Small Success Thursday: Punctuality, Prayer, and Posts

What, me tantrum?

1.  I've been mostly on time to everything this week!  Mostly. There was a small incident in getting to Gabrielle's 2yr checkup on Monday but I'm going to blame that on a massive terrible-two tantrum because she DID.  NOT.  WANT SHOES!  Oh my, I forgot how fun this stage is!

2.  I have started making prayer a priority and have managed to pray a rosary, the liturgy of the hours, and read the daily Mass readings every morning this week. It REALLY makes a difference in my attitude and in how I approach my day. 

3.  I have managed to get a post out every day for 7 Posts in 7 Days. I almost forgot yesterday!

Thanks for reading!

I'm Linking Up!

Lego Challenges #4 and #5

We are continuing to enjoy the Lego Challenges from All Things Beautiful.

Lego Challenge #4 

Design a Creature

Michaela (6) made a giraffe, Rafael (4) made a two-headed monster car robot, and I made a dragon.

Lego Challenge #5 

Something that Moves

Rafael (4) the two on the left, Michaela (6) the two on the right.

This was an easy one. My kids naturally gravitate towards making cars whenever they get around legos, so of course that is what they thought of for this challenge!

Thanks for reading!

Desert Nature Walk

We have been trying to get out and enjoy the good weather we have had lately. Last week we took a lovely nature walk in the Sandia foothills with our Charlotte Mason group.

Taking a break from the sun in the little bit of shade we could find!

Our path was surrounded by several types of cacti so we took a couple pictures for us to further study at home.

Top I think is Tree Cholla (Cylindropuntia imbricata).
The bottom is Plains Prickly Pear (Opuntia Polyacantha).

Of course, the kids sketched the cacti in their journals. 

I am looking forward to spending more time outside now that the weather is warmer!

Thanks for reading!

What's in My Purse

How's that for a mom bag?

Kendra over at Catholic All Year has a cute little link up running today for those of us participating in 7 Posts in 7 Days.  Check it out if, like me, you want to be nosy and see the insides of other people's purses!

1.  Martha Stewart Planner -  (I did not pay that much!  Yay for sales!). I love this thing.  Seriously love.  It's weekly pages are divided into Morning/Afternoon/Evening and there are two blank blocks which I use for "To-do" and "Meals".  I still maintain an online calendar on my phone that is shared between my husband and I, but I really prefer solid paper to plan and schedule things.

2.  Crayons & Blank Notebook - You never know when you will need to distract an energetic toddler!

3.  Phone Wallet - I bought this at Target a couple of months ago and love it.  It holds my phone and cards and has a little wristlet.  If I need to run into the store quickly I just grab this out of my bag so that I don't have to drag my whole purse in!

4.  Water Bottle - Ever since I had kidney stones last September, I am never without a water bottle in my bag and in my cup holder in my car.  Plus a gallon jug in my car just in case!

5.  Diapers - Realistically I should have wipes in here too, but I ran out last week and have had to bum wipes off my fellow moms since that.  Adding that to my to-do list...

6.  Cough drops - I sing every other week at Mass and since my voice is often affected by seasonal allergies I keep these in my bag for emergencies.

7.  Gum - Nasty breath from quick cups of coffee or snack when I am out and about are treated quickly with a bit of gum.  I sometimes keep those little one time toothbrush pick thingies (sorry, not enough coffee yet today!), but seem to be out of them right now.

8.  Electronic stuff - I usually have my phone charger and earphones with me.  Phone charger because I chronically forget to charge at home (my other charger is near my bed), and earphones for no other reason than so that I know where they are when I am looking for them!

9.  Keys - Storing them immediately IN my purse when I get home has cut down majorly on the frantic - "Where are my keys?!?!?!  We are 10 minutes late, please, please, please, help me find my keys!" episodes.

10.  Chapstick - 2 words.  Desert air.

Missing conspicuously - Pile o' Junk that takes up about 40% of my purses space - misc. receipts and papers that I need to go through and file.

Thanks for reading!

Week in Review Feb. 23rd - Spring Semester Week #6

Enjoying the warm weather!

In My Life This Week

For some reason our weather is acting like it is Spring already!  We had a couple of windy days, but for the most part it has been beautiful outside - meaning WE have been outside quite a bit!  I need to go stock up on sunscreen!  We also had a joint birthday party for Michaela and Gabrielle that was so much fun!  I'll post photos soon.

In Our Homeschool

Phonics - Reading Practice  We finished the last of Section 1 last week and will just be reading for the next couple of weeks to practice the rules we learned!

Math - MEP Year 1 - Lessons 38-41
Grammar - First Language Lessons - Lessons 25-28
Handwriting - continuing to learn how to write vowels in cursive
Literature - Betsy Tacy
Rafael Language Arts - Language Lessons for Little Ones - Lessons 42-51
Rafael Math - MEP Reception - Lesson 15-18
Rafael Literature - Katy and the Big Snow, Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel
Geography - Australia - Are We There Yet?, Over in the Australia
History - Slavery/Beginning of Civil War - Jumping the Broom
Nature Study - Desert Nature Walk
Handicrafts - Lego Challenge # 5

Around Town

Monday - MOMS Club playgroup

Tuesday - Co-op Science Class

Wednesday - Weekly Homeschool Mass, Charlotte Mason Co-op Nature Walk

Thursday - Archery Class

Friday - Catholic Co-op

My Kitchen

This was not the best cooking week for me.  We ended up eating out a few times, so I hope to get back on track this week!

I'm Grateful For

Choir.  I am so blessed that I still get to participate in this ministry with 3 small children.  Which leads to being thankful for my husband who watched all 3 children during Mass while I am singing!

I'm Praying For

A dear friend's mother - who has suffered several strokes over the last couple of years and is barely hanging on.  Praying that the entire family feels peace over these last days, however long they last.

Things I'm Working On

Our back yard.  Still moving dirt.  Blech.

I'm Linking Up

Thanks for reading!

On Judging "That" Family at Church

You know the family.  The one whose kids are being loud, dropping books, and eating noisily.  The ones who you look at and think "I would NEVER let my children behave like that!"  This particular family at my church was a woman with 3 or 4 small children and a baby.

I remember one day after Mass she asked me "How do you do it?  How are your children so well behaved?"

I bit back a harsh "Because I discipline them" and simply shrugged, "oh, just lots and lots of practice!"

In the car I was smugly ranting about her children's misbehavior when my husband interrupted me.  He reminded me of the time I had to leave Mass in tears because Rafael's two-year old tantrums were more than I could handle.  I had forgotten about that.  The guilt in distracting others from Mass and the embarrassment of being unable to control a completely irrational toddler who was acting out with kicks and screams.

After my husbands gentle reminder I started seeing this mother in a new light.  I noticed the way she tried to engage them in Mass by explaining what was going on.  Before I had been so annoyed by the urgent quiet whispers.  Now I was inspired by her patience and obvious devotion.

I started to realize that just teaching my kids to behave during Mass wasn't enough.  Bribery with donuts and threats of punishment, while effective, weren't teaching my children to truly LOVE Jesus and to LOVE the celebration of the Eucharist.  I slowly started to incorporate her methods - quietly explaining certain parts of Mass when the children were getting fidgety or antsy.  Before I would bribe them with donuts or threaten them with punishments.  While effective for a time, blind obedience does not necessarily equate to them building their own spirituality and faith lives.

We developed a friendship of sorts.  We were always both so busy herding children that we never had time for anything other than a few short pleasantries after Mass.  But the exchanges were always genuine.  I didn't know her situation or why she came to Mass on her own.  One day she commented on my kids not having any toys or books and I shared that we had done it in the past and it always ended in the kids dropping books loudly or fighting over toys, or a million other tiny distractions.  The next week she came without her usual bag of distractions and her children behaved beautifully.

Today she came to Mass with her husband.  After Mass she gave me a huge hug and when she pulled away there were tears in her eyes.  Her husband had been deployed and was back for a short furlough to move them all to England that week.  We didn't even know each other, not really.  But God put us in each others lives, however briefly, for a reason.  I inspired her to expect more from her children and she inspired me to take the needle from my eye and instill a love for Jesus in my children.

I know I am not perfect; nobody is.  But we ALL get caught up in thinking we are doing one particular part of life "right" and that others are doing it "wrong".  This kind of thinking keeps us bogged down in inconsequential details when we really should be imitating Jesus and acting with kindness and compassion.  I pray I continue to keep this lesson close to my heart!

Thanks for reading!

Small Success Thursday - Rocks, Books, and Yelling

1.  We are clearing out weeds and rocks to put grass in our back yard.  I managed to convince the children that it would be FUN! to pick up small rocks that our sifter missed.  (Ok, maybe I bribed them with 10 cents a grocery bag full of rocks, but whatevs, cheap manual labor)!

2.  I ordered some books for Lent from Amazon!  2 whole weeks early!  This is big.  My picture is listed when you look up procrastinator in the dictionary.  Seriously, so proud of myself.

3.  I haven't yelled  much all week.  Being angry and impatient are two vices I have ALWAYS struggled to get under control and I am finally starting to see results.  The entire family is so much happier when I can calmly respond to minor frustrations and irritations than when I hold it in, or much worse, snap in anger.  St. Anne pray for me!

What are your small successes this week?