Burning the Candle at Both Ends

There's gonna be some changes 'round here

When I began this homeschooling journey all those years ago, I had visions of lots of creativity; no workbooks; the children leading the charge on all the exciting learning adventures we would embark upon.  I am still waiting on that fairy tale. ( see my castle in the clouds)

 
 
  I know for some families this type of schooling is not a fairy tale; but here  in my reality I have a household which is, to say the least, distracting.  I have college people ( three of them at the moment) coming and going at various times throughout the day; I have high-schoolers who have needs for rides and advice; I have a dear, hard-working husband who also lays claim to a part of me. So, I guess I am realizing that I need to create a vision for my two homeschoolers that meshes with the reality of this house.

I know it is only the beginning of November, but we are already in that familiar  mode of schooling which is more typical of late-spring... where work is something to get out of the way so we can get on to more important stuff ( i.e.  the latest Wii game, Club Penguin, playing with the dog, etc...)  Yes, school has become lots of "read the chapter, do the workbook , pack it up for the day". I have been reading on several blogs about the "morning basket " and I am making this part of our day. For our purposes, the morning basket consists of items that would certainly enrich our learning experiences, but are not necessarily required. So at this moment in our morning basket you would find  writing journals and sketchbooks, American history enrichment (a series of books called  Brown Paper School USKids History ) , autumn stories, a biography of Saint Thomas Aquinas, DK Eye Wonder Rocks and Minerals, and a small Rock Science Kit.  Also, since November is the month of All Souls, I have a small box in there with memorial cards from wakes of our family members who have gone before us and those friends and acquaintances we have lost this past year. We choose one each day and pray in a particular way for the soul of that person.  When I get our Tree of Thanks together around the middle of the month, there will be leaves in the basket for them to write the many things they are grateful for.  Then, of course, I will have something in there when Advent begins.  I love the basket idea because it will change all the time, depending on the Liturgical Year, the season of the year, and our own family's activities.  I am hoping the constant change of the contents of the basket will keep their interest.   

So what other changes do we need to make 'round here, you ask?  Well, with the clocks moving back this weekend, it seems to me this is an oportunity to start getting my day going a little earlier than I've been.  Same goes for the kiddies. The first shift of people leaving the house in the morning is gone at 7:00. Once they leave, the next crew doesn't take off 'til after nine. So, I wake up Thomas and Hannah at seven and while I get their breakfast going, they can pick through the basket and choose something to read or do during this time. Today, Thomas worked on classifying his rocks and Hannah worked on sketching with the help of A Catholic How-To-Draw from Catholic Heritage Curriculum.  Several of my children have enjoyed this book before her, and I've been known to proudly display my masterpieces as well. Once breakfast is cleaned up and they are dressed and ready for the day, we attack math and other academic subjects. When that is done it is usually lunch time.  My challenge here is to make good use of our afternoon time... this is typically a time when I get distracted by any and all of the following assailants: the phone, the internet, the housework, the food in the fridge (which is constantly calling my name), the laundry, errands, the catalogs which are arriving by the dozens in the mailbox each day.  So, my solution?  I think at the moment, the answer is going to be leaving the house altogether. I am going to try and hit the library once a week and possibly a quick field trip on another day.  Fridays, I like to be home in the afternoon to get a leg up on the housework so I have a fighting chance of enjoying the weekend in a clean house.

Well, this all looks pretty easy and as I read back through this post I see the most difficult obstacle I have to overcome to make any changes here is me! Wish me luck! Better yet... could you whisper a little prayer for me as I attempt to come just a little bit closer to my original vision for our homeschool?  

Young Love...

Well, if all goes as planned, Jessie will have pulled off a terrific surprise for her boyfriend, Tom, today. It involved Dan getting some tickets for Phantom of the Opera  on Broadway  into work Thursday so my brother could pick them up and arrange for his friend, a waiter at a restaurant where Jess is buying Tom dinner before the show, to deliver the tickets to the table with dessert! Phew. This surprise has been about three months, maybe more, in planning, so the following pictures are not, I repeat, NOT, a reflection on Jessie's confidence in Dan's memory (or lack of), but more a reflection on how important pulling off this surprise is!

And I hope this explains the reminder on the side of Dan's armoire Thursday morning:

And on the front of the armoire:
 

And on the bathroom mirror:

In front of the coffee pot:

And just in case he didn't get dressed, shave, or (heaven frobid) make coffee, these were plastered all over the front door.

OK, I get it... we can be forgetful at our ages! This may have been a tad over-the-top, don't you think?

But then again, I choose to believe that this just shows her deep affection for Tom, and Dan is happy to help in any way he can.

(Still, I just had to call to make sure he didn't leave the bag on the train... just in case)

 
 
 

The weekend in pictures

It was a very full weekend here. Dan, Ben, and our dear friend Joe hiked up Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. They left Friday and returned early Sunday evening, just in time to enjoy the end of the ninth annual Friar Supplier picnic. Friday night I hosted our family Rosary here and Saturday I spent the second half of the day at a friend''s block party. Sunday began with 8AM Mass then preparing for the picnic. I baked plain brownies, pecan brownies, apple crisp, and I made keilbasa and sauerkraut in the crockpot. The picnic for us ended after the last dish was dried and chair stacked! We got home around nine!  Lots of fun and food with lots of great people!

First some pictures from the hike. I am jealous because they got to see scenery like this:

 

 

This reminds me of the first moonwalk . They got to plant a flag at the top of Mt. Washington?

 

After a loooong hike (over nine hours round trip!)

 

On to the picnic.  Brother Mariano entertained the children with an Oreo cookie game.

 

It involved sticking the cream side of the oreo on your forehead and attempting to get it in your mouth without using your hands!  That's why it was a game for the kids!

 

Here is Fr. Luke introducing the nine new postulants. They came from all over the country... California, Massachusetts, Ohio, New Jersey, Nebraska.  What a great bunch of guys! Pray for them as they pursue their vocations! They just arrived last week.

 

Brother Mariano entertaining again. He must have been a street performer in his life before joining the Friars!

 

My friend Kim (#6 on the way!) with two of the Sisters of the Renewal.  Such joy!

 

More joy!

 

Did I mention there was music?  I have to say, this was the part of the day I was dreading. In past years, Ryan Barrett would be accompanying the Friars on his guitar. His absence this year left a huge void for those of us who love and miss him.

 

 

I love this picture. Three sisters enjoying the music.

 

The fun went on after dark as the teens were playing a game. It looks weird, but they love it.. I think it's called Ninja.

 

I'll end with this shot. My daughter Becky in the middle of her two buddies. Getting punchy at the end of the day.

Happy Music

This morning my four oldest children got up at the insane hour of 3AM and took the train into Manhattan to see Jason Mraz perform on the Today show. I don't usually watch the Today Show, but I love the fact that in the summer, they feature popular performers who perform outdoors in Rockefellar Center... free to the public. It warms this mother's heart that my kids, really young adults, planned and carried out this little field trip on their own. So for all you moms of bickering children, take heart! They may actually grow up and like each other. I think mine just might. What I like about Jason Mraz is his music seems to send a very positive message... at least the music I've heard. It is really upbeat and just makes me want to smile. And so I share this you tube video of today's performance:

You can also hear one of his most popular songs on this   wildly popular post  from this past May.

Those Summer Days...

A few of my favorite pictures so far this summer:

Thomas turned nine this summer and one of his favorite things is spending time at the ocean.

 

Becky and Jess love getting a bit of sun, too.

 

Hannah commands the waves.

 

Two best friends awaitng the fireworks on the Fourth of July.

 

No summer would be complete without plenty of tree climbing.

 

My fun-loving brother got all excited to see he shared his name with the ice cream man... had to get a picture of that!

Keep Holy the Lord's Day

That's what they're doing at Catholic Vote , and I think it's a great idea.

Signing off 'til Monday! 

We've been celebrating again!!!

The month of June is always a busy one around here.  It begins on the sixteenth with my birthday (29 again!) and then  we have Jessie's birthday on the 17th, Father's Day in there somewhere, and on the 21st, our wedding anniversary (23 years ) Of course I know the math doesn't work out there, what with me being 29 and all, but that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

This weekend we have a few things planned. Continuing work on one of my birthday gifts (details in an upcoming post ).  On Saturday we will be heading down to the beach, to the town where Dan grew up.  His mom, Claire was a Third Order Franciscan, and her community has purchased a statue of St. Francis which they will be dedicating tomorrow afternoon outside the convent of our old parish.  We are planning to attend with all six of our kids; Dan's sister will be there with her two little ones; and my sister will also be there.  A simple ceremony followed by coffee and cake and hopefully sharing some fond memories of a truly wonderful and holy woman whose life was cut short at age 62 by an aneurism. She is greatly missed, but we are honored to be included in this kind gesture by her former community.

Saturday morning Jessie and Hannah are due at the dress rehearsal for their ballet.  Big sister will drive little sister to the statue commemoration afterward and we will all have dinner with my newlywed niece and her husband who live in that neck of the woods.

Sunday will start, of course, with Mass. Then its back to work on that gift! We break at two for the ballet, but I suspect work resumes after the ballet. I am so exicted to see this performance. Jess has been rehearsing like mad. She is either working or rehearsing these days. I can't wait to see the results of all that hard work.  Hannah will be dancing as well. Her group is supposed to  be dolls... cute with pigtails and pinafores.  The director of the ballet school they attend creates an original performance every year... especially geared to the abilities of her students. It is a very special, one-of-kind show. Not so much a "recital" as one continuous production with a loose plot and beautiful classical music throughout. I can't wait!

In addition to the special events of this past month, we've kept up with the usuals... track (Thomas's relay team took a silver and a gold in the regional championship); ballet; homeschool stuff; new job for Ben; summer plans (we are taking a trip this year);  and somehow we need to plan next year's schooling!

Happy 19th to my amazing girl!!

 

And Happy Father's Day/Anniversary to the best Dad/Husband I could have ever hoped for!

 

The things they say...

All parents know that there are so many funny, sweet, and dopey things children say. You just wish you had the sense to write them down at the time.  Years later, I still try to recall who said what at which time that had me in stitiches. Like the time when I was expecting Ben. Katie was four years old. We would tell her from time to time what was developing on the baby inside Mommy.  One day out of the blue she asks "Is the blanket there,yet?"  I guess she was picturing the idyllic hospital scene where the nurse presents Mom with a pink-faced, smiling baby wrapped in a soft blanket. I didn't have the heart to shatter that fantasy by giving her the blood and gore details of the whole experience.  Ah, the innocence of youth!

Here is an exchange I had with Thomas this past week which had me close to tears.  He had lost a game cartridge for his DS.  We had searched high and low for several days. Early  Tuesday morning he comes into the kitchen with the game in hand. "I am so stupid!" he says.

"You are not stupid, Thomas," I replied in the way most mothers would when they here a child belittle themself this way. "Why would you say that?"

"The game was right on Ben's desk. I must have already looked there a hundred times. I can't believe I missed it!"

"Did you ever think that maybe Ben found the game and put it there for you?"

Thomas thinks for a moment and then says  "I think Ben must be the best brother in the world. They don't come any better than Ben!"  After a few more seconds of thinking, he continued. "I doubt Ben would say the same thing about me. I ask too many questions when he is busy."

I get this big lump in my throat.  I know with the  7 1/2 year gap in their ages, that sometimes the big brother/little brother dynamic is intense. At sixteen, Ben is not always the most patient big brother. And at eight, Thomas can be, well, let's just say the proverbial " little brother" and all that implies!

"Don't worry, Thomas," I reassure him. "Someday Ben is going to realize what a great brother he has in you!"

Big hugs for Thomas and he is off to the Battle of the Pokemon!

My prayer today is for all siblings to have a heart of gratitude for each other. Seventeen years ago, we heard Fr. Benedict Groeschel speak at Fordham University and one thing he said has stayed with me since then. "Parents, the greatest gift you can give a child is a sibling. Have children!"

About ten months later, Ben was born. May he come to realize the gift he is to his siblings, and the gifts he has been given in his brother and sisters.

 

Here they are last summer on a guys camping trip.

Overheard at Dinner Tonight

In an attempt to terrorize his little sister at the dinner table tonight, Ben says to Hannah:

Aliens are coming to eat your brains, Hannah.

Without flinching Hannah thinks she has the perfect comeback:

 

Oh yeah?  Well, what if I don't have any brains?

I think she gets her quick wit from her mother!

A Birthday in the House

I always thought five years old was one of my favorite ages for our kids.  It is time where you really see  grown-up ideas taking shape  by their thought provoking questions. Yet, they are still young enough to be silly and goofy, and giggle under the covers in the morning, and get scared by a bad dream, and need hugs in the middle of the night.

So far, six is alot of fun, too.  I may have to change up my favorite age! (Of course this may also have something to do with having no more fifth brithdays to celebrate here, since Hannah is the youngest and God has yet to bless us with another) So this morning, she makes a grand entrance into the kitchen at 6:30, expecting some kind of fanfare.  Yes, we decorated the kitchen with balloons and streamers late last night, so we delivered there. Then come the questions:

"Does Daddy have to work on my birthday?" (yes)

"Does Becky have school today, on my birthday?" (yes, again)

"What am I having for my birthday breakfast?"  ( ummm, cinnamon toast, again?)

"What about lunch?" ( Mommy can't think that far ahead at 6:30 A.M.!)

"Who is coming over for my birthday?"  (What, a party, too?!! )

It is little harder to deliver on some of these birthday wishes. No, the bank Daddy works at doesn't close for your birthday and schools are open today, too.  I have my work cut out for me for next year: I need to get a banking holiday as well as schools closed. And while I'm at it, I may as well suspend mail delivery next May 29th, too!  If only I could control the weather. You see,  this year it is  pouring rain and I'm quite sure I will be questioned on why it is raining on  this sacred day!

 

People who are shocked at the size of our family obviously don't know Hannah! While our fifth was the icing on the cake, I always say that Hannah is the cherry on top! I couldn't imagine life around here without that smile, could you?

Happy Birthday Sweetie! We Love You!