February Wrap Up

Sometimes things happen and days turn into weeks around here. Have you noticed?

While I had the best of intentions to post birthday and Valentine's photos last week, a bad tummy bug hit a couple of us here. It's odd for me to get sick and then even though I was technically 'down' and had so much time on my hands, I still wasn't feeling well enough to even pick up a book to read.
So there goes any productivity, even on the sickbed. Sad and unfortunate.

Finally bouncing back and praying to the good Lord that the last three remain unscathed, I'll quickly try to attempt a wrap up via photos and we'll call February finished even if the calendar says it's not quite.


Two days of fun began with our homeschool group's annual sledding Valentine's party.

The big kids each made Valentines boxes for the exchange with the other kids. Each of them created their own themed box and used their unique creativity (and the help of Pinterest).

Lily went with the Frozen theme and did Elsa's castle in box form. Surprisingly, no other kids went with Frozen so hers was unique. 

Jonah is my super-creative, sometimes over the top, but has trouble putting his B-I-G ideas into action, child. He wanted to go with the Lego movie theme and created the Double Decker Valentines box. (click the photo to see the speech bubbles)

Another project knocked out of the park and completed on time. 

Again, another unique box among the others. 

The following day was Valentine's Day and our parish's annual Winter Carnival, an all afternoon and evening affair. The worst part was that the temperature was frigid cold and the actual lack of snow put a damper on some of the outdoor activities. 

There were indoor and outdoor games for the kids along with horse drawn wagon rides through town as well. The little kids especially enjoy the indoor games with prizes and the creation station activities. 

The kids warmed up by the bonfire outside during the scavenger hunt Reed put together. 

In the evening, our Bishop joined us for Mass and chili supper. A tradition our priest, Fr. M started last year was an evening movie with the kids. This year it was Big Hero 6. The kids think it's a pretty big deal to watch the movie with the priest and at church. 

Before Mass, we've also started the tradition of doing a pinata. 

You may remember Olaf from last year when we watched the Frozen movie?

This year one of the moms who helps plan the event made the cat from Big Hero 6, Mochi. It was pretty awesome and must have taken a lot of time. 

As with last year. another huge hit and another successful winter carnival.

The following two days were when Margaret got sick and I followed. Feeling like we'd both bounced back, Tuesday was Gianna's 4th birthday. No birthday post for my sweet girl because I hadn't had time to prepare it, but we did a little bit of celebrating. Since we'd already celebrated the two girls together, her birthday was simplified and my parents spent the day with us. 

I was still on the mend and hadn't any idea the next couple days that followed I'd relapse with the ickies. Please pardon the less than stellar family photo, but I guess they can't all be perfect. 

Now you know how we roll around here. 

With that, we survived the next few days and I had one more down for Thursday. 

How's your Lent going so far? Let's just say mine has started off with knocking me down and running me through the wringer. I joked with someone when I said I thought Ash Wednesday was perhaps my last. That evening I was pretty sure that the next 39 days of Lent were gonna be smooth after that ride. 

We had one or two days with temps in upper teens and then the cold blast is going to be here again. 

I guess we're getting the cold January weather in February instead. Crazy winter!

We took advantage of the sunshine and bundled up to at least get some fresh air. 

After last week being cooped up, I needed it.

The girls didn't want to come inside and instead looked at me through the door as I warmed up indoors. 

Poor girls, they just want to be outdoors running around like hooligans and riding trikes and bikes again. 

Heck, I do too. 

Here's to March around the corner and warmer days at my window. 

February Fun

It's that time of year again when we are just about ready to scream, put up the white surrender flag and give in to the winter blahs. The calendar tells us it's February and if you're a homeschool mom you know exactly how many days of school are left (ahem, that would be 74 for us).

Thankfully, this winter has been bearable. Besides that, God knew what He was doing when he blessed and surprised us with two sweethearts born this month. Just the idea of having two birthdays to celebrate, however low key and simplified we do them, they are still celebrations to look forward to. They are two very wonderful reasons to get my act together, stay on task with birthday planning/gift buying, and the days swirl by at rapid speed.

Last week we celebrated birthday #1 and enjoyed pink velvet cupcakes with buttercream frosting, decorated with candy Olafs and snowflakes (thank you, clearance aisle). They were a hit!

So were her dress up clothes she received as a birthday gift from us. It seemed odd that she was even more excited over the Firefighter dress up clothes than the Elsa dress. 

She was one happy three year old, content with yummy cupcakes and gifts on her birthday day. 

This past weekend fell smack dab between the girls' birthdays and we celebrated their birthdays with a few family members. 

You better bet there was a Frozen cake!

I went with store bought and had them keep it decorated minimally with just snowflakes/sprinkles. I had found a set of Frozen character toys online that I thought would serve well as cake toppers and toys afterward.  Always thinking I am. 

They worked and the girls were happy to find out that they could play with them later. 

Don't even ask why they are on the counter posing with the cake. They insisted on it. 

Odd angle much?

These crazy girls, my Irish twins. They certainly are hard to capture lately with smiles and looking at mom with the camera. 

Silly Sisterly Love.

You know us, we'll celebrate at least one more time next week on Gianna's birthday day too. 

It falls on Mardi Gras this year, so there's sure to be more cupcakes and other treats to consume before Ash Wednesday.

In the meantime, this week is all about planning for Friday and Saturday.  Besides setting up/decorating and some cooking for our parish Winter Carnival, we're heading to our homeschool group Valentine's Day sledding party get together on Friday. 

Speaking of, are you looking for printable Frozen Valentines?

There are cute FREE ones over here.

How about Minecraft Valentines?

Scroll down to find them over here.

Saturday you'll find us at our church stirring the chili, snacking on munchies, playing games, hitting the pinata, having Mass with the Bishop, consuming the chili and watching Big Hero 6. 

We're celebrating Big before Lent hits next week.

What are your plans this week? Are you preparing for Lent? 

Let me know since I'm going to need a little help getting around to all that preparing. 

Girl With Scissors

Alternately titled "It Was Bound To Happen."

Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

The other week my toddlers both held the small safety scissors during school time for the very first time. Impressed by their new found tool, Gianna especially, spent some time cutting away at scraps of paper. As a mother/teacher would, I explained the safety rules of scissors, how they should only be used while adults are present and we only use them for cutting paper.

I neglected the part about 'stay out of your older sister's room where you may find a stray scissors on her desk on any given day as she's always busy crafting.' 

Fast forward, a couple days later.

It was Saturday and I was in the bathroom getting ready for my day when I hear the 3 yo tromping up the stairs. She burst in and with a chipperness declared:

"I wanted my hair to be just like Elsa's!" (we later figured out that she meant Anna's)

My heart sunk as I spun her around and found this:

Well, she kinda looks like Anna...

I mean, she's got the side swept bangs thing going on. Sorta.

And still, I don't think there's been a whole lot of remorse on her part as she swings around her shortened mullet.

I've kept it as-is even though I was tempted to give the rest of her hair a shorter bob cut. For now, my solution is pulling it back as often as I can and pray that it grows quickly.

She likes it because now she thinks she looks like Wildstyle:

Oh boy.

On the flip side, she now as her Halloween costume all decided based on her hair.

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Toddler Girls

Some days you capture them at just the right moment. There the moment is frozen in time. In that caught moment a mother's heart breaks just a little because she sees that her babies grew up. With hardly a glance back and without warning, they moved on.

In the midst of a still needy season, I often forget that these days will not always be here.

I wish those sweet cheeks could always stay mom-kissable.

These are the two I waited for. These are the girls that I thought may never come. These are the children God knew needed me most and He borrowed them to me.

This is the reminder I cling to today because these two are a bucketful of energy that zap every morsel of mine. 

But they are so.stinkin.cute.

From The Toddler Files

Ever eat your own words? Or ask, "Where in the WORLD did she hear that from?" and then realize it came from your mouth?

You must have a toddler (or two) in your home.

They have a way of picking up on our least favorite phrases that spew out of our mouth without a thought. Sometimes the words they declare are pure genius and other times they are the utterance of our ignorance to the small ears that hear around every corner.

The are wise beyond their toddler years.

They are the tugging at our conscience and the reminder that our adult annoyance sometimes floweth forth from our mouth. Shame on me us, but yet sometimes it is really rather cute. 

And worth a blog post.

While hoarding her toys from her younger sister:

"Go play with Lily. She's fun."

(We've often used this tactic on Gianna to get her sidetracked while we're in the midst of something and trying to get it done without her underfoot.)

Washing her hands in the bathroom sink and I ask her to leave so I can use the bathroom:

"Don't blug (bug) me. I busy washing my hands."

After the parade, while laying in bed avoiding her nap time:

"Where the music princesses go?"

Me: "They probably went home to rest."

"No they not. They go home for lunch!"

Again, at nap time:

Me: "Gianna, you need to take a nap so we can go to church later. If you nap, we can go see 

Fr. Michael."

"NO. I not go see him."

Me: "Why not? He's your buddy."

"I don't like his dress."

"He wear his pants."

And that, my friends are some of the sounds going on at my house. I can barely imagine all the insightful conversation we'll be having in a few months or so when both little girls have a lot more to say!

If Only Rome Were Closer To Home

One day I want to travel to Rome with my husband. One day.

There are many days that I wish Rome were just a little bit closer. I suppose I wouldn't think it as big a deal though if I just hopped on a bus and went to St. Peter's Square or participated in a Wednesday audience with the Pope just any old day.

Well, I suppose with this little Pope Francis admirer I have, we'd eventually get banned from popping up everywhere he is.

She's still rather enamored with her beloved 'Fransa', you know.

And then she saw this picture last week:

She laughed and pointed at Pope and baby. I then pointed out what the Pope was doing, putting the paci back in the baby's mouth. She paid special attention and giggled.

To think that two of her favorite things, Pope and paci, were in the same photo. To think that THAT baby got to be close to HER Pope and he gave the baby his paci. I could see the wheels turning. If ever there was baby envy, she had it at that moment.

"What a rip off! That baby gets the Pope AND the paci?! I am SO hopping on a plane right now!"

Yup, that's exactly what I read in her expression, you know I did.

You see, Gianna just had her paci taken away two weeks ago. Well, technically, she threw it away on her own. It was old, she had finally chewed a hole in it and she had been warned that this paci was her last and when it was time, she would not be getting another one.

Then the fateful day came. Following my instructions, she walked to the garbage, threw away her beloved paci and with a brave face said "Gianna big girl. Gianna not need paci."

She had some moments that day asking for " 'nother one paci" whenever she needed consoling.

If only her Pope could've been here to help her, she thought. I bet HE'd let me keep my paci.

If only Rome were just a little bit closer and the Pope was just a neighbor down the street.

I guess then we'd probably be the crazy neighbor who never left him alone. Or at the very least, Gianna would be the wandering around child of the neighborhood who was always stopping by to visit.

Especially if he was handing out paci's.

Smitten

This is the picture that hangs on our fridge.

This is the girl who lives in our house.

This is the girl that has a little secret she keeps.

This is the girl who loves the Pope. Pope "Fransa" to be precise.

She calls him by name and waves to him every day.

She asks to see his picture in the paper.

Then clearly states "Pope lost gwasses (glasses). He funny. Funny Pope."

This is the girl who stands in the kitchen, puts up her hand as if to wave and says "Hi". She does it in the exact manner that he did. And then she laughs.

This is the girl, always eager to give her Papa a high five.

She's all like "wassup, Papa?! how you doin' today?"

Not even kidding.

She's definitely in love, but then, who isn't?

Each day we keep praying for his safety because he's kind of a busy guy who likes to do things a little differently. Sneaky guy. I call him a stinker, but don't tell him that.

St. Michael the Archangel, defend him and protect him!

Life At The Sink

She hears the water running in the sink and the dishes start to clatter. Her ears must have a special radar that can hear me from miles away. With lightning speed she runs to the kitchen, grabs a chair and pushes it to the sink. The chair leg catches the two rugs in its path as she drags it to the sink.

It's like this every single time I do dishes and yet most of the time I still find myself frustrated by the process. Upset by her lack of understanding how annoying her 'help' is to me. 

I should get over it, I know I should. 

But every time it's the same thing. She insists that the water be left on by repeatedly saying 'push button'. She's just playing in the water, I remind myself. She fills and refills the bowls, cups and containers over and over and over again. Until she tries to pour water from one item to another on the counter and the flood appears. Then that's the end, because I have limits and she knows that the limit is one flood per washing. 

Impatience is a funny thing that brings out the worst in even the best of us. Patience is tested in the face of toddlers. She's learning and growing and this is all a process, but it's also the process by which I shall (hopefully) gain Heaven. She's teaching me about Heaven and Christ while she's helping me get there. 

If only I pay attention. 

I usually don't.

How often must I make my God impatient with me as I return to the sink and spill and make a mess. He must sigh and forgive me for being human and born with a free will. He knows I'll be back, because I always am. He also knows I will return to His living water and we'll be reunited. 

My toddler does teach me a lot about forgiveness and love, even in the most unlikely places.

All of this is an inconvenience to me. A waste of time. But to her this is a skill building activity and a memory she is making. All of this is time with her mom at the sink building a relationship.

Rinse and repeat. These years are passing, but the sink is always full of water and there are always more dishes to be done.

Like my toddler, Christ is always rushing to help me, even when I least expect Him to or desire His help the least. 

Let's Hear It For The Girls

After the snowstorm last weekend ruined our birthday party plans, the big party finally happened this past weekend. Hooray!

The guests were limited compared to the original invite list due to the date change. None the less, we partied in all our pink and red, snowflakes and hearts any way.

This way we were able to celebrate on Gianna's actual birthday day, so it worked out well in the end.

The 2 year old Birthday Girl:

The 1 year old Birthday Girl:

Here are the tissue paper pom poms hanging over the dining room table:

Sunday morning, the kids helped me dip marshmallow pops. Super easy, cute and pretty darn tasty too.

Big hit with the kids!

All set up and ready for company. The snacks we served were Chex mix and homemade caramel corn that the guests put in the cones I'd made.

Red velvet cupcakes using a box cake mix, but made them to taste like the bakery version. 

Strawberry revel ice cream frozen in a sheet pan and then cut out with heart shaped cookie cutter.

There was singing....

(for some reason the big birthday girl insisted on her HUGE teddy bear sitting beside her and all of her blankets near her)

One Birthday Girl ate daintily with a fork and enjoyed her cake.

The other Birthday Girl preferred her cake well smashed, but enjoyed it just as much.

Thanks to family, friends and Pinterest, we enjoyed a very fun and girly birthday bash.

It was a good day to honor two very special little girls.

A very good day indeed.

Almost Twins, But Not Quite

I currently have two one year olds living under my roof. 

My Irish twins are both one year old for about two weeks. 

This is how it will forever be. The little girls will always be the same age for two whole weeks. 

A year ago, that freaked me out.

This year, it's kind of funny.

Only God in his infinite wisdom (and Divine sense of humor) could have come up with something this good.

Several years ago, this would have only been a dream and never thought of as a reality.

Blessed we are, don't you think?

Blessed because we get to treasure precious birthdays two more times than we thought we would.

Blessed because we get to laugh at silly girly faces. Times two.

And watch as that baby wonders what on earth we are doing singing and putting fire in front of her.

Blessed that a big brother has another little sister to look up to him (although he doesn't think it's so great, right now at least).

Blessed for lots of birthdays and lots of cake that we'll consume times two, every February.

Who couldn't help but smile at that?