Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm so busy this week but wanted to quick post wishes for you and a blessed happy Thanksgiving!

We are having company and my list is humungous!!
3 months old today!
Last year this time, you were not even conceived, hard to believe, as we cannot imagine our lives without you little Sweetie Pie!
So thankful for you and all my babies!

Best 98 Cents Spent Ever!

Our keypad does not have a "cents" sign...? Anyway. Water Paints. Wal-mart. 98 cents.
Babycakes has painted these everyday since Monday and she sits there for at least a half-hour. I always have waterpaints on hand. There is so much you can do with them with minimal mess.
We've been making lots of turkeys this week and reading lots of stories of Thanksgiving and turkeys. It's a fun time! Trying to enjoy this time before the mad rush of Christmas stuff comes along. We have so many crafts for Advent and Christmas, we could do something every day, if this Mama gets it all ready! I always try to take the holidays one at a time. There is a lot of talk about Christmas out there in blogworld, but I'm focusing on this holiday first.
Have a blessed weekend everyone!!! Lots of Thanksgiving food to buy this weekend!

Jedi Got Glasses!

He looks so cute, I really have to control myself from saying every time I see him, "You look so cuuuute!" (in my mama cute baby boy voice) By the time we got home from picking them up yesterday, I'd already taken quite a few pictures he begged me to stop taking pictures.

OK, but you look so cuuuute!

She's Not Always Crying!

Sweetie Pie started smiling and laughing in the past couple weeks!
Look at that cute, soft, squishy face!!! So kissable and sweet!

She really is only fussy from about 8-midnight, if not on my breast. So she's not a night person, that's ok...

As long as you keep giving me those great laughing squeals in the daytime!

She doesn't always cry when Babycakes holds her! Look at that laughing, slobbery, double chinned Sweetie Pie!! We truly are blessed!

Pilgrim Hats!

My good friend Sarah, left a comment the other day explaining these cute little hats! We are all, after all, "Pilgrims on a Journey to Christ"!

A fun easy snack for kiddos to make for Thanksgiving!

Exercise Machines!

Anyone fall for those infomercials? Well, I have a couple times, maybe a few times. This is one thing I've loved, can't say it's worked, but I've loved it! Only 5 minutes a day, 3 times a week and walla!! Great buns and thighs....sure....I've also had the Ab Roller, which I also loved, but it ended up hurting my back and I couldn't do it anymore, broke my heart to give it away! I also fell for some woman who had this video where you hold your breath and move your mouth wierd ways and pinch your buns in for so many seconds and well...what a waste of money, can't believe I fell for that one! I broke this out the other day and could barely do 1 minute! Today, I did 5 minutes. My goal is to do it every day for 5 minutes. It doesn't sound like a lot, does it? Well, somehow it is. My original goal was to start yesterday, but I never found the 5 minutes!
I also dusted off the old treadmill! (just so you know, even if you use your treadmill, it gets dusty!) I only walked 5 minutes, slow, too. My old broken leg is not doing as hot as I'd like. I've tried walking a couple times and it really hurts. It's kind of disappointing, because I feel good and WANT to walk. Stairs are still kind of tricky, at least going down. I thought maybe the treadmill would be a little better for my leg, at 2.8 miles per hour, for only 5 minutes, it's a little sore. It's a start. I read somewhere where a woman who lost 100 lbs started walking 1 minute per day and added a minute each day until she was up to 30 minutes. I'm starting with 5 minutes per day, for a week and adding 5 more minutes each week. Hoping to anyway!!
Walking has always done it for me. Just plain fast walking. It's always helped me lose weight. I love to walk and pray the rosary, it's fun to pray for everyone I think of as I'm walking, for everyone I see. It's quiet time for my body and mind.
Baby is crying....gotta go!

Oh, Well...

Trying to get that perfect "Christmas card picture" is impossible with 5 children!

Cornucopias!

Don't forget your cornucopia supplies this year!

ALDI Confession

I think by my post, you might have the impression that we actually paid for our brown paper bag.


I could leave it at that.


BUT, I have this huge conscience that just won't let me do that.


Here's what happened, we paid for our 9 items, some tea, some chips, some treats, some broccoli, (the only produce that looked good to me) and went to the counter like 5 feet from the register, but there were no bags, like most grocery stores....hmmmm, I then spotted them on shelves by the register, thought "STUPID place for bags!" then said "Jedi-please go get one bag over there for our stuff!" He did and we bagged and left, returning the cart and carrying the bag to our vehicle.


After looking up "ALDI" on the computer, I read that ALDI charges for their bags....no one told us!! Should I return the bag? I keep wondering what they charge for a paper bag? I'll have to return it. I DO want them to keep their low prices.

ALDI

We have a new store in town. The name is ALDI.
We (the children and I) stopped here today after pictures at Sears. (this is a google image picture, I did not take out my camera for this store:) This little store just opened and we wanted to check it out. My impression of the store is....STUPID. I don't know, maybe it was the mood I was in, with Babycakes constantly pushing and pulling the cart and then crying when I put her in the basket. (Sweetie Pie took her old place in the front) Maybe it was the fact that we can't go anywhere without going potty. (which is no easy task with 5 kids) Maybe it is that I was in a bad mood or something, I don't know, but I did not really like the store. Maybe I don't like change. I love my Wal-mart. I love my grocery store. I love my Sam's club.


I didn't like that fact that I needed to find a quarter in the diaper bag, while holding the baby carseat and holding onto Babycakes' hand to keep her from running away, just to get a cart. (sure the woman there guarding the carts explained that we will get our quarter back when we return the cart) SO WHAT? She also explained to us (and everyone asking "why?") that in Europe they do this everywhere. SO WHAT? I think maybe if you have no kids or only one, maybe you'd like this store. It's small and you need to buy your bags. I think it's the cart thing that really bugs me. I don't know, don't you bring the cart with your groceries and kiddos to the van (or car or truck) get the kiddos in, unload the groceries and then put the cart in the cart rack, if close, or leave the cart? Who, with any little kiddos, during the winter (or anytime) is going to get those kiddos out of the vehicle after unloading and bring the cart back to the store for their quarter back? (not me)



What happened to "The customer is always right"? attitude? I think that I felt like we, as the consumers, the customers, were not important. Like THEY were the ones doing US the favor by having low prices or something. That's why I like Wal-mart. They have low prices and still treat you like you are important. They let you put your cart in the cart rack and they come and get them. Which is another job for someone. The cashiers were sitting in office chairs at the register! What's that about? I didn't have time to ask, as Babycakes was starting to run away and Sweetie Pie had enough and Mary Hannah had to go potty.



I came home and looked up ALDI (which sounds like a dog food, doesn't it?) and it's a German store, I guess.


They did have a really good price on ham...$1.49/lb for a spiral ham.
I'd go back by myself or with one kid...maybe. Maybe I'll just send my husband to get that ham.

New Library Treasure!

This was such a cute book, we will have to buy this one for our own collection!

Tickets for Good Behavior!

About 3 weeks ago, I started giving each child tickets for good behavior. They get 1 ticket per day for being good, for obeying, for doing their jobs, not fighting, etc....They can also earn an extra ticket on school days during school time for behaving good, this includes no fighting, doing their work, not laying on the floor under the table, or all over the chair, (in other words, sitting up and working) no crying, yelling, getting mad about the work given, etc....

Once they get 20 tickets, they may pick a parent to have "Mommy time" or "Daddy time" and they may pick what they do with the perspective parent.

Shortly after starting this, we joined the YMCA, so that's pretty much what they each want to do, go swim with Dad! Jedi is cashing his in tonight, however and picked the Library with Mama!

Mary Hannah cashed hers in Saturday and went out to breakfast at Burger King and to a park with Daddy. Ballerina Rosie is going swimming with Daddy tomorrow night.

So far, I've seen them try (kind of hard) to earn the tickets. I've also seen them not try at all. The kink is that all the 20 tickets pretty much came due within a few days of eachother, so we are trying to fit in that time with each child. We don't think the kiddos need to earn their time to be with Mom or Dad, it just keeps us on track, with the new baby, things are just, well, busier. No one will be forgotten this way. (not that they would let that happen anyway) The goal is monthly "dates".

We have always tried to do these "dates" with our children. It's special time for just them alone. It can be something as simple as a walk to the park, a trip to the Library, out to lunch, a picnic, swimming, biking, frisbee golf, a trip to the mall, a movie, really just about anything. Our kiddos really love this time and often demand it (Mary Hannah) daily. She will say almost every day "I need Mommy time." "I want just me school with you!"

It is often hard to fit it in, but it's so worth it to do it. I hope it's something we do until they are grown and gone and they come home wanting that time with us. It helps with communication and being heard when often times, well, it's hard to get that with a busy house of small children.

I'd like the tickets to not come due at the same time, but for now it's working and fun for them.

I thought tickets could replace job charts for a while.

I think the tickets have been a positive reinforcement tool, I hope they keep working!

Now, my hubby and I need tickets to get a "date" with eachother!

I'm A Sucker!

For all these cookbook magazines they sell at every checkout!! I know they put them there just for people like me who can't resist looking at pretty pictures of food and new recipes! It seems every year the books get better and better. I do find some recipes in some of them, others I put aside to look for recipes "sometime" for something new. You can see the "Soups" one has lots of papers in it, I really liked this one and found quite a few good recipes.

Any other cookbook magazine suckers out there?

All Souls Day

We are so blessed to live right next to a graveyard. All those Holy Souls to pray for, friends forever, indeed! (they also make for the quietest neighbors!) This is us casting long shadows on the way up our backyard hill and back down the other side!
Each child picks whoever they want to pray for and we all pray.

This is our neighbor Jeanne, she came with us on this cold, cold day!! We needed mittens and hats, it was really windy and freezing.


Prayer of St Gertrude, the Great

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus,
in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, those in my home and within my family. Amen.

All Saints Day

Our Catholic homeschool group puts on an All Saints Party every year. This year, the kiddos picked (from LtoR) St Zita, St Ursula, Mary with baby Jesus, and David with Goliath as his prop (brave daddy who wore that skirt all night, just for his son)

Each family brings a game for the kiddos to play. Every year, I bring this game. Usually I have a hula hoop for the flowers to be tossed into, but our hoops broke this summer, so God's garden got a little smaller this year and we used this big bowl. It actually was better, as it made it much more challenging for the bigger kids. It was a lot of fun, we always look so forward to it!

Halloween!

OK, I only have a few minutes before leaving for Little Crowns, so I will only do our Friday evening stuff first, then hopefully tomorrow I'll post All Saints and All Souls stuff!

Here is Ballerina Rosie Tiger!
Butterfly Babycakes,

And Butterfly Mary Hannah, who I warned many, many times, all day, that she would not like face paint, but she insisted she would, so at least we did get pictures before washing it all off right before leaving for our party! Babycakes was all over her shirt and hands, so we washed hers off as well, but mama had a back-up plan...

Much better!

Here they all are before washing faces, crying pumpkin and all!

Jedi did not want to dress up for Halloween, which is fine, we also dress up for All Saints!

The party was at Melissa's, and this is her sweet baby Jonathan, with my Sweetie Pie!

They are 6 weeks apart, aren't they cute little pumpkins?

Melissa was very brave, having pumpkin carving in her home with games and crafts and great food!

My thoughts on Halloween are to each his own...we don't trick or treat, but like to go to parties. I don't like scary things, just fun things!