A Snapshot

What's at the top of my to-do list?
--Find a veil for Abby's First Communion/ purchase stockings as well
--Prepare for Children's Liturgy that's this Sunday
--Catechist Seminar Saturday morning
--Find babysitter for Blue and Gold banquet this Saturday night (Cub scout awards dinner)
--Make a dinner or send gift card for friend who broke her arm and is a mother to SEVEN!!

What have I accomplished? Everything I accomplished was in preparation for that dinner party! --Furnished Dining Room!
--Got the Family room and Dining room carpets cleaned
--Re-upholstered a living room chair (and replaced the cushion) which had a tear in the seat! I kept putting this off...all it took was a dinner party!!
--Bought new knives since I swear I damaged some nerves cutting the Beef Wellington with a dull knife.
--Made reservations for a campground in Door County called Tranquil Timbers for our summer trip. The reservations were made for my parents, my sister's family and us. I'm really looking forward to it.
--I called our local community center for swim lessons for Sam and Abby. I need to make another call to complete the registration.
--Signed up Ben for preschool next year. I got afternoons instead of mornings...but I think this may work better for me anyway.

What's bugging me?
--I need to exercise. Ted's parents gave us their old treadmill. The thought keeps going through my head that Ted and I need to really make an effort and schedule exercise. I think it would work best after dinner. We each get a turn for thirty minutes. I've been using the kids as an excuse...but I'm thinking if I did it when Ted got home, it could work. I put on a pair of normally snug pants the other day that are now to the point of "uncomfortable". In my mirror I could see shadows of cottage cheese on my thighs. I need to exercise. I think it will give me more energy too.
--Mary's latest craze of walking around with a capless marker. She loves doodling in her notepad. I don't want to take it away because it makes her SO HAPPY. But I find myself cringing as she goes near my couch, bed or my books. I had to take it away from her when she wanted to jump on my bed and you would think I took away her lifeline! She ended up finding another marker to walk around with. They are washable markers...but still.
--Mary will not let me blog without sitting in my lap, with my arms stretched around her to reach the keyboard. She is with me right now as I type. And I have purple marks all over my arms from the marker she is wielding.
--Ben has decided to join me and Mary in the shower every morning so I now have a fuller shower. I guess I can be grateful my shower is big enough for a preschooler, a toddler and toys. It's quite the scene.
--I haven't increased my prayer time like I thought I would this Lent.

What's my latest obsession?


I've been thinking about soup. It all started with left over Gruyere cheese from the Beef Wellington dinner and I wanted to think of a good way to use it. Well, French Onion soup is topped with gruyere cheese. The problem is, I don't have those crocks to make it with. The soup can be made in a regular pot, but then you have to bake the cheese on top in little crocks that can go in the oven. I'm not going to rush out and buy crocks...but I don't want to let this keep me from making French Onion Soup! Another soup I'm dying to make is Baked Potato Soup. I have the recipe, I just need to make a meal plan and buy the ingredients. If I take out the bacon, both soups are great Lenten meals for Friday.
--This interest in cooking again. I've been watching the Food Network again (bits and pieces). I want to record a show but I don't know which one.

What's been making me happy?
--My lunch out with Ted yesterday
--Our date night last weekend when we saw the movie "Music and Lyrics"
--Warmer weather
--Looking forward to swim lessons and swim team for the kids. I went to my niece's swim practice last night and saw how proud she was and how much she enjoyed it.
--My Mom's Day Out. Totally. Love it. I will miss having one day free next year. Ben will be in half day preschool and I will keep Mary at home because they won't overlap much and would create more running around then it's worth. I think she'll be easier to run errands next year anyway.
--Ted recently received some great compliments from the VP in his department and the Regional VP at AT&T They both indicated see his potential for growth in the company. I'm so happy he has found such a great job!!
--We got our cable switched to the satellite company that partners with AT&T. Now we have a new DVR that allows us to use it on TWO TV's! We put the extra one in our bedroom. Now I can watch recorded shows while I fold laundry!

"Then I Offer You My Tiny Fish..."

"I write just as the ideas come into my head. I sit, as it were, and cast my fishing line at random into the little stream flowing through my heart. Then I offer you my tiny fish just caught as they are." St. Therese of Lisieux

I love this line from the book "The Story of a Soul". It is totally how this blog is written. I don't go to certain streams for the right fish, I catch them, right in my own little stream...as they are. Sometimes I think I look back and want to throw those fish that were caught, back into the stream while I search for better ones. But no, the fish you see are the ones you see for the moment...caught in whatever state I find it. There is no doctoring up. It's not really polished, but it is real. Sometimes I think before I write, "What do I have to say?" For some reason, when I start typing, it starts coming out. When I'm really stuck, I do "A Snapshot". That's why I started those. So I could get a starting point for my brain to thinking.

Just yesterday, my brother-in-law (a Youth Minister), e-mailed a bunch of people asking for quotes on "Prayer". He already had some and wanted to make sure he wasn't missing any important ones. Give me an assignment and I will come through! I love the topic of prayer. I immediately started pouring into my Mother Teresa and St. Therese books. I thought I would share with you what I gave him.

Since I love Mother Theresa…here are some to choose from that came from her book “No Greater Love”:

“We want so much to pray properly and then we fail. We get discouraged and give up. If you want to pray better, you must pray more. God allows the failure but He does not want the discouragement. He wants us to be more childlike, more humble, more grateful on prayer, to remember we all belong to the mystical body of Christ, which is praying always.”

“Our prayers should be burning words coming fourth from the furnace of hearts filled with love. In your prayers, speak to God with great reverence and confidence. Do not drag behind or run ahead; do not shout or keep silent, but devoutly, with great sweetness, with natural simplicity, without any affection offer your praise to God with the whole heart and soul.”

“Often a deep and fervent look at Christ is the best prayer: I look at Him and He looks at me.”

“In the silence of the heart God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will know that you are nothing. It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself.”


And my other favorite….St Therese of Lisieux from her autobiography, “The Story of a Soul”:

“For me, prayer means launching out of the heart toward God; a cry of grateful love from the crest of joy or the trough of despair; it is the despair; it is a vast, supernatural force that opens out my heart, and binds me close to Jesus.”

“The power of prayer is really tremendous. It makes one like a queen who can approach the king at any time and get whatever she asks for. To be sure of an answer, there is no need to recite from a book a formula composed for the occasion. If there were, I should have to be pitied.”

“Though I’m quite unworthy, I love to say the Divine Office every day, but apart from that I cannot bring myself to hunt through books for beautiful prayers. There are so many of them that I get a headache. Besides, each prayer seems lovelier than the next. I cannot say them all and do not know which to choose, I behave like children who cannot read: I tell God very simply what I want and He always understands. For me, prayer is an upward leap of the heart, an untroubled glance towards heaven, a cry of gratitude and love which I utter from the depths of sorrow as well as from the heights of joy. It has a supernatural grandeur which expands the soul and unites it with God. I say an Our Father or a Hail Mary when I feel so spiritually barren that I cannot summon up a single worthwhile thought. These two prayers fill me with rapture and feed and satisfy my soul.”

Come Tour My House...Quick Before It's Messy Again!!

Sometimes I make myself laugh. When I had my house all clean for the dinner party last weekend and the Ted was taking the kids to my parents...I was there all alone. Do you know how rare that is? For one, every room in my house being clean at the same time...and two, I was alone in the said clean house. Rare, I tell you. So what do I do? Well first, I poured myself a glass of wine. Then, I grabbed my camera and started snapping away. When else will my house be this clean? Maybe for Abby's First Communion. But, I'm very conditioned to cleaning up toys, only to have them dumped again. Washing dishes, to make room for more dirty dishes. Doing laundry, only to have more clothes be dirtied. Cleaning a carpet, only to have more urine, grape jelly and play doh stain it again. If I'm sounding bitter, I'm not trying to. It's just the cycle of life. And lately I'm pretty grateful for all the life surrounding me right now. All those things mean, I am surrounded by people and I'm not lonely!
These first two pictures are of Abby and Mary's room. The first is a view from the bedroom door if you were to look right. That bedspread I bought for Abby at TJ Maxx or Marshall's, and can't seem to buy another one for Mary. They only had one at the time, but the lady assured me they get them all the time. I haven't found it since. It is a "That's Me" brand and it's Sophia Rose pattern. I'm kinda a "matchy matchy" girl and it might drive me a bit crazy not to have the girls quilts match. I hate to buck up and get the whole quilt bundle (with more things than I want) on the internet. The other option is to buy two more quilts that match. This one was only about $30.

As you see, the new white closet doors and trim were put up in January. I also need to get a dresser that matches the chest of drawers because Abby has outgrown it. There is a little white desk in the corner that my sister nabbed at a garage sale. The curtains are valentine table cloths (bought post season three years ago) split in two to make panels and hung on clip rings.



The next two pictures are of my room. To the left of the guitar is a hallway that has shelving and our closets and it leads to the master bath. I no longer like the golden oak. I'd prefer a dark mahogany. But what do you do? You can't waste good furniture! Both my parents and in-laws have had the same bedroom furniture since they've been married! We're talking a good 40+ years for both of them! The entertainment center was given to us by our old neighbors. It matches perfectly and helps us fill that big wall. On the opposite wall (adjacent to the bed) is my dresser and Ted's chest of drawers.

These next two are of our breakfast room. The first one isn't a great picture since it was taken at dusk. The seat closest to the wall is where I sit to blog on my laptop. Of course, with guests coming over, we stored the laptop away. After that is the kitchen (to the right of the breakfast room). I'm tellin' ya...my counters never look like that. To the right of the fridge is a doorway that leads to the Family Room. This view is from the doorway. The next picture is from the fireplace. I almost don't recognize it because there are no toys on the floor and the carpets are cleaned!

And last, is our living room. I didn't post the dining room since I showed it on the last post. And Ben's room was also posted previously. I hope you enjoyed our little tour. Thank you for coming to see my house!!

My Beef Wellington Dinner Party

I'm finally back! Sorry. Sometimes it just takes all of your mental and physical energy to plan for an event. I was pretty consumed for two weeks and now the event is over and I'm back. It all started with my idea to host the next dinner party for our college dinner group. We had been in our new house for three years and never hosted our dinner party group here! Partially because I never knew what we would do with the kids. In those three years, I was mostly nursing and busy with two babies and didn't want to give anyone too much work by leaving them there. Now the little ones are a little older and easier and we decided it was finally time! We asked my parents to take the kids during the dinner portion and would pick them up in time for bed.

When we decided to host, I asked Ted if we could FINALLY buy furniture for our dining room. He agreed it was a good time to buy, now that he had a job and we had paid off the basement. So three weeks before our dinner party, we went shopping for furniture. I might have blogged about it, but in case I didn't, it was a mad rush from store to store with four kids in the car. Ted would pull up to a store, I would dart in and decide if there was anything I liked and I would report back to Ted in the car. It was a crazy day...but I knew what I wanted. Something simple. Sometimes that's hard to find. Are last stop was Macy's, where we knew we had seen a set we liked a couple of weeks earlier, while shopping at the mall. We liked it even more this time around since we had done all our homework before hand. That day we purchased a dining room table, 8 chairs and a china cabinet.

The Friday before we had our dinner party, we had our family room and dining room carpets cleaned. The furniture was delivered the same day (we had to store the pieces in the living room until the carpet dried). Now for decor! I knew right away that the window needed curtains. Before it looked fine without them, but now I need something to balance the china cabinet on the opposite wall. I was on a mission! That same Friday night I ran to JC Penney's and found some panels in the right shade of red that I was looking for (burnt red). I bought two pairs, one for the living room too! I had to wait until Wednesday to get the dining room ones because they had to be ordered through the catalog. I needed a longer length for our sunk in dining room.

The rest of the week was busy with purchasing a new pepper mill and salt shaker, steak knives (we only had 6), water glasses, wine glasses and art work for a big, blank wall. We already had plates that I had collected when I discovered the beauty of cranberry toile. I picked them up in different patterns and liked the idea of mix and match and not having them all in one print. There were plenty of things I borrowed too: a table cloth, a glass water pitcher, a meat thermometer and a pastry brush.

It was so exciting to set my table! I've never done a formal table before! I've never used my new dinner plates! It was bigger to me than the climax of the meal. My dining room was finished! It had a personality now. I didn't realize how much this would complete the house and complete me. Having everyone over and using the room was going to be the best part.

These dinner parties range from casual to formal (but rarely formal in attire). We've done it all: dinner theatre, Oscar parties, theme parties, appetizer nights, pizza nights, etc. Anything goes. Our dinner party friends started as a group of five couples with no kids. In about 12 years, we've weathered a divorce, a death of a spouse, added a couple, and 16 children. It's continued to be an "adults only" affair where we can eat, drink, talk and laugh. We forget about the worries of the world for about 5 hours. We love this group. I wanted to give them something special. I decided to make a Beef Wellington that I had eaten over the holidays at a friends...and loved it!! I had never made a Beef Wellington, but I knew that eating one was heavenly! This recipe is a beef tenderloin, covered in a mushroom/wine/gruyere cheese mixture, baked in a puff pastry and covered with a mushroom/wine sauce that is out of this world.

I wanted to make sure we bought even meat because we were hosting 12 people. Since the divorced friend broke up with the guy she was dating, we ended up having 11 people. I bought a 9 pound beef tenderloin, that was trimmed down to 7 1/2 pounds and then cut in half. I wanted to make sure I had enough, but it was too much. I probably could have gotten away with the 7 pounder that I saw, but oh well.

Ted and I prepared for the party all day. When the guests came, it was time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor. And we did! For me, when everyone was there, it was not about my house, not about my new dining room, not about my place settings or new curtains...it was about using it all to entertain them and let them know their importance to us. I love entertaining to show people how much we love them and want them to have a great time at our home. That's what it's all about.

A Snapshot

What's at the top of my to-do list?
--Prepare for new Dining Room furniture! It's being delivered on Friday. I'd like to have some idea on how to decorate the room before my dinner party in a week and a half. Did I just say a week and a half?? YIKES!!
--Get the Dining Room and Family Room carpets cleaned.
--Start working on the PTO album. We've been taking pictures at all of our events so we can make an album for the school. It will be available at our two big meetings a year and Back to School night, for people to browse through. We are also keeping all the pictures digitally, so we can have a slide showing while people are in the long line at the Back to School night.

What have I accomplished?
--On my Mom's Day Out day, I cleaned the house and caught up on laundry instead of going "out". It felt so good. It was worth it.
--Made a schedule for the liturgical year next year for Children's Liturgy. I found a website that gave me next year's liturgical calendar. All I have to do is plug in the volunteers. It already has the season, the color and the dates on it. I know this is way in advance but I saved it to use later. I like doing things while I'm motivated and thinking about it.
--Got Abby's dress for First Communion. My friend had two to choose from that she bought for bargain prices last year. One of them doesn't fit her daughter, so I get it! I think it was only $15.
--Bought treat bag items for three kids at "Life's a Party". I got those rubber bracelets in pink and red for Abby's class (30!), and some for Mary's class. I got Valentine stickers for Ben's class.
--Registered Ben for preschool next year. I didn't register as soon as I could have so the morning classes are FULL! I took afternoon. It runs M,W,F 12:30-3:00. It's right next door to the older kids grade school so pick up will be interesting because they both let out at the same time. Hmmm...

What's bugging me?
--It's not really bugging me, but I'm pondering how to nicely put 10 people at a table that fits 8. I think I'm going to bring up my corner nook table from downstairs and add it to the end of my new table. I don't know how it will work height-wise. And then I'm thinking...do I put a table cloth over the whole thing? How do I find a table cloth long enough? Do I make it myself? Do I put two together and do each table separately? Hmmmm...Maybe I just stick two people at each end and 4 on each side. My table is 44 inches wide. It could work.
--I missed my scheduled Children's Liturgy time this past Sunday. My last one was Dec 17, so I just thought it was one to two weeks later. I should have double checked my schedule. Duh! It was so embarrassing, the priest called out for the Children's Liturgist and no one came. The church was FULL of families because it was Boy Scout Sunday. He said, "UH OH". When no one came up. I thought...could it be MY turn?? Later, me and some other liturgists discovered it was my turn. I sent out an apology to the group via e-mail. It was utterly humiliating. I think I'm finally starting to forgive myself.
--Ben and Mary are taking scissors to my fake plants! NO! They WON'T grow back!

What's my latest obsession?
--I've been thinking about how to decorate my Dining Room. I think one big piece of artwork is in order. But where do I go from there? I know...I should just wait until the furniture comes in.
--The Food network channel. I spent so much time researching my Beef Wellington, I was wishing I knew more about cooking. I'm thinking about putting one of the shows on my record list next to Oprah. Then I can decide when I have time to watch them instead of being subject to their scheduling. Which show do I record? Paula Dean? That pretty, Italian girl?, the half home-made/half store bought lady? You can tell I'm bad at names. And then there's Rachel Ray. Which one?? You guys have a lot of questions to answer.

What's been making me happy?
--I'm finally getting new Dining Room furniture. After three years of living with an empty room. I can't believe it. I'm so excited.
--Ted eluded that maybe next year we can replace some of our flooring. That's why I avoided cleaning the carpet. But it's so affordable to do, it's worth getting them cleaned to tie me over.
--Mary is through (temporarily) that horribly crabby stage she was going through last week. Thank God. Things have been pretty good this week.

A Word Aptly Spoken...

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver" Proverbs 25:11

I wish this was on my scripture calendar yesterday. I could have used that bit of wisdom. Last night I just felt tired and frustrated at what little time I have for myself. I unleashed all my frustration with Ted as I expressed my unhappiness with the piles and piles of laundry, the mess in the basement, and that the last 30 minutes of my relaxation of the evening was spent straightening because I had just remembered baby Leah would be coming over today and I would need to get up at 6am to be ready for her (she's dropped off at 6:15am). And of course, Ted is leaving today for a weekend retreat with his Men's Group.

Do you think he needed to hear all that before leaving? No. Does everyone have a right to vent? Sure. But did I communicate all of this in any time for him to do anything about it? No. Last night was crazy. I had to shop for Ted's groceries for the weekend and then come home and help him make the potatoes. Luckily, I cooked the roast beef all day yesterday. But still, by the time you get everyone in bed (9:15pm) and then try to eek out 45 minutes before you realize the house is a mess and a baby will be arriving in 8 hours. We quickly straightened it up before flopping into bed. And then we are supposed to spend quality time together. Ted spent his time listening to me complain. I would say it was FAR from "apples of gold in settings of silver".

This morning after Leah was dropped off and she was happily playing in her stationary walker, I remembered friends who had lost a baby and wanted to send her a note. I poured my heart into this note since I have lost two of my own. They lost theirs at 3 months. He was two inches long. This is what I said:

"At first, when you experience a tragedy, it feels like it's all about the tragedy, but then God showers you with His love through others...and suddenly, you feel blessed. I'm so sorry you had to experience the greatest tragedy of all--the loss of a child. It's hard to fathom the fullness of the loss of a baby so young. I remember trying to sit and take it all in. It's hard to grieve over a life you'll never know--one you never got to truly experience. But little Christopher gave you gifts before he left: 1) You got to know his sex--What a gift to name him! 2) You got to see him and hold him--Another blessing! 3) Your kids will always remember baby Christopher (Abby still talks about Maggie and April. They'll always be her sisters, even though she never saw them) 4) You have an angel in heaven. And 5) God has shown you the love and compassion of your friends and family. Christopher came bearing gifts and they'll stay in your heart forever, even though you have very few memories to go off of. May God's loving care surround you and envelope you and give you peace at this time."

Nobody really know the words this family needs to hear at this time. Many people struggle over the right thing to say. I try not to shove the "bright side" in their faces at this time. I try to share in their grief as much as I can. After I wrote the note and put it in the mailbox, Ted let me take a shower before he left for work and his retreat. I always read my calendar before I take my shower. The words of Proverbs struck me. The stark difference between my words last night and my words this morning stood clearly before me. I couldn't believe how they both can come out of the same mouth. That God can use my tongue for compassion and reassurance...and I can use it to express so much resentment. This morning I was able to apologize to Ted before he left. He hugged me and kissed me and told me he understood...and even told me he understood how it felt to be shopping and cooking instead of relaxing at home together before his retreat. He's a good man. He just gave me his own "apples of gold".