ONE: 
The girls finally got to paint! (Dad took the boys to a local auction last Saturday morning, so I wasn't afraid of an overwhelming mess). They painted "
The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge" Next, we mixed up some green and brown because they wanted to paint their play fort.
I have been discovering books that are based on real places. There really is a
little red lighthouse and a great gray bridge in New York! We also discovered that the places in Boston that were featured in
Make Way For Ducklings, are real, too. We went to a
medeival German town in
Once Upon a Dinkelsbuhl and flew across the English Channel with
Louis Bleriot in
The Glorious Flight. Teresa thinks it's great that these places are real, but she doesn't just want to look at them on the computer. She wants to go see them!) Maybe a
Little House on the Prairie trip next summer. Do you have a favorite "real" book?
TWO:If you let your kids watch
The Swan Princess be prepared for them to pick up on a key phrase* from
THIS SONG and sing that when it's time to do chores rather than
THIS ONE or
THIS ONE.
*the key phrase in "This is My Idea" is what the boy and girl sing alternately and then in chorus: "This isn't my idea...this isn't my idea...this isn't my idea of fun." NOT what I want the kids singing during clean-up time
THREE:
Adam has been reading up on and collecting (and making) beer and wine brewing supplies for the past year or so. He finally started his first batch of something:
Mead. He also started his first batch of beer this weekend with a friend/co-worker. It is a wheat beer that is supposed to be similar to Blue Moon's Belgian White. I've requested that his next batch be something that tastes like the Empyrean Brewing Co.'s Oatmeal Stout. Michaela should be born by then...
FOUR: Adam took the kids with him on Saturday so I could visit
Jennie and do some shopping. I found lots of cute NB winter clothes for Michaela and I think that I should have everything I need for her, now. I also bought a few new footed pjs for Anthony and winter coats for the girls at
Once Upon a Child. I'm glad I didn't have the kids because it is one of those stores you have to be careful in. One cute sleeper will be $2.50 and the next one that is the exact same style and brand will be $4.50.
Speaking of shopping carefully, I had a lovely time browsing at
Adoremus Books . I could have spent a LOT of money, there, but kept it under $50...with a $10 off coupon. I also got to pick out a free prayer coin and was especially drawn to
this one. Two new books that I'm excited to have are Mary Reed Newland's
The Year and Our Children and Hubert van Zeller's
Holiness for Housewives. Have you read this book?
The girls want to learn how to play the piano, so I stopped at a few music stores. I learned with
Bastien's Piano Basics but instead of using my Primer, which I started with in 3rd grade, I bought Piano for Young Beginners Primers A and B. It was kind of fun to browse through a music store again.
While I was in town, I decided to pop into Michaels to get some things for the kids to make plaques to hold their Rosaries (I was inspired/reminded by the
Wooden Rosary Holder Kit's I had seen at Adoremus Books.) For less than $4/kid, rather than $7.50, everyone will have their own. It will be a Sunday afternoon craft project and they should be ready by
October, the month of the Rosary. I also found a cute
Mary Engelbreit calendar for our school room and when I was done there, I walked over to Schlotzky's to enjoy a (Medium) Original Deluxe. It was 956 calories, but YUM!
FIVE:When I was working with the girls on something last week, Anthony asked if he could go outside to get the truck he'd left out yesterday. I told him yes and Stephen said, "Me go too, okay?" with a tilt of the head and his very serious look. I let him go, but apparently he didn't. Instead, he took a Sharpie *gasp* from Daddy's drawer and did some decorating downstairs:
slip-covered couch and cushion
coffee table and daddy's chair
shoe shelf and, of course, himself.
Anyone know of a magic trick to get permanent marker out of upholstery or finished wood?
SIX: I read this quote by Blessed Mother Teresa at the bottom of a forwarded email.
"The success of love is in the loving - it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done." I've never heard that one before.
SEVEN: Some friends came over for dinner on Sunday night. Shannon is due about a week after me and Catherine asked, "Are you going to have a baby, too?" Shannon affirmed this and Catherine observed, "Your baby is bigger than ours." We both laughed. My babies have all been small (<7lbs) and I never look as big as I feel. Another mother whom I met up with recently, due in January, observed that she is already bigger than me, as well...as I'm sure most of the expectant moms I know are or soon will be.
A PICTURE THOUGHT I AM SHARING:
(I hope no one is offended by this...you're all moms and things like this happen all the time in your house too, right?) Stephen is spending much more time here lately. He has woken up dry and kept his training pants dry for a few days, now! I wasn't really expecting it, so I haven't been counting...but it looks like Stephen will be out of diapers by the time Michaela is born!
1) DON'T PANIC. "Don't Panic is a phrase written on the cover of the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The novel explains that this was partly because the device "looked insanely complicated" to operate, and partly to keep intergalactic travelers from, well, panicking. It is said that despite its many glaring (and occasionally fatal) inaccuracies, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy itself has outsold the Encyclopedia Galactica because it is slightly cheaper, and because it has the words "Don't Panic" in large, friendly letters on the cover." (from Wikipedia)
2) Know Where Your Towel Is. Although the movie does not explain the importance of the towel, Ford makes it clear to Arthur that he should always have his towel with him: "If you want to survive out here, you've got to know where your towel is." You can read about the importance of knowing where your towel is from the books here. There is also a link to the DON'T PANIC towel shop. Apparently The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in Europe could be compared to Star Wars in America...but I don't have anything from Star Wars stuck in my head.
Adam has been reading up on and collecting (and making) beer and wine brewing supplies for the past year or so. He finally started his first batch of something: Mead. He also started his first batch of beer this weekend with a friend/co-worker. It is a wheat beer that is supposed to be similar to Blue Moon's Belgian White. I've requested that his next batch be something that tastes like the Empyrean Brewing Co.'s Oatmeal Stout. Michaela should be born by then... 
(I hope no one is offended by this...you're all moms and things like this happen all the time in your house too, right?) Stephen is spending much more time here lately. He has woken up dry and kept his training pants dry for a few days, now! I wasn't really expecting it, so I haven't been counting...but it looks like Stephen will be out of diapers by the time Michaela is born!
Adam looked at me, puzzled, until he remembered that Junior Asparagus starred as the Good Samaritan in the "Tale of Two Cities" on "Are You My Neighbor?" I guess that means that she gets it.
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