caught!

Here is the mug shot..

The oven is preheating for banana muffins for teatime. As I am preparing to gather ingredients, I realize that I forgot to eat. The children had cereal, fruit and bagels since they have woke today, while I was.. well, busy multi-tasking. I spy some really yummy artisan bread from the co-op. I think "well, that would be perfect with Nutella." I spread the nutella and before I put it away, sweet Elaina absconded with the jar. I discover her hiding under the kitchen table looking quite guilty with Nutella all over her face. By the time I had gathered the camera, she was out. But I "caught" her anyway.













On my way to clean up our little Nutella bandit!

Homeschool Meme

"Thoughtful" Cheryl has tagged me. I copied and pasted the meme from her blog with the intentions of deleting her responses and replacing with my own. But I am having a challenging time "keeping my eyes on my own work" because I concur with most of her responses..

1) ONE HOMESCHOOLING BOOK YOU HAVE ENJOYED

Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss. Everyone has listed this wonderful book. I cannot disagree. I have read it several times. I have recommended it to friends who have gone on to purchase it for their own collection of mom-spiration. I have loaned it out a few times to mom's who were just beginning their home education journey and they were encouraged and inspired by it.

I also enjoyed Catholic Education, Homeward Bound. This book is quite shelf-worn because I looked through it often. As soon as I discovered that home education was on my heart, I ordered this book through a favorite Catholic bookstore.

2) ONE RESOURCE YOU COULDN'T BE WITHOUT.. (okay, three resources)

besides the internet.. Faith. Home education comes naturally, but not necessarily easily most days. Oh and probably of equal importance, my husband. He is a wonderful teacher to our children. He comes equipped with patience, energy when I am zapped, a love of nature, excellent support for me and a true desire to see our children all the way into the Kingdom of Heaven.

3) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BOUGHT

If there is one, it is not on my shelf. I resold them on eBay or cathswap!

4) ONE RESOURCE YOU ENJOYED LAST YEAR

Math-u-see. This was so good for all of us. Using the dvd's and proceeding with the math problems sent our little guys on their way. They learned independently, but I was right there to help with each lesson. Yet, the mom-intensity factor was not very high which freed me up to prepare other lessons. God Bless Steve Demme!

5) ONE RESOURCE YOU WILL BE USING NEXT YEAR

Catholic Mosaic by Cay Gibson

I am so excited for this one. It was my one big homeschooling "splurge" for the year, but it is worth every penny. We have a few of the mosaic books already, and the ones we do not have, I hope to inter-library loan or invest in.

6) ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY

Institute for Excellence in Writing

7) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH EXISTED

Catholic History cds

8) ONE HOMESCHOOLING CATALOGUE YOU ENJOY READING

Catholic Heritage Curricula

9) ONE HOMESCHOOLING WEBSITE YOU USE REGULARLY

Real Learning Messageboards

10) TAG FIVE OTHER HOMESCHOOLERS

Mountain Top Farms
Parente Adventures
Three Plus Two
The Good Within
Organic Learning

Up the trail

On Saturday, Julian had a visit with his grandparents. The rest of us went on a little walk. Just a stroll up the trail behind our home. Instead of continuing up the straight path, we turned to the left, just to explore somewhere new. We discovered a special treat growing there. When Julian arrived home after going to Holy Mass at his grandparents parish, then dinner and a sleepover and a morning visit to GrandMemere's. His brothers and sister whisked him off to a little trek up the path.
They could not wait to show him all of the BLACKBERRIES. As As we approached the first brambles we began to sing.. One Berry, Two Berry, Pick Me a Blueberry.. (from a favorite book, Jamberry by Bruce Degan)...Clickety Clackberry Pick Me a Blackberry! (I am so glad our children are too young to tease me for this sort of thing).

After foraging for berries, while leaving most behind to give them a chance to fully ripen, we were off to continue exploring the trail. It had been two years since we were on this particular part of the woods surrounding the little lake which is across from our home. In spring and fall, the ground is rather wet and much of the trail is impassable.

Since, we have been blessed with a bit of dry weather, we only had a tiny bit of "muckymuck" (as referred to by Pier-Jérôme) to navigate around.

Further on, we discovered a tranquil stream and I maneuvered my way around the trees with Elaina in the backpack, until we arrived at the basin that deviated from the path. When we caught up with Daddy, Elaina was transferred to his back as I did not want to push my luck. I couldn't believe I remained vertical while winding around the trees bordering the stream below.. nevermind while wearing a two year old.

And, yes the bridge without hand rails did give me anxiety. Just thankful no one fell in.

We have lived in our home for a little over three years
and had no idea what was right in our backyard.

Fall Foliage already?? Autumn is spectacular in these parts, however, we are still soaking up every moment of summer, thank you. It just flies by, doesn't it?

And finally after our hike which circled our little lake, we were on our path home. Timothy helped out with the backpack, making a sprint for home while Maximilian led Elaina for the rest of the way.
Sleep was restful for all that evening.

Tag, You're It! Book Meme

I was tagged by Alice and by Rebecca for a Book Meme.

1. ONE BOOK THAT CHANGED YOUR LIFE:

The Bible - Oh, I know that sounds cliché, but it's true. When I was in my mid 20's, a co-worker invited me to her church and soon thereafter offered to study the Bible with me. It was then that I was enlighted to the fact that Sacred Scripture held Truth. Truth that was rather hard to accept, considering that many aspects of my life at the time were in direct opposition to several basic tenets of Christian faith. Keeping Holy the Sabbath for a start. From there began my Journey Home.

2. ONE BOOK THAT YOU'VE READ MORE THAN ONCE:

Rome Sweet Home

3. ONE BOOK YOU'D WANT ON A DESERT ISLAND:

The Bible - well, if I'm on a desert Island, that's sounds pretty hopeless! It would be essential. Besides, it's already in my Go-Bag.

If I ever do get stuck on a desert island.. I hope I have a stack of books, including one that is a survival manual - lol.

4. ONE BOOK THAT MADE YOU LAUGH:
Don't Drink The Holy Water by Susie Lloyd

5. ONE BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY:

I know I have read books that caused me great emotion, but they are escaping me. I cannot get through reading Love You, Forever by Robert Munsch. Julian's godmother reads it to the children when she visits and I usually have to leave the room or I will get caught wiping my teary eyes.

6. ONE BOOK THAT YOU WISH HAD BEEN WRITTEN: How about a book that truly inspires unity among all those who profess to be Christian. Yes, we have that in Sacred Scripture, yet even the Holy Bible comes missing or adding seven books depending on your perspective. Never mind the interpretation arguments.

Scott Hahn, Karl Keating and several others (including many formerly anti-catholic protestants) have written books that clearly explain the Christian faith that was instituted more than two milleniums ago. Unfortunately, many protestants won't read them. When I passed Rome Sweet Home to friends who were adamantly advising me not to be confirmed on Easter Vigil 1997, they passed it back UNREAD with a copy of a book titled Far From Rome, Near to God. Big sigh. Many prayers.

7. ONE BOOK THAT YOU WISH HAD NEVER BEEN WRITTEN:

Harry Potter. I have not even read the books, myself. I can only say that they have caused so much friction among faithful Christians. If all that the naysayers claim about these books is true, I cannot possibly wish to fill my head with the icky images that are supposedly in these books and my precious babies can certainly find The Good, The True and The Beautiful in so many other wonderful books.

8. ONE BOOK YOU'RE CURRENTLY READING:
The Hidden Power of Kindness by Fr. Lovasik

9. ONE BOOK YOU'VE BEEN MEANING TO READ:
Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales


10. TAG FIVE OTHERS:

Every Waking Hour
L’ École Buissonnière
Living Without School
Rose Petals
Twinkleberry Cottage