Thankful Thursday

This will be my last post for a while

because this is where we'll be!

Thankful for wonderful in-laws and their generous gift

of a wonderful vacation for all of us!

and

the special memories we will make with them and

my husband's brother's family.

(click on the picture, it's even better-bigger!)

Thankful for bright blue skies and sunshine....
Thankful for melting snow...

Thankful for cute little toesies
waiting to be painted

Thankful for mud boots and girls who love to get right in it!

Thankful for warmish weather we had this past weekend

Thankful for babies content to watch the mud playing kids in a chair with pretzels

Thankful for the Dot game we always play during swim lessons.

Thankful

for full suitcases.

for Nerf guns that shoot 18 nerfs at a time.

for girls who sing everywhere, all the time.

for girls who come in bed with me when they have nightmares and play with my hair and snuggle.

for snow peas, my "free" snack.

for my sweet husband who loaded a "workout" section onto his

i-pod and lets me use it on the treadmill!

"I like to move-it move-it!"

(he also sneaked some love songs on there just for me)

Thankful

for pancakes on Thursdays, chocolate chip today.

Thankful

for the baked oatmeal in our fridge my husband and I eat every morning for breakfast.

for International Foods French Vanilla coffee.

for Spaghetti sauce frozen in the freezer, you are a life saver tonight!

Thankful

for faithful readers, you are all in my thoughts and prayers, more than you know!

God bless you all

Have a wonderful week!

Thankful Thursdays

A time to remember to be thankful

A pause in the week for praise,

thanksgiving and thinking postively

in addition to the normal daily praise

we need to give God.

Few Words Wednesday

Sunday
Today
(and there's more coming)

3 days til Mexico....

The Next Three Days

Excellent.

This movie keeps you guessing til the very end,

both of her innocence and what he's going to do.

It's Russell Crowe,

need I say more?
Rent it.

Feast of St Joseph

St Joseph, protector of families,

Pray for us.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Volume 9)

Wow! I've been doing this with Jen for 9 weeks?

I took Spanish in high school,

but that was so long ago,

that I barely remember anything.

Now, I've been doing this a little every day,

like looking words that come to mind

the problem is

I forget them before the day is done.

MN=Frio

Mexico=Caliente

(I'll let you figure those out yourselves)

This will be the "packing" edition:
-1-
Confession.
We will all go to Confession before we leave.
(those of us who have made the Sacrament)
We must always be ready!
We always need the grace.
I need the grace.


-2-
All girls need to get our toesies painted!

-3-
All boys need to get their hairs cut, by me!

-4-
Backpacks need to be packed
These will be our carry-ons
(Above: the kids got a mini travel piano to bring along)
Each child will have a backpack, I will too, plus my diaperbag-purse
Daddy informed me he has never carried a backpack and never intends to.
He will find his own carry on.
I guess a gym bag is more macho than a backpack.
Now I know.
Now you know.
Backpacks will be filled with whatever each child plans to do on the plane and in
their hotel room free time.
Books....I need to go through our story books and pack a bunch of those for bedtime stories and wind down time & airplane time....
I even have those mini play dough tubs for the 2 youngest.
I will have my bag of tricks filled for the plane for the littles.
When my bag is used up
They will go to Daddy.
Who, may or may not have his own "gym bag" of tricks.


-5-
Suitcases need to be packed.
Filled with an outfit for every day and extras for, uh, you know accidents.
(I'm talking about the kiddos)
sweatshirt for cooler nights
swimsuits, cover ups
shampoo, conditioner, Aloe Vera lotion,
Sunscreen, (I love that smell!) and all our toiletries....
bandaids, Children's Motrin (you never know),
This list will be much more detailed as I start loading everything in....


-6-
Clean the house!
This might sound dumb to you,
but
I like to leave a clean house
because
I like to come home to a clean house
even more.
Laundry must be done,
because
when we come home,
I will have lots and lots
of laundry!


-7-
Modified workout plan:
I cannot get behind on my workouts
or
overeat at the restaurants!!
Now, Weight Watchers allows some "extra" points,
but they get used pretty fast in restaurants!
My husband is bringing his laptop
so I can continue to keep track of my food online.
(like I do at home)
The resort has treadmills
(and other gym equipment)
I can bring my stretchie band and ankle cuffs for strength training 2 or 3 days
The treadmill can be for the other days, at least 2 or 3 of the days.
We will be walking everywhere, up and down the beach,
and I'm sure Sweetie Pie will keep me chasing after her
As slow as I lose weight,
even a 5 lb weight gain would be so disappointing
and such a setback!
Maybe if I have this plan in order ahead of time,
it will work out?

Next week I'll be pretty busy packing and finishing up the school we need to get done, so blogging might be scarce! God bless you all and have a wonderful weekend!

Thankful Thursday!

Thankful for dirt!!!

And Thankful for kids who love to dig in it!
It was the first thing she saw when we went on the porch!
Oh, the excitement of a child!!
What can I say?
The snow melted off the pots
So
It's the only dirt we have for now....until this snow melts!
(I forgot to put this one on earlier and had to come back and put it on!)

Thankful for St Patrick and The Holy Trinity...

for Shamrocks and the color GREEN!
Thankful for melting snow (finally) although it's melting verrrrrry
sloooooowly, it's melting!!
Thankful for the beautiful sunshine that makes
45 degrees feel like 65 degrees
to us Minnesotans!


See?
Thankful for
Homework on the porch, no hats or coats

Thankful for the opportunity to go to Mass on Wednesdays!
We can feel the graces within our lives.
Thankful for beautiful, Delicious strawberries, that have gone down in price---finally!!
For the past couple months strawberries have been terrible and very expensive!
Thankful for homemade play dough!


The girls have been playing with it every day and they are loving it!



Even Sweetie Pie is loving it!
(she only tried to eat it once!)
Jamie's Play Dough Recipe
(the best ever!)
2 cups flour
1 T. Alum
1 Cup salt
2 cups Boiling water
2 T. Oil
Combine all. Mix well.
Add food coloring of your choice,


let the kiddos mix it to the color they want!
(store in air tight containers or baggies)
I got this recipe 15 years ago when I was working at a Montessori school.



Thankful for one last hurrah on the snow mountains
at the abandoned Wal-Mart parking lot!
Also
Thankful it was the last time....
and
Thankful it is melting away........






Thankful for baby cuteness....
Click on the pictures if you'd like (like I like to do)
I'm going to bore you with my baby cuteness....
She's so full of life and such a character

She's just so much fun to have around.

Indulge me a little,

she's already almost 19 months old!

She's still a baby, but she's growing so fast and before I know it,

she's not going to be a baby anymore!

Thankful for her little "meows" and puppy playing!

(not sure why that Ken doll is there, I think Colette was playing with him)

Thankful Thursdays
A time to remember to be thankful
A pause in the week
for praise, thanksgiving and thinking positively
in addition to the normal daily praise
We need to give God.

COURAGEOUS Movie Trailer

Looks like a great movie, coming to theaters in September!

Packing Questions

My house has a few vacation piles,

here's the snack pile

then we have each child's pile all in different areas.

Next week I'll bring it all to the kitchen table and keep adding til we go!

I have a few questions.

Here's my diaper bag/purse.

-1-

Is this considered my "carry on"?

or

Can I also bring a "carry on" along with this?

I'd like to also bring a back pack filled with activities for baby and me.

My plan is for each child to pack a back pack filled with activities

for the 4 hour flight.

-2-

The resort says they have cribs, but there are no pictures of the cribs.

Would you bring your "Pack and Play" and pay the extra charges to bring it,

or would you just go with whatever they have?

I'm picky, I like new, clean, safe bedding for baby.

Is the hotels going to be?

-3-

Would you bring a stroller?

What do they do with the strollers?

Don't they just roll them in the front of the plane and we get them when we get off?

I think I really need a stroller.

My plan is to bring a stroller kind of like the "umbrella stroller" only it's a little bigger with a

bottom compartment below it for "stuff".

-4-

Can I bring an empty sippy cup for baby in the diaper bag?

Can I bring my water bottle, only empty in my bag?

Why can we bring pens and pencils but we can't bring water bottles on the plane?

Can't pens and pencils hurt people?

Those are my thoughts right now.

I'm sure I'll have more questions later.

-5-

Car seats?

Do they even use car seats in Mexico?

(another question I thought of later!)

Green Bread for St Patrick's Day!

I'll be baking this bread today!

(getting ready for St Patrick's Day tomorrow)

Yes, I'm Irish.

Thanks Mom!

It was always a funny argument between my mom and dad as to

what we kids were,

more Irish or

more German.

We are like 75% or more German so dad wins.

He says it's more.

I am less than 1/8 Irish, but look Irish, so I've been told.

Since my hubby has no Irish in him,

I argue that the kiddos do have some Irish in them.

No green beer here.

St Patrick reminds me of the Trinity

and keeping the faith in Ireland.
Lacy has some great ideas for celebrating!

Don't forget to wear your green tomorrow!

Weight Update

I'm still working out, every day except Sundays.

It was getting to the point last week,

where I was starting to feel hopeless.

My body is resisting so much.

I tell myself, that is good.

My body is strong.

My spirit is strong.

I was talking with my husband

(he's probably getting tired of me talking about my exercising,

weight and Weight Watchers things)
Anyway, I was talking and he suggested

maybe I should change my workout.

What?

Change it?

I've been working hard, I change it up

I do hard and a little less hard.

I do strength training.

Why would I need to change it?

up to 2 months ago,

I didn't even workout for the 4 months previous.

Isn't that a change?

OK, I try to take constructive criticism and swallow my pride.

Well, I could add that boring treadmill to my workouts.

I'm not good with boring.

I'm too busy for that.

I can walk 4 miles in an hour outside, but on that darn treadmill,

4 mph makes my legs run.

3.8 mph makes my legs run.

I don't run.

Certain body parts can't take that "bouncing".

I decided to change my workouts.

This is my 2nd week of following this workout schedule:

Treadmill: Tuesday and Friday 50-60 minutes

I actually run for the first time in my adult life,

I'm actually liking the run part.

(The bouncing parts are doing ok)

Strength training: Monday and Thursday 90 some minutes

4-5 mile Walk Away the Pounds: Wednesday and Saturday about an hour

I just can't give up on you Leslie Sansone.
I like you too much.
I don't get bored with your workouts.

My strength training consists of her stuff:
Hips/thighs- 21 minutes
(uses her "fit cuff")
Fast Firming Walk Slim series- 30 minutes
(uses her stretchie band)
Walk Strong Express -37 minutes
(I use 5 lb hand weights, she walks and body sculpts in intervals)
My strength training day is a whopping 9 points for Weight Watchers!

I have lost a total of 14 lbs so far.
I'm going from September when I started Weight Watchers
(it's only been 8 or 9 since Dec 28th when I started exercising, so with the ups and downs, it's easier to just go from the beginning of Weight Watchers and count it all)
I went shopping this past weekend and went down a size and that size was too big.
I know the next size would be tight, so I'm inbetween sizes right now.
I'm trying to look at the positives and not the negatives
(which are I should have lost at least 20 lbs by now and
the fact that I will never lose this "shelf" of fat over my 5 C-section incision)
I feel good
I feel strong
I feel healthy
All reasons to keep going!


My treadmill music is Ultimate Dance Party Volume one.
I try to pray first,
I just can't go as fast without music.
"I like to move-it, move-it! I like to move -it, move- it"

My Favorite 2 Point Snack!

They satisfy with a little bit of chocolate

and

a little bit of nutty crunchiness
2 points of yummy

The Devil Loses

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry." -Matthew 4:1-2

Taken from my "Little Black Book" (six minute reflections for Lent):

**************
In contrast to many imaginative writings, Catholic Church doctrine actually has very little to say about the devil. The Catechism of the Catholic Church simply quotes the teaching of the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215:

The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel,made by God: 'The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing'"

This brief statement affirms two things:

1) Satan was created by God. He is not an evil force equal to God, but one of God's
creatures.

2) Satan was created good. By his own free choice he turned to evil. He was not created
evil by God.

************
What I liked about this little tidbit in this morning's reflection, was the reminder that God wins in the end!! Don't we all need to remind ourselves that once in a while?

God wins.

I tell the kiddos it's like a game between God and the devil, but we know God wins. The devil, because of his pride, doesn't know, or doesn't want to know or listen to the fact that he loses.
Every time we sin, we give points to the devil and every time we grow in virtue, or do good in any way, we give points to God.

Go God!!

Which side do you want to be on?
We all want to be on the winning side, right?
God wins in the end.
Which makes the game so worth it.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Volume 8)

Joining Jen again on this Friday with 7 not so quick things:
-1-
Mardi Gras.
I don't get it.
I don't get how or why Catholics celebrate it.
I am a black and white person.
No gray here.
(although, I like gray t-shirts)
I don't like the "party til the end" attitude thing.
When my dad first started fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays,
he would feast the night before up til midnight
then, on fasting days,
he'd eat a whole loaf of bread,
because he fasted on bread and water.
He does it differently now.
No gray
Take me as I am
I just don't get Mardi Gras.
The actual Mardi Gras is an event full of sinful activities.
So,
we don't celebrate it.
I just can't get into it.
I want to always be ready

-2-
Fish on Friday during Lent
(taken from my "The Little Black Book" daily 6 minute reflections for Lent)
it was 1962, Lou Groen owned a McDonald's in predominantly Catholic Montfort Heights, near Cincinnati, Ohio. During Lent, Catholics didn't eat meat on Friday, and Groen watched his customers flock to a nearby restaurant for their fish sandwich. So Groen (himself a Catholic) decided to create his own fish sandwich. He cut up halibut, dipped the pieces in batter and fried them. Groen was so happy with his sandwich that he travelled to Chicago and suggested that Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's, add it to the menu.
Kroc was not impressed.
But Groen didn't give up. Finally Kroc made him a wager. McDonald's would try out Groen's fish sandwich on the menu for Good Friday, as well as a hula burger Kroc was developing. They would see which sandwich had the higher sales, and that sandwich would be added to the menu.
On Good Friday, Groen sold 350 of his fish sandwiches. Kroc never said how many hula burgers he sold (one source said he sold only six), and the fillet-of-fish became part of the McDonald's menu in 1965.
Today, customers eat more than 300 million of McDonald's fillet-of-fish sandwiches each year, and it is considered the world's best-selling fish sandwich.


Just fyi, I found this very interesting!


-3-
Parks and Recreation
We've been watching this via Netflix.
We love it
Dare I say even more than The Office?
It's hilarious.
We're on the 2nd season right now.

-4-
I am reading this novel right now.
I don't usually read fiction
but I am enjoying it and it's a hard one to put down.
I give it a thumbs up!!

-5-
Carrot tops!
We are growing a carrot top!
Ballerina Rosie had this as one of her Science experiments.
I have to say, usually our home experiments don't work out that well.
But
This one, worked!
Wouldn't it be neat, if we could re-grow carrots as we ate them?
Too bad only the top grows again.


-6-
This is what our floor looks like after play dough play.

-7-

Jedi's Birthday

We celebrated by going to some snow mountains

at an abandoned Wal-mart parking lot.

I think they dumped snow from all over town there.

Mountains everywhere!

We came back to our house for ice cream dessert cake (his pick)

I think you can click on the pictures for a better view....
It was a balmy 33 degrees and sunny!

He and his buddy! (soaking wet from snowball fighting)

The snow is slooooooooooooly melting away......

Look at these littles!!

Aren't they just adorable?

Look at these biggies...uh, I mean,

I am woman!! Hear me roar!!!!

Susie's van's battery went out

but

I saved the day!

One of the few things I know about cars

is how to charge a battery!

(although, shh!! We did have to call my husband to see which to put on first, positive or negative and a couple other questions about that--but Shh!! We still did it!)
So, the previous post is for us women,

who Roar!
Youtube wouldn't let me edit it to put it in this post...
Have a great weekend everyone!!