What Margaret May Not Tell You

If you are a Minnesota blogger, you KNOW Margaret. Many of you beyond this great state KNOW Margaret. And if you don't, well, you've gotta get to KNOW Margaret.

She's a hoot! She writes with wit and humor, grace and honesty, faith and substance. If I ever need a laugh, in comes Margaret. If I need encouragement, in pops Margaret. Spiritual growth? Yup, there's Margaret. I'll admit it, I eagerly await for Minnesota Mom to come up in my Google Reader. She's a faithful friend, always there when you need her.

Well, image my sheer delight when I stumbled upon something last week. As I was looking for the latest updates on the Minnesota Catholic Home Education Conference, I grinned as I read Margaret's name. With few details at that point, I sent Miss Margaret an email telling her that I knew her little 'secret' and could not wait to hear her speak. She replied, sharing how truly honored she was to have been invited. And then she even gave me a sneak peek at her two talks. You wanna hear them?


The first: "Grace for the Baking: A Humerous Look at How to Turn Those Daily To-Dos Into Teaching Moments"

The second: "Keeping Your Eyes on Your Own Work: Other Homeschoolers do it Differently. It's okay to be okay with that and by the grace of God, you can"



Don't they sound wonderful? I know that with all of her knowledge she's got to share and her humor sprinkled in there, Margaret's going to have us feeling full and satisfied after she speaks.

There are a number of superb speakers on tap for that Saturday in May and I cannot wait to listen and be refreshed and rejuvenated in our Catholic homeschooling adventure.

Just as I wait for her in Reader, I'll be waiting patiently IRL to see her at the end of May, she is Margaret In Minnesota after all.



*Editor's Note: This is a shameless plug for a fellow blogger. No goods were exchanged for this promotion. :)

Wordless Wednesday

From My Four-Year-Old

On Jonah's mind today:

"When God made everything, He had to take a rest. It was A LOT of work to make all that STUFF!"

"When He was making everything and He made the pretty rainbow with all of the colors, then he took all of those colors and made crayons. Then He took all of them to the store before it was even opened, so that people could buy them."

Try It, You'll Like It

Since this post last week, my children and I have been enjoying some very simple and tasty snacks. Thank you for your comments and advice!

I've also found that due to the links you provided, I've also felt rejuvenated in the kitchen. Ready for new recipes and venturing away from those oh-so-popular Midwestern hotdishes. They didn't grace our table super-often, but often enough when I was stuck in a culinary rut.

Here are a few new places to try when you need some inspiration:

America's Test Kitchen
Food Network
Kraft Foods Recipes
My Kitchen Cafe
Recipezaar
OrgJunkie

Thanks to all of the above links, this week I'm planning on adding Hearty Pasta Tomato Soup, Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli, Fun Taco Cups and Slow-Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken to our menu.

Hopefully all of the links are helpful for the next time you are stuck when your kids ask, "What's for dinner?"

If you try none of these links, might I HIGHLY suggest trying this one: Peanut Butter Crunch Snack Balls. This recipe did not disappoint! Good snack that the whole family will enjoy and it's a super easy, freezer pleaser too!

Love This Author

I find myself regularly (and especially during the winter months) reaching for a good book. Admittedly, sometimes it's awfully tough to find an author who takes the moral high-road and sticks to just good 'ol fashion, well written fiction. You know, something that doesn't involve innuendos, obscenities or other moral indiscretions.

I enjoy reading and always have since my childhood. Although my quiet reading times are fewer and far between since motherhood, I like my time to be used wisely. I want a page-turner, something that I want to come back to enjoy.

I have found that the author, Richard Paul Evans, always delivers. His writing appeals to my tastes and each of his novels inspires and gives me that 'feel-good' that I need after a busy day at home. I have been a loyal follower of his and eagerly anticipate each of his releases.

I received his latest, The Christmas List, as a gift and while the four of us spent a weekend sick with the flu it allowed me extra time to read it. Again, Mr. Evans did not disappoint. After his obituary is mistakenly printed in the local newspaper, James Kier realizes how many people wished he were gone and that others' perceptions of his life was not at all what he expected. He realizes that he hurt many people in his life all out of his pursuit of money and prestige. He decides to try and make amends to a list of people who he mislead and disregarded while merely 'taking care of business' and rising to fame.

This book was a reminder of the need for amends and forgiveness while journeying through life and that the decisions we make affect so many different lives.

I highly encourage giving his novels a try. I'm sure you can find a whole treasure trove of them at your local library.



How about you? What do you enjoy reading? Who is your favorite author?

Simply Put, Good Book

Have you read Mitch Albom's latest, Have A Little Faith? I have been an on-and-off reader of Mitch's books over the last several years. Mitch has authored such books as Tuesdays with Morrie, The Five People You Meet In Heaven and For One More Day, all of which I have read.

His books are pretty simple reading and this mommy's brain appreciates that. As much as I try, I just can't get into those thick, heavy, mind-numbing, overly intellectual books. Sorry, just not me. I enjoy my simplistic nonfiction, thank you.

In Have A Little Faith, I was once again left with thought provoking intrigue as I continued through the book. It is the story of an eight year journey that the author shared with two very different men of different faiths and communities. A Rabbi and a reformed Christian Pastor. An African-American and a white man.

Asked by his childhood Rabbi to perform his eulogy when the time comes, the author begins spending a lot of time with the man to understand him better in order to perform the task laid before him. At the same time, near his current home, Mitch becomes involved with a Detroit pastor who ministers to the poor and homeless.

During the book as America begins to struggle, he finds that many are turning to their faith and beliefs. Although there are many differences in these two men and the faith they believe in and profess, Albom recognizes some of the unities that lie between them. In the end, he finally understands that what the men have been teaching him throughout this process is what he knew (and had forgotten) all along:

Believing in something much bigger than yourself brings profound comfort to those who simply, have a little faith.

I'd highly encourage this book if you are searching for an easy, quick-read and perhaps are looking for a small reminder of the strength and hope found in Faith.

Fun(ny) Competition

Since the Christmas addition of our newest family member, Wii, we have been enjoying lots of time in our living room (it is the dead of winter, after all). Using Christmas money I received, we added it's friend, the Balance Board, as well.

We've been sure to set limits and keep all things in healthy moderation. I'd read for months many other bloggers who had this in their home and we took a long hard look at every aspect of it before considering the purchase. But seriously, can I tell you how much we enjoy Wii? I've even incorporated it as part of the kids exercise/physical education during school. The fact that using the Wii Fit Plus provides stretching and balancing exercises that even my little ones can try, is an added bonus. At first, we enjoyed the Sports games and the Carnival Games a lot. But since adding the Board, it's all about the KungFu, Obstacle Course, Running and Hoola Hooping to name a few of the favorites. Did I mention that mommy can even do her exercising on here?

This week, the kids noticed that daddy gets to use the Wii the least due to him being gone all day. It showed when they opened up the Wii Plaza and we all saw that although our little Mii's were full of energy and jumping up and down, daddy's was drooping and sleeping. We felt bad and realized that we needed to get Reed's Mii in tip-top shape again.

And so, last night began a new family time tradition, Wii Wednesday!! This way, we'll be sure to set aside some time for family fun and competition. It proved to be just that. Lily has been declared All-Time-Wii-Coach (or shall we say, 'boss'). She stood there alongside each of us on a number of the games and told us when to extend, run, walk and watch out! She's a Pro, that one. Of course, you couldn't have this type of competition without laughing. Albeit, sometimes laughing AT someone in this case. It's a hoot when you sit back and watch others doing some of this stuff! And sometimes, your kids think the way you do a certain activity looks so funny that they call you Mr. Tumnus (you know, from Chronicles of Narnia), because when you 'run' through the Obstacle Course your feet on the Board sound a lot like the way his hooves sound when he's stomping the snow off of them!



That's okay. It's all in good humor and in the name of fun-filled family time.