn't really just a year-long endeavor... it's like... eight. ) She now has all those not-so-lovely tendencies & more. Specifically, between teething & potty-training, she wakes up over & over & over again at night running to me for solace. And, no, we haven't been as quick to medicate because we just never have with her... that & she'd probably bite my finger off in the process. ;) I feel like we have a newborn for as often as we've been up at night! But, this too will pass. It's another chance to savor those toddler snuggles & offer up the sleep disruption for one more special intention. My list is pretty long, but I bet you're on there. Praying for you tonight. =]

One through, three to go!

Still celebrating

I like to hold on to celebrating Christmas for just a little bit longer... we go until at least the feast of the Presentation on February 2nd. I'm especially glad of this since my friend Lori dropped a fabulous "mix CD" (so awesome!) of Christmas tunes on my doorstep just around Epiphany. We've been loving it. There's an instrumental version of "We Three Kings" that Teresa can't get enough of! Anyway, with all of this continual celebrating & singing the kids have been getting a tad creative with lyrics of some of the carols. Here are two of my most recent overheard faves:

Rebecca: I saved my pretzel for you, pa rum pa pum pum.

Teresa: On the 1st day of Christmas love gave me: 5 golden chickens! Ba da bum bum. (sound effects courtesy of the Muppets version.)

Mary

I'm thinking about you today, little Mary Anne. I really think about you often. So tiny, so sweet. Though I never held you in my arms,

I will always hold you in my heart.

I wonder what life would be like for your mom, dad, brothers, & sisters with you here instead of in Heaven. I wonder if you & Andrew would have been good cousin buddies, sharing all the same milestones or competing to beat each other to each one. You would have been 7 this month. Would you have the same jack o'lantern mouth as he does? Would you be eating up every book you could find? Would you think 1st grade is the best one yet?

We'll never know, & yet somehow I can guess that you would have sat down to play pretty pink princess ponies with the girl cousins right before taking down the boys in a Star Wars NERF gun battle. You would have snuck just one more reindeer cookie while no one was looking. You would have smiled & laughed & tickled your baby brothers & sisters for hours on end.
In just that precious tiny piece of a day

while you were visible to us, you have changed us all. And though we are sad you are gone, we know that God has done marvelous things for our family. I am comforted to know you are up there praying for each one of us. I can't wait to meet you someday in Heaven.

St. Mary Anne, pray for us!

Saturday Funnies

Rebecca has a current fascination with what is healthy (for your body, for your skin, for your teeth, & more!) or what is not. She REALLY wants candy to be healthy. Here's a conversation from this morning.

Rebecca: Is frosting healthy for you?

Darren: Not really.

Rebecca: What IS healthy for your body?

Darren: Brussel sprouts.

Rebecca: Chocolate brussel sprouts???

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Andrew & Rebecca were in one of those moods this morning when they could just play & play & play without a squabble. (If only that could last all day! or at least all morning...) At one point they were "wrestling" & tackling each other followed by growls & "I'm so tough" kind of comments. Teresa wanted to get in on the action, but didn't really know how. At one point the growls broke into uninhibited giggles as Teresa came out with a daring snarl on her face, but not armed appropriately.

Andrew: (giggle, giggle, giggle) Do you really think you're going to get us with a pillow & a tutu? (giggle, snort)

Heart of (confused) Gold

Rebecca: I pray for Jesus everyday that He will stay in Heaven. That's because I love him & Heaven is so nice!

A matter of context

As we were driving in the van after my cousin's wedding, Andrew was asking why the people in the pew in front of us didn't go to Communion. So, we explained that usually when we go to Mass everyone in Church is Catholic & we all go to Communion because we believe that Jesus truly is the Eucharist. But, sometimes for events like weddings & funerals that all of someone's friends or family might come even though they aren't Catholic. To which he replied,
"So, are they public?"

Suffixes

The other day while horsing around, as usual, Andrew scratched his arm. He thinks there is some amazing healing power in lotion & was insisting on the pink berry scented one that my niece gave me for my birthday. I told him it probably wouldn't be a good idea, because that kind of lotion might irritate it. Then he asks in complete sincerity:

Andrew: Don't you mean armitate it?
Me: What are you talking about?
Andrew: Like when something is really loud it "earitates" your ears. Wouldn't something that hurt your arm be armitating?

Family, family, everywhere!

We have been abundantly blest to spend bounteous amounts of time with bounteous amounts of family in the last month & this weekend just kept it going! The newlyweds arrived in town early & announced they are expecting a baby! Woohoo!!!We joined the rest of the Red clan at my cousin Joe's wedding. I'm so happy for him. It was a beautiful wedding & she is a very sweet girl. The reception was a little late but tons of fun. It was 10:30 & Teresa was throwing a fit because we were MAKING her go home. She could have danced all night. That girl's got some moves! Here she is with lovely cousin Clare.

Then on Sunday we headed out to see Great Grandma for our final? Christmas celebration. Lots of family, food, & fun. Teresa loved this little cow that sang & walked.

Here's Grandma with her niece & two of her sisters. Her brother even made the trip. Quite the family reunion! It was fun to see them all together... I know it sure brings out another side of me when I'm around my sibs, so it was special to see that in Grandma, too.

Our little composer

Andrew has been plunking out his own tunes on the piano lately & coming up with some pretty interesting sounds. Yesterday, he played one that sounded rather oriental in nature.

Andrew: What country does that sound like, Mom?
Me: Japan?
Andrew: Yeah! I'll call it Japan Boogie.

Rolling in the New Year

Thanks for a fun night, everyone! We enjoyed "rolling" in the New Year with a good OLD bunch of friends. ;)

Favorite Things

"These are a few of my favorite things..." One of my new favorite gifts this Christmas was a special cookbook from my parents.

It has all of our family specialties that we always happen to be calling Mom for just one more time. They're from Mom's kitchen, both Grandmas', & some newer traditional favorites as well. Each is typed up complete with the special notes & misspellings off the recipe cards... hold the splatters.Here I can find recipes for multiple cakes, cookies, desserts, breads, drinks, appetizers, & even a couple of entrees. (They're not all that important around our parts!) There are lots of photos, a few explanations, & obvious amounts of love.I know this is a gift that I will treasure for a long time. Thank you so much, Mom & Dad, for this gift from the heart!