Woohoo!! Danielle Bean's new books AND an order of Vermont Cheese Powder -- in the SAME DAY!! Can life get any better??

I'll report back when I can tear my self away from the book. And after the cheezy crackers (hence the cheese powder) have been made!

Why. on. earth. am I getting telemarketer calls looking for Caitie Beardmore??

Once again it has been a LONG time since I have posted. This time I am totally blaming my husband, who has been monopolizing the computer lately. He as been doing all of our accounting so that he can turn everything into the accountant and, God willing, we will get a big fat tax return. Of course, poor Andrew has done this once before. It takes about a zillion hours to do and the last time, just after he finished, some creep stole our computer. And of course, we had no back up, so it was back to square one for Andrew.

As Annie mentioned, my parents had a great party last Sunday. Great food, TONS of people, and of course some great ping pong matches. The German Baptists smoked us all. I guess their lack of Netflix leaves them plenty of time to hone their ping pong skills.

PeterXavier has been sick on and off for the last two weeks. I think we have finally eradicated the evil germ though. God bless the man who discovered Ammoxacillan. Some times it is the only thing that will do the trick.

One nifty thing I did this past week was to sprout my own wheat and make Sprouted Wheat Bread. It still needs some fine tuning, but it turned out pretty well. I had never sprouted wheat before, but if you plan ahead, it is not hard and it 's pretty fun!

I am off to clean the bathroom. Have a great day!

A Big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my niece and God Daughter ZITA!!!

Here is what we have been doing lately. It is the Lenten Calender that the kids made. I got the idea out of a great book called "Guiding Your Catholic Preschooler." I modified it a bit to fit my children and it has worked beautifully. Each day, the kids choose to either pray, fast, or give. They are simple little things like "Give Daddy an extra hug" and we "fast" from things that will assist in developing good habits like "mean words". I am shock at how excited the kids are about this little project. They love to find out what day it is and decide what to do that day. It also keeps me more constantly aware of this Lenten season and reminds me of my own fasts and sacrifices.

The other little project we did was to make Sacrifice Beads. We read a little story about St. Therese, who received a set of bead from her sister and then we made our own. The kids love to make sacrifices for Jesus. Christopher showed his beads to Andrew and then said "Daddy! Don't you know St. Therese of the Child Jesus?!"

And seriously, their behavior has improved. It's amazing! Maybe I'll tell the kids that Lent lasts until Christmas this year.

Today I had to go work at the shop with Andrew. For reasons that cannot be disclosed on this open forum (but TRUST ME, if I make it to Blue Jacket tomorrow, they will be disclosed. LOUDLY. and ANGRILY. Have my Martini ready.), we had given Molly the day off. It was one of those really happy busy days. The door was open and the wonderful breeze was coming in from outside. Everyone was happy because of the great weather. The mayor came it and this man introduced him to his grandson "this is the mayor of the TOWN!" The little pirate boy thought that was pretty cool. Small town. Or not so small. (I'm not kidding about that martini. make it a double.)

And Uncle Andy came it. That was funny. He told us we's "pay for this weather" and judging by the fridged breeze in the house right now, he was right. He reminded me of Grandpa, the walking Farmer's Almanac. He also said "What the H*** is wrong with people??" I agree (see Martini notes. Do they make triples?)

Dear Mr. Cold,

Meet my new best friend. You had better watch your back.

I love how silly Christopher looks here! He is pointing to the picture he drew of Clifford (and he wrote "Clifford" on the bottom) Who knew that Norman Bridwell was from Kokomo!! And his wife's name is Norma. Do you think that is for real? I mean, what are the odds?? I think he must use a pseudonym.

Yesterday, my mom, Margaret, and I took the kids to the Children's Museum and went to Georgetown Market -- the best grocery in the world. My mom hadn't been to GM before. We had a great time choosing our different sugars, flours, and spices. It's just so FUN to shop that way. And it is always exciting to get something you have never heard of and experiment with it. Like the last time I went I bought a grain called Quinoa. I have read about it enough to recognize the name, but nothing more than that. It is so yummy! It is a little like couscous, but a bigger grain so it is a more firm. It makes a great replacement for boring old white rice.

The museum was great as well. The kids always have blast when we go -- but we always stay about five minutes to long and expeience the Great Meltdown on the way out the door. Margaret was nice to have along -- she is such a big helper. The nice thing about really big families is that the generations overlap and all help eachother.

This neat little arrangement is the kids new drum set. They created it themselves. Between this and the last pitures I posted, I am wondering why I ever purchase toys.

Well, Annie will be happy to hear that I am thoroughly annoyed with blogger right now. I tried a million times, but it will not put that picture of Christopher the right way. It looks right before I put it in the post. How annoying.

Anyway, these crazy children have developed their own catapulting device. But don't worry, "it's a soft ball, Mama!"

Talk about a devious way to get around the no throwing balls in the house rule.

Don't forget the Lady Comp Luncheon tomorrow at 12:30!!

Be there or be . . . pregnant.

Best Buy -- Land of the Disgruntled Customer.

That's the motto for today. But at least these disgruntled customers got some darn good deals. We now have a snappy new computer, but my husband really had to fight for it. First, we got one (about three days ago) that was about as slow as something purchased in 1997. So we took it back and complained. Then Andrew chose a new computer and when he went to purchase it, he had the wrong credit card. The lady told him to come back the next day and they might be on sale. So we went back and the price had changed alright -- by a hundred dollars, no less. A hundred dollars MORE!! Some sale. So after some very long dealings with a very not nice manager, we FINALLY got yesterday's price today. Grr.

I also got a new camera with an enormous memory card -- all for a very nice price. So now you will all be treated to more pictures!

Mr. Robber - Man, if you read this blog, don't bother coming by any time soon. We now carry our valuables with us. Haha to you. And just wait to you see our new locks. Oh baby. You're out of luck.

The other night, Grant called to tell us that everyone was going bowling. So we bundled the kids up, braved the ice storm and went bowling. It was GREAT fun. I had some really great pictures that I was going to post on here for all to see. I even uploaded them to the laptop. But the internet wasn't working that night, so they never got posted.

And now everything is gone.

I apologize to everyone who was going to come over on Monday for the "Lady Comp Luncheon." Can we reschedule? I'll call everyone.

LOVE the ice storm!!

We spent the day cleaning. Ugh. But now I feel a little better, because the house had gotten out of control. Now, it's not perfect, but it is certainly better!

One thing I did today that was a major accomplishment was to put the kids out grown clothes into the attic. I hate doing that. I think it might be the saddest thing that mother have to do! Folding all those little clothes and packing them away because their little owner can no longer use them. *sigh*

And on the topic of kids growing to fast . . . Grace got her first hair cut the other day! Her hair was getting so long that the little curls were disappearing. She only got about an inch cut off, but now those little curls "poing" right up and bounce around! So Cute!

And since I promised more pictures when I switched to blogger, here is a pic of our boys in front of the new fire place at my parents. A cozy picture for such a cold day!

For a good laugh and a healthy dose of Holy Terror, go here. This woman is what my mother would have become if my dad hadn't saved her!!

It was an enormously fat Tuesday this year. Christopher started the day appropriatly with a pancake the size of his plate (at his request). Amazingly, he ate almost the entire thing. And he didn't even know it was Fat Tuesday! I took a picture, but of course I left my camer a at home (I am posting at my parents).

So, Lent starts tomorrow. Lent is a funny time of year, really. It really makes you appreciate the whole Catholic idea that God allows suffering and that through our suffering, we appreciate all that He has given us even more.

There is something "fun" about Lent. I don't mean that Holy idea that suffering is so great and it brings us closer to God. I wish I could be Holy enough to think like that, but alas, I am not. I mean the whole commraderie that comes along with observing Lent. Knowing that we are all hungry together on Ash Wednesday, knowing that we are all eating Tuna Casserole on Friday night, understanding why your friends have no beer to offer you (haha). It is a sense of all being in this together that makes it fun, in a not so fun way. And it is this that makes gordging yourself on Fat Tuesday and Pharisee Runs at midnight all the more exciting.

We have eaten far to much food today. Is it bad to spend your Sundays being gluttonous -- we did spend it with family after all. We had a great brunch at my mom and dad's. Delish food it the wonderful new kitchen and relaxation by the fire in the not so new living room. Then we had dinner at the Antonio's.

We watched "Throw Down with Bobby Flay" TWICE because both parents had to see the Philly Cheese Steak competition. Funny stuff. Now Andrew wants to be fat and get tattoos so that he can become Lafayette's famous food guru.

Isn't that a friendly greeting? I told you it was easier to post images here! I think we will all appreciate this little change in format.

Over time I hope to transfer my old LJ posts over to here. That way, at least for my own sake, they will all be in one place.