Thankful Thursdays

Today I am home from work because Henry threw up this morning twice at school. I took him to the doctor who said that it sounds like a stomach virus and to just keep him hydrated. He is acting fine now and hasn't thrown up since this morning.

• I am thankful for modern medicine. I love Henry's doctor. She was a good friend before she was his doctor and she was willing to see him (and the rest of the family) while we were in between insurance policies. I can call her at home to ask a question and she doesn't get annoyed (I've only done it once or twice). I can call the office and describe symptoms over the phone and she can call in a prescription if I need one. It is nice to have a doctor friend so that I can keep on top of what is going around.


• I am thankful for my mailman and his family. This should actually count for a few entries, but I will put it all together. Firstly my mailman is the son of a woman that used to work at the church with me. He is also the son-in-law of a woman I used to teach with. He and his family go to my church and I was in a group with his younger brother in college. I just love this whole family! They are awesome! He holds the mail when we are out of town. He asks about us if we don't pick it up for a few days. I have had more than one piece of mail delivered to my house despite being marked "postage due." I can put my outgoing mail outside with two quarters taped to it and it will get mailed. All of those things are neat, but let me tell you why else I love this family...Last summer I was out st some garage sales. I stopped at one and found a lot of really nice girls' clothes for good prices. As I was loading up my arms, the owner of the house approached me and it turns out to be the mailman's wife! She loaded me up with more clothes and toys and then gave me an awesome deal. Twice since then I have caught her delivering boxes of her daughter's old clothes to my house. It is an absolute Godsend to have these clothes. It means less shopping for me and good clothes get a few more uses out of them. What an awesome family!!


• Thirdly, I am thankful for my daughter's friends. This one comes with a funny story. Earlier in the week a mom came to pick up her three girls, one of whom is in my class. Her daughter looked at her mom and said "uh-uh, I want to go home with Ms. Rabia." She planted her feet and practically refused to leave. I promised her that we would make arrangements to let her come over sometime soon. Well it turns out that today was the day. You might think I am crazy for inviting over a guest when Henry is not feeling well, but let me tell you-it works! The two girls are having a ball playing downstairs and I am able to give Henry the cuddles he wants. Both my kids are happy and I don't feel split in two!! It's also pretty sweet to listen to the girls playing pretend and the conversations they are having. Mine's the one on the left, and please excuse the mess in the background. :)

Wednesday's Wonderful Website

Check out WebSudoku for a lot of cool sudoku puzzles. You can do the regular style ones online and have the computer time you and check your answers. You can also check out lots of variations of the puzzle; such as Samurai style, which is 5 regular Sudoku puzzles stuck together; Squiggly Sudoku, which has irregularly shaped pieces instead of the normal grid; and a 16x16 puzzle that uses letters instead of numbers.
I like to try and keep my brain in shape when I get some spare time, and this is one place that will give me a mental workout.

Saturday at the Park

We had some nice weather this weekend that was not too hot or too cold. After Henry sort of took a morning nap, he, Frances and I walked up to the playground at the church a block up the street. Frances pushed the stroller like a good big sister. She played on the big ship while Henry played in one of the tubes. He enjoyed the rocks quite a bit, and only tried to eat one of them!!
We left the playground to go home and get ready to pick up our Angel Food Order. If you have not tried this, yet-do it!! The food is great quality and very affordable. They aim to feed a family of four for one week for $30. We spread the food out and use other staples and we can make it last a whole month. We got a fresh fruit and vegetable box for $18. It included a seedless watermelon, a fresh pineapple (so juicy!), six potatoes, four oranges, two bunches of carrots, 6 ears of corn, and 4 onions. YUM!
After all the shopping and menu planning we decided to go out to eat! Pam had given me a gift certificate to Rack 'em, Smack 'em. It is a steak and rib place in Verona. The food was good and Henry enjoyed using the windowsill for his plate. We got back from dinner and decided to take a walk through the cemetery down the street. Frances got to chase a few bunnies-she is getting really good at it. After all that we put the kids to bed and went to bed ourselves. I love Saturdays when Ken gets off early!!

Friday Fill-Ins

1. I believe whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
2. If you're good at something, do it often.
3. Why so many questions and so few answers?
4. Something is out there, it's COMING THIS WAY!!!!
5. If my life were a sitcom, it would be titled Just Another Manic Monday.
6. Sitting on my front porch [if you don't have one, use your imagination] I see my kids' toys.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to reading a book, tomorrow my plans include cleaning the house and spending the afternoon with my hubby and Sunday, I want to go to Mass at my own church for a change!

Thankful Thursdays

This week seems to have flown by! I spent Thursday through Monday of last week in Lynchburg for our Youth Convention. I came home Monday afternoon, was lazy all day Tuesday and went back to work yesterday. I have not had a very good chance to sit down and do much blogging. This very busy week I am thankful for:

• My little brother, Alan. He gave up his weekend to come to Lynchburg and help out with Henry while Ken and I were busy. He spent a lot of time in his dorm room watching movies so that Henry could take his naps and go to bed on time. It was not a glamorous job, but it was a very important job. It left me available to minister to the teens that attended. Thanks Unkie Alan!!


• My laptop! I store everything here. I can take it with me anywhere and be able to keep in touch with anyone I want to. I have pictures on here from when Frances was born. I try to periodically go back through and label them so they are more organized, but when I dump them, I always label the folder with the name of the event.

• My car. Okay, I complain about it a lot, but I am thankful to have reliable ttransportation for my family. I know that there are plenty of others who are not so lucky.

Wednesday's Wonderful Website

Want to know yet another way in which I waste time? Of course you do!!
Here it is: FreeRice. At this site you learn new vocabulry words and help the hungry at the same time! You are given a word and four possible definitions. If you select the correct definitions you get 20 grains of rice. If you select the incorrect definition, then you get nothing. As you go along, the words get harder when you answer correctly and easier if you answer incorrectly. The site explains itself pretty well, so I won't go into that here. I enjoy playing because it keeps my brain thinking and it helps hungry people around the world at the same time.

Word Beads-3

Word Beads for Jun 4, 2006 (out of town, so I had to use some old words)
Imaginative
Squirrel
Sharp
Fin
Mollify

Mr. Squirrel strapped a sharp fin onto his back and danced around the tree like a shark in an imaginative attempt to mollify Mrs. Squirrel after telling her that they could not take a trip to the beach.

Thankful Thursdays

I am headed out of town, so this will be short. However, I am no less thankful for the following (just in a hurry):

• My parents-They are spending a month in Alaska (and, yes, I'm sad that I couldn't go) but I am very fortunate to have them as my parents. They raised me in a loving, Christ-centered household. They were "mean" to me when I was younger, especially when I was a teenager; and because of it I am a better person as an adult. I try to model my parenting on the parenting I remember (and still receive) from them.


• Ken's parents-Ken was also raised in a loving, Christ-centered family. Both of his parents are involved in church as readers and Eucharistic ministers. He enjoys spending time with both his father and brother with male-bonding activities (hunting, sports, golf, etc...). They are keeping Frances for a long weekend while we are at Youth Convention and I know that she will have a blast. We are very fortunate to have both sets of grandparents close by and eager to be involved with the kids.


• The Diocesan Youth Council-This amazing group of young people spends a whole year planning our Youth Convention which takes place every summer. Ken and I were both part of this group as teenagers and we now serve as adult advisers. These teens give up their weekends in order to plan an event that will help them to spread the Gospel to more teens around the state.

Wednesday's Wonderful Website

I like alliteration! Can you tell? Each Wednesday I hope to feature a website that I find fun, useful, or otherwise noteworthy for my reader (s?) to try out.
For the first go 'round, I thought I would add my daily dose of reality: Snopes. Snopes bills itself as an "Urban Legend Reference Page." This website is great for checking on the veracity of your latest email forward or the story your friend told you about something that happened to another friend. I check daily for new posts and enjoy reading the featured story from the archives. You can also select "random" to receive...you guess it! A random story.
The stories are organized by category and somewhat cross-referenced if they would fit into more than one group. If you remember a story from childhood and want to check it out, you can find it. If you want a good ghost story to tell at your next slumber party; those are there too. The "Hottest 25 Legends" will more than likely contain your last few junk mails. I can waste lots of time at this website, and learn something too!

The curse of the older child

I feel like I post a lot of milestones for Henry because he is growing and changing so quickly. Tonight, though, Frances did something that is a real milestone for her. I realized that she has been buttoning her own pajama top all by herself for the past week! My advice to her was to start at the bottom and go up. It takes her a couple of minutes, but she gets it all done with no mis-matched buttons. Here is a picture of her with a mouthful of steak (it takes forever for her to chew it...we just go on about the evening). And yes, she is wearing long-sleeved flannel pajamas in July. She doesn't like to be covered up with a blanket and those are what she picked out.

Just for the record though, Henry now says "boo" but it sounds more like "buh." He also says "hi hi," "bye bye," "mama," and "dada." He uses sign language for "more" at meal times. He is trying to run even though he hasn't mastered walking. And he climbed into the bathtub by himself last night because he got tired of waiting for Frances' water to drain.

Bible verse of the day

Saw this on the way to school this morning. The flamingos, along with some surfboards are decorations for the Methodist Church's Bible School this week.

Word Beads-2

Word Beads for Jul 13, 2008

Admiral
Splurge
Unmistakable
Worry
Supply

Once again, I would like to try working these words into one sentence...

The admiral's latest splurge on a supply of life jackets was enough to cause unmistakable worry among the cruise ship passengers.

Frances' prayer

Okay, every time she starts to do this, I wish I could write it down. Today, she just happened to start her prayer just as I was settling in with my laptop. She wanted to "rest" on the couch because it's hot. All that really means is that she will lie there for a few minutes and pretend to sleep, and then stand up and announce that she's done. But I digress...I was saying how much I have always wanted to take dictation on one of her prayers. They are so genuine. Here it is, the best I could get:
"God please bless me, Oscar our cat and all our stuff. Please bless our daddy, Ken. Please bless all my toys and all Henry's toys. Please bless my dresser with all my clothes. Please bless Henry's dresser with all his clothes. Please bless the son of God, you. You were a baby, but you were still Jesus. You were a baby Jesus. They discovered, baby Jesus, that you would take the love on Easter to die for us. Please wake up and [some unintelligible made-up word]. Please bless the hot day to a new fresh-air day, that's fresh like snow and snow all upon the road. Amen" In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Cow Appreciation Day

Frances and Kendra getting ready to eat.
The kids saying "hi" to the cow.

The 3's as they get off the bus and head to Chick-Fil-A!

My class before we left! Say "MOO!!"

Today was "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-Fil-A. We loaded up the three-year-old class along with the 4's, and the school-agers and headed over to get some free chicken. All the kids wore white t-shirts with black spots taped to them or drawn on them. We also made masks to go along with the costume. Some of the kids had tails as well. We tried to make udders out of blown up latex gloves, but most of the kids popped them. We got there fairly early (around 10:45) and got our free Kids' Meals (all 22 of them)! They ate lunch, played in the play area and had a visit from the cow. Only one of our little ones was afraid of the cow! I was worried more than that would be.
I, of course, dressed like a cow too. I wore all brown with a white tail and my own udder. I also colored a mask, but it's hard to keep track of 3-year-olds while wearing a mask. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of myself. I'm sure someone took one, but I haven't got a copy of it.
My favorite part of the day was this morning while I was getting myself ready. I had just attached my udder when one of the parents dropped off her son. She laughed at me and said, "You know, you'll have to explain what that's for." and walked down the hall. Then I looked down to see Frances holding her stuffed cow up to the udders. "My cow is hungry, Mommy." she says. I guess she knows where they're for!!!

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Oh, I can't wait until I have a house big enough for all my stuff.

2. A gallon of milk is the first thing I see when I open my refrigerator.

3. I never leave home without my purse, cell phone and kids.

4. If I were a condiment, I would be Miracle Whip because I like to add a little kick.

5. Inconsistency is really high up on my list of pet peeves.

6. The last thing I thought of before I went to bed was the fact that tomorrow (as in today) is "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-Fil-A and I am taking 25 kids from 3-10 there dressed as cows so they can have free kids' meals. I must be insane!!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to relaxing, tomorrow my plans include meeting the New York Capuchin Ministries group at church and Sunday, I want to go to church and spend time with my family!

Number Nine...Number Nine

I knew there was one coming, so tonight when Henry was crying, I got brave and stuck my finger in his mouth. Sure enough, top right in the back has a new tooth coming in. It has mostly broken through the surface, but still has a way to go. I only felt one, which is somewhat odd because all his other teeth have come in pairs. I will keep checking and report back what I find.

So that's what the holes are for!!

I am sorry it's so blurry. :( My camera is not the best at taking shots quickly. Henry had wagon wheel pasta for dinner tonight. He wouldn't eat them when I tried to feed him, so I just put them out on the tray. He ate almost all of them by sticking his finger in the hole and picking them up. He got very upset when his little fat fingers broke the pasta. He screamed! What a weirdo!!

Thankful Thursdays

It has been a busy, but mostly uneventful week. I haven't had much time to reflect on thankfulness, and it seems lately that if I sit down to think, I end up falling asleep. This week I am thankful for:

• My bed. It is nice and comfy. It have a wonderful pink, plaid, flannel pillowcase that I just absolutely love. Ken brought me some lavender linen spray from when he was out of town. I spray it on my pillow and on the sheets before I go to bed and it smells so good!
• My mommy. She came to visit us this week. She arrived Monday afternoon and stayed until Wednesday morning. Tuesday she kept Frances home from school and took her to the pool for a day in the water. It was nice having a visit with her, even though I didn't get to see too much of her. My mom and dad are leaving very soon for a month-long trip to Alaska to visit with family. I will miss them terribly, but I am very happy for them to make this trip.
• Teens! I am the youth ministry coordinator at my church. I work with teens in all different ways. Just this week I met about 90 teens on their way to perform a service project in Appalachia and this weekend I will meet another 70! I have been in contact with lots of teens who are coming to and/or planning our yearly Youth Convention. I am inspired and refreshed by all the positive things that the teens around me are doing. Way to go guys!!

Free Pizza

The local fire department and Cici's Pizza have teamed up once again to offer free pizzas to city residents. We have taken them up on this offer for the last 4 years. All we had to do was call Cici's and give them our name, address and pizza order. Later, a fire department vehicle (one year it was the big red fire engine) delivered us a pizza. They checked our smoke alarms and actually replaced one that was broken. Frances liked seeing the fireman and woman come over. Henry loved eating the pizza! I like free food and entertainment all on the same night!

Are you kidding me!!

I saw this on the news on this morning before I went to work. For some reason it really frustrates me. I always see stories on the news or in magazines about how to save more money, but they always include cutting out things that, to me, seem so frivolous!
This family set out to cut their weekly budget in half. Some of the things they did this week to save money:
Mom skipped her weekly pedicure and had her husband rub her feet instead. And then she complained because he didn't do it as well!!
She cooked dinner at home! Apparently they go out for lunch and dinner quite often.
They go to the neighborhood pool instead of movies or boredom-shopping.
Dad mowed his own lawn-what a concept!
They shopped at the Farmer's Market and used coupons at the grocery store.
She cleaned her own house instead of paying someone else to do it.

I naturally live pretty frugally. So when we feel the pinch from this economy, what are we supposed to do to cut back? And at the day care, there are parents who make the decision between rent, groceries or gas in the car. Can you see why it frustrates me to watch a woman complain about missing her pedicure!!

Thanks for listening to this little rant. And now back to our regularly scheduled program!

Word Beads-1

Not because I lack things to blog about, but because sometimes being a mommy makes my brain feel mushy....
I will be attempting some writing to keep things fresh. I also play Sudoku to hone my math skills.
Anyway, I found a site called "Word Beads." You are given five random words and asked to string them together in a sentence, paragraph or story. The words this week are (you can click on them to see their definitions):

Plug
Duplicity
Breech
Plea
Fudge

So here it goes...

I could sense his duplicity as he ignored my pleas for fudge and continued to pull out the plugs in the breech of the ship.

I will sit and ponder that mental picture for a while. I can't decide if it is funny or harrowing or something else altogether.

If you would like to try it for yourself, you can go here.

Our Boston Friends

Tonight the Boston Appalachian Service Project (ASP) group showed up. They brought 93 teens and adults who are on their way to Lee County, Virginia for a week of service. The group stays overnight at our church on their way from Boston. We have traditionally hosted them with dinner, so several members of the parish provided side dishes and dessert. I grilled hot dogs and ordered pizza and BEHOLD! a feast.
This group has been staying at our parish for quite a few years and most of the adults have stayed consistent. Many of them remember Frances from when she was a baby and they all enjoyed seeing Henry again this year (he was only 4 weeks old last year!).
Frances entertained the group while we were waiting for a few more vans to show up. She got hold of the microphone and very sweetly sang "Twinkle, twinkle little star." The whole crowd got quiet to listen and then gave her a standing ovation. Then she sang "Baby Shark." A group of girls in the middle knew the actions and acted out the song with her. She had quite a good time showing off!!
A friend of mine borrowed my memory card for my camera, so no pictures just yet. When Chris emails me her pictures I will come back and add some in.

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Holidays in the summer are always late nights.
2. Cheese sandwiches are my favorite things to grill. Truly, I don't grill things-that is my husband's domain, and I LOVE it when he grills!
3. My thoughts are not very coherent right now because I am a few hours behind on my sleep.
4. Spending time with lots of different people is what I'm most looking forward to this weekend!
5. My favorite book so far this summer is The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket.
6. Waking up without an alarm is the best way to begin a day.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to fireworks, tomorrow my plans include hosting the ASP group from Boston and Sunday, I want to go to church and then relax!

Thankful Thursdays

This has been a busy week and I have not been taking my laptop to school with me, so this post is a little bit late. I enjoy this chance to think back on my week and pick three things for which I am thankful. This week I am especially thankful for:

• My freedom. This is a wonderful country that I am privileged to live in. We have so many choices that we are allowed to make. Granted, a lot of people make a lot of poor choices, but I would rather that, than to not have choices to make for myself.
• My washer and dryer. I don't particularly enjoy laundry, but it needs to be done. We had a crisis last year right before Henry was born and we didn't have our dryer. I had to hang everything up in the basement. And it was all stiff because we don't use liquid fabric softener and so we didn't have it on hand. We bought a new dryer and use it on a daily basis. I have gotten very close on several occasions to being completely caught up on all the washing, but then someone gets sick or we go out of town. I have a three day weekend coming up and one of my goals is to get everything caught up. Cross your fingers for me!!
• My blog. Some days I get sucked into the Internet and get lost for an hour or two. I enjoy reading other people's blogs and I enjoy posting on my own. I was really grateful this week when I wondered about the specific date that something had happened and I could look it up on my blog. I have never been good about diaries in the past, but this one seems to work for me. It also allows friends and family to keep track of us. It is a great place to post pictures so that everyone can watch our family as it grows.

He's a TODDLER!!

Henry has taken one or two steps at a time before today, but this is the day I would officially call him a walker!!