Kiddo Funny Moment...

Somehow...a lot of these star Noah....

I was doing school with Noah today and we were talking about God's creatures. Today was farm animals. We were discussing how each animal helped us. 

First, there was a chicken. Noah said, "They lay eggs we eat and we eat chicken."

Then, there was a cow. He said, "I know! They lay milk!"

LOL!!!

Recipe: Crockpot Apple Chop

Here is a recipe that I came up with. It is very simple and my family has pretty simple tastes, but it goes great with mashed potatoes and does all the work itself.

Ingredients:

1-Family sized package of variety pork chops (they are fairly inexpensive)

4 or 5-small or medium apples (any kind)

1/2-cup apple juice

Directions:

Lay pork chops in the bottom of a 5qt. or larger crockpot. Core and slice apples and throw them on top of the chops. Pour apple juice over all. Let cook on low for 6-8 hours. You will have to be aware that there are bones in the meat when you are done, but it is delicious over mashed potatoes. Mike does put Heinz 57 sauce over his, but the kids and I like it as stated.

Enjoy!

Funny Kiddo Moment

Yesterday as I was going over Religion with my 5 year-old, we were recalling that the day before we had been discussing Adam and Eve. I asked him if he remembered them and he nodded that he did.

Then I asked him, "Do you remember where they lived when they had obeyed God?"

He looked confused for a moment and pressed his fingers into his forehead, as if to help find the details. I despaired him remembering, when he suddenly shot up in his chair.

"I remember!" He shouted excitedly. I felt a rush of happiness that he could recall the name.

"It was the God Ranch!"

Sigh....(but I couldn't help doubling over with laughter!)

Church and Children

Church with a large family of little ones is a challenge for even a Saint. Every week, we do our best to attend Mass and keep the kids from erupting in the pew with anything from a loud noise, crying, talking, arguing, making body noises, or picking thy nasal cavity.
Those are just to name a few issues.
Mike and I have 'battled' getting to church for more than a decade and most of those years contain at least one child under 12 months. It has challenged us.....so much! 

The typical Sunday finds us winding our way to an open pew and filing in. I kneel down and do my best to focus on prayer by asking God for help in being a good wife, mother, sister, daughter, and thank Him for all the blessings he has given our family.

Suddenly, I feel a shove against my back and realize that Nick and Noah are laying on the pew and kicking their feet at one another. 

AARRGGHH!

Score:

Peaceful meditation: 0   

Church Challenges: 1

So, I jerk them apart, usually by an ear, and remind them that God is asking us to be especially with him in adoration at Mass. Sheepish, yet suspiciously suspicious looks are staring back at me and my first finger, which is always pointed toward someone. So, I tuck my finger back into its holster and turn around. For at least another 20 seconds...

"Dear Lord.....Noah, stop it........thank You for all that You have blessed us with.....put the books back, Nick............please help, God! Amen."

Mike and I have decided to break our family up into defensive zones of control. We alternate between one with Katie and the older 3(who are fairly obedient at mass) and the other gets the two boys. This has, for the most part, worked out to some degree. It means one of us is walking Katie at the back of church and the other appears to be in a referee/wrestling/disciplinarian role the entire time.

I know that there may be a day in the future when I am sitting in the pew and thanking God for all I have and asking Him to help me be a better mother, wife, grandmother....and I will look over and see a mother with her little children. 

And remember. 

And miss.

So, I am doing my best to love every day and to embrace the vocation of motherhood that He has blessed me with. To also remember that ultimately, God knows my heart and knows my struggles and that He is understanding of my situation currently. 

My Mass may be complex and prayers may be brief and in between a small skirmish, but He knows me and loves me and that helps comfort me during church when I seem to need Him so much.

A Kiddo Funny Moment...

My birthday boy...Today!...has the flu. He has been ill for three days and I gave him something to drink when he asked last night.

"What is it?" He peered at the orange liquid with suspicion.

"Gatorade," I replied. "It will make you feel better."

He drank it and later called to me a request.

"Mom," he yelled. "Can I have some more of that alligator juice?!"

Too funny!

Oh...The Good 'Ol Days of Illness...

Let me say this for starters. 

For some reason, peppermint comforts me. I like the sweet and bitingly cool and refreshing flavor and scent of it. It comforts, soothes, and relaxes me.

This past two weeks have been filled with days and nights of fevers, emesis buckets, Kleenex, baths, showers for croup then followed by 5 minutes in my bathrobe outside in -5 degree temps to help 'shock' the bronchial tubes, dripping noses, pink eye, headaches, bleach, crying miserable kids, and diarrhea.

Did I leave anything out??

For some reason, my family likes to take illness in children to the heights that only a death-defying ride at Six Flags can provide. We don't just get one illness, we get them all at the same time in some wild round robin fashion where varying viral illnesses and bacteria jockey for their rightful place as emperor for a day...before moving on to the next unsuspecting tot. Then we will exchange that virus for this bacteria between siblings so at least everyone has one...dare I say three illnesses at the same time. I mean...we are teaching them to share.

Sigh...

So, is it any wonder that this drooling sleep-deprived dishrag of a woman is sitting here with Peppermint spritz body perfume sprayed on, drinking peppermint tea, and eating candy canes and peppermint Hershey Kisses?

Not to this girl, folks.

I'm just trying to hold on to sanity...and a box of Kleenex. 

Life in Perspecive

I am jumping in here with a 'life in perspective' moment. We do tend to, as humans, place too much weight on some things and not enough on other more important things in our lives. A saying that I cannot remember the origins of comes to mind. The saying states that if you hold a pebble right up near your eye, the eye must focus entirely on it and is unable to proper see much else. Stretch your arm out and hold the pebble as far away as you can. Only then is the pebble in its proper perspective and you are able to place that which you were so focused on away from consuming you and into a more manageable place and where it should be in relation to your life.

To expand upon our humanity, please visit this site, which will only emphasize where we really are to our universe. But, isn't it wonderful how special and important we are, even then!

www.kiroastro.com/writings/perspective