2 Year Old Warrior.....

Will the Warrior King

Fully equipped with Advent Wreath for crown, fuzzy pink scarf to hold sword, plastic keys to the Kingdom, and fleece cape!

Not as the Manufacturer Intended....

Beware the unintended uses of the versatile Rocking Puppy.

Goals 2009

In an effort to actually keep my goals by making them public, here is my list of 2009 Goals:

Purchase 3 mo register & start back on WW in January.

Weigh 135 by June 2009.

Fit into black dress for 10th Anniversary.

Pay off debt.

Build Emergency Savings.

Help Sophia start to read.

Wean Will & get him potty-trained.

Limit internet-use to evening only (except bill paying) and not during school hours.

Pray Chaplet in morning and rosary & daily reading in evening.

Christmas in Kansas

Well, here we are in the middle of the 12 Days of Christmas, the period from Christmas Day to the Feast of the Epiphany. Last year at this time we were eagerly awaiting Nicholas' birth. We kept hoping that each day would be IT, but he waited until January 5th to make his grand appearance!

The weekend before Christmas we travelled to Kansas for a long Christmas vacation. We managed to spend at least 4 days each with Michael's family and my family. We had a really good visit, but opened way too many presents. In fact, we couldn't stuff everything into our car! Poor children (tongue in cheek), they will have to wait until mid-February when my parents visit to see the rest of their Christmas gifts.

Some of the highlights of our trip to Kansas:

Sophia & Bubbles Grandma got all gussied up to go see the Nutcracker Ballet.

We celebrated Nicholas' & cousin Cole's 1st Birthdays ... a little early. And also Great-Aunt Toni's B-Day - I won't mention her age:)

It was almost the Christmas that Aunt Allison "lost" Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa, but Great-Grandpa Mike found his way to the restaurant without the aid of directions or a cell phone!

It was soooo cold outside that my bottle of benadryl froze in the car overnight!

Then a few days later we had 70 degree weather and hail overnight.

We got to visit with our friends Dawn & Matt and Ron & Mary Kate. Good times all around!

We got to celebrate my nephew's successful potty training with a Potty Party at ChuckECheese.

Nicholas developed the pincher grasp.

Below are some photos from the trip:

Nicholas at ChuckECheese.

Will with one of Grandma's giant Nutcrackers.

My sweet niece Olivia with the same Nutcracker.

Will & Olivia perched on top of giant green elephant plant stands.

My Family on Christmas Day.

GrandKids on Christmas Day.

My Family before Christmas Eve Mass.

Nicholas eating cupcake.

Great-Aunt Toni, Nicholas & Cole.

Christmas Greetings...

Merry Christmas 2008

Greetings to you and your family this Christmas season!
We hope this letter finds you surviving – I mean enjoying – the race to Christmas.

Last year at this same time we were eagerly awaiting a birth. I would like to say we were ardently preparing for Jesus’ birthday, but really we were hoping our third baby would make an early appearance. Nicholas Joseph Krondak was born on January 5, 2008, a week or so after his due date. Again, we were blessed to have my parents, Michael’s parents, & my sister and her family with us when he was born. He weighed in at 8 lbs 11 oz after a very good, natural birth. He has continued to surprise us with super long arms & legs – off the charts at every doctor’s visit. He has begun to walk, is a good eater and spends a lot of time chasing his sister & brother!

Every family should have a two year old – just to keep them on their toes. Will is our ever-changing little man. He is quite a talker, smiler, hat-wearer, pretender & even a terror every once in a while. He is definitely all boy. He is most of the time found wearing a cape with sword (vacuum wand, toy tool) in hand. Right now his goal in life is to “save the world” just like Larryboy, the VeggieTales’ super pickle!

Sophia, our ever-industrious five year old, has reached a major milestone. We’ve begun homeschooling our smart little Kindergartener with the assistance of St. Thomas Aquinas Academy. It has been a rewarding – and sometimes trying – experience. I am truly amazed at how much she has learned so far. When we aren’t schoolin’, she is usually at the table drawing and telling stories.

Michael & I are closing in on our 10th married year in June 2009. WOW! Michael spent 1/3 of the year preparing for the Professional Engineers Exam, which he took in October. As real torture to the examinees, results aren’t released for three months. He also completed his first triathlon in April. He’ll be training for more triathlons and the Bataan Memorial Death March in Las Cruces, NM in 09. Becoming a home educator has certainly changed my day. I am much busier than I was before, but in a good way. I find I have less time to burn now – forcing me to be more efficient with my time.

2008 Trip Synopsis: We traveled to Leavenworth for Easter, Wichita for my niece’s high school graduation, Lincoln & Omaha for Michael’s family reunions, Denver to see old Newman Center friends, and, sadly, to Lawrence, KS for my Aunt Lovetta’s funeral. Please kindly say a prayer for her husband and four sons.

Wishing you and your loved ones a very Blessed Advent, Merry Christmas, and Joy in the New Year through Christ Jesus, the infant King!

Emily, Michael, Sophia, Will & Nicholas

Christmas at Home 2008

As promised below are photos from our early Christmas. Enjoy!

And the Reason for the Season....

Not much to say....

I wish I had something interesting to post here today. Not much has been happening other than getting ready for Christmas & having school. I feel like we are sort of in a circling pattern. We leave on Saturday to visit both sets of Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles, and cousins for 8 days.

I have mastered putting Nicholas in the Rucksack hold with my baby wrap. It sure makes a difference when it is 4:30 PM, I'm trying to make dinner, and Nicholas is super crabby. He's actually fallen asleep a couple of times & I've managed to transfer him to the bed both times still asleep!

The Big Man himself - Santa - will be making an early visit to our house tonight. I have so much yet to do - wrap, prepare food for tomorrow, pack for our long trip. AAAGGHHH!

I'll try to post tomorrow afternoon with our "Christmas" pix.

And the Prize for the Earliest Christmas Card goes to...

I'm the type of person that loves to receive & send mail. So, Christmas card buying and holiday letter writing is one of my favorite parts of the pre-Christmas season. I say "pre-Christmas" season because we don't start decorating for Christmas until after Advent. We then leave up all of our Christmas decorations through the Epiphany (Jan. 7th). But, I digress.

A friend from my hometown, Becky S., is the winner of the Krondak See-Who-We-Will-Receive-the-First-Christmas-Card-From Competition. And, I must say, it was a beautiful card with a lovely picture of her family. I have to brag a little on her. She has lost some serious weight in the past year and looks absolutely stunning! Becky always sends a great photo of her family. I'll admit here that I've tried to pattern my family pix off some of the great ones she has sent.

Congratulations, Becky! Sorry, there isn't an actual prize, other than knowing yours is the first to go into our Christmas card sleigh.:)

Post-Thanksgiving Favorite Memories of All Time

As Thanksgiving was creeping up on me, I pondered posting my favorite Thanksgiving memories. Then in the days following Thanksgiving, I was too busy eating all the left-overs to post ideas. Now, day 6 after the holiday, I have a few moments to actually write about this Thanksgiving and the Thanksgivings past.

I think my all-time favorite Thanksgiving was in 1984 or 1985 when we gathered in my Mom's hometown along with my 20 or 30 other relatives to surprise my Grandfather for his 70th birthday. I was in elementary-school at the time, so some details are fuzzy, but I remember running around the K of C Hall with my cousins, eating pancakes that were a little burned (my Daddy wasn't charge of the grill that meal I'm sure), dressing up in old Prom dresses and generally having a wonderful extended family Thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving was spent at our house with Bubbles Grandparents & Horsey Great-Grandparents in attendance. Michael fried up the turkey to moist excellence, Great-Grandma Betty brought cranberry salad, Grandma Anita brought an awesome broccoli salad and I filled in the other requisite dishes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and dumplings. Our guests even graciously wore the homemade Indian headdress and Pilgrim hats the kids and I made. On Friday, we made it to the mall in time to see Santa arrive by Tractor. Then the kids sat on Santa's lap - Will's very first time to see the big guy so close up. Sophia very seriously asked, "Should I say I've been bad or good?" She didn't want to say she'd been good or even bad, but decided she would thank him in advance for the gifts he was going to bring to her!

While the guys cheered the Huskers on to victory over Colorado, I had a lesson in knitting from Bubbles Grandma. I am determined to learn how to knit pumpkin hats, but I need to start with a simple scarf to gain some actual knitting skills. Let's hope I can make some progress on it before winter is actually over.

So, that was our Thanksgiving 2008. We had a very nice visit with the grandparents.

Now, only 22 more shopping days until Christmas!

It is official - Nicholas is a WALKER!

You know your little one is a proficient walker when he can stop in mid-stride, glance over his shoulder at you while grinning and then keep walking forward ... without falling on his rear-end.

I am desperately trying to catch a few moments of his first steps on a video clip but no success yet....

5 Things Game

The "5 THINGS GAME"



The rules are to write 5 things under each of the 5 headings, and then tag 5 other people.



10 years ago...

1. I was engaged.

2. I was celebrating Thanksgiving with my extended family on my Mom's side.

3. Working two jobs to help pay for wedding.

4. I had my own Holy Hour at Church - WOW! Now I can only find a Holy 5 Minutes in my day.

5. I was childless.



5 Things on Today's "To-Do" List...

1. Clean the kitchen,

2. So I can go grocery shopping. (We'll see how crazy Wal-mart is two days before Turkey Day.)

3. Mop the kitchen floor.

4. De-Clutter our guest room.

5. Say my daily prayers because it is going to be one busy, hectic day!



5 Snacks I Enjoy...

1. Coca-Cola & Jalapeno Chips

2. Chocolate

3. Peanut Butter

4. Coffee & Scones

5. Did I say Coca-Cola & Jalapeno Chips - very good combo!



5 Things I Would Do if I were a Millionaire

1. Pay off my house and then build an extra room for a dining room.

2. Buy a Mini-Cooper. So Cute.

3. Help my church build a new building.

4. Pay off all of my siblings house mortgages.

5. Fund Michael's Chess Hobby & School Hobby:)



5 Places I Have Lived... I'm trying not to give too much personal info here, so generics:

1. Kansas 25 years

2. Kansas 1 year

3. Oklahoma 2 years

4. Kansas 3 years

5. Nebraska 3 years



5 Jobs I've had/Still have...

1. Dillons grocery clerk

2. Insurance Adjuster's secretary

3. Insurance Agent

4. A.G. Edwards office person (now I can't remember the title)

5. Mother to 3 little people - which means I'm a cook, cleaner, driver, gardener, entertainer, story-reader, librarian, stain-remover, teacher, and nurse.

Okay.. now I am tagging 5 friends...

1. Florena
2. Dawn
3. Matt
4. Erin
5. Chrissy

Nicholas is a walker ... and a climber!

My 10 month old is becoming more and more mobile. This past week he has been taking tentative steps between furniture & people. He can climb the staircase so quickly & quietly - that sometimes he is up on the next level before I even know it! I think by Thanksgiving Day he should really be getting about even more!

This may have been the shortest 10 months ever.

Patricia Polacco

I have discovered an author of some wonderful children's books, Patricia Polacco. As often happens at the library, the kids and I randomly pick books from the shelves. Sometimes they are real duds, but other times they are hidden jewels. So it is with Patricia Polacco's work. Many of her stories are from her own life or from her family's experiences as Russian immigrants to the United States. Here is the short list of books by Mrs. Polacco that we've been reading the last two weeks:

The Keeping Quilt

Babushka's Doll

The Bee Tree

Thank You, Mr. Falker

Thunder cake

Chicken Sunday

Just Plain Fancy

It may seem silly that I am writing so much about children's literature. As I kid, I didn't read very much so I am discovering many of these books for the first along with my children. Actually much of Patricia Polacco's work is quite recent, but I think it will stand the test of time.

Oh, by the way, this is E Week at our house. Here are some of our favorite E stories:

Ella, Eli, & Encore for Eleanor by Bill Peet.

The Elephant's Child by Rudyard Kipling.

ENJOY!

Biscotti

I've been wanting to try my hand at biscotti for a long time. I finally borrowed the book Biscotti by Lou Seibert Pappas from the library. After perusing the different recipes, I decided to try the first one, Biscotti Toscani. It was very easy to make - not hard at all. Homemade tastes so much better than biscotti from a coffee house. Next, I'm going to try a chocolate dipped recipe. I know what I will be making for my holiday baking this year!


Biscotti Toscani

Ingredients
1/2 cup whole almonds (I substituted sliced almonds)
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 tsp grated orange zest
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

1. Place nuts in a shallow pan and bake in preheated 325 degree oven until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Let cool.
2. In a mixing bowl cream butter & sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla, almond extract & orange zest.
3. In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, nutmeg & salt. Add to the creamed mixture, mixing until blended. Cut almonds into halves or thirds and fold in. (I substituted the sliced almonds).
4. Divide dough in half. (Dough will be sticky - used floured hands.) Place on a greased & floured baking sheet (I used a slightly floured Pampered Chef round stone) and form into two logs about 1/2" thick, 1 1/2" wide and 12" long, spacing them at least 2" apart.
5. Bake in the middle of preheated 325 degree oven for 25 minutes or until a light golden brown. Transfer from the baking sheet to a rack. Let cool 5 minutes.6. Place on a cutting board. With a serrated knife slice diagonally at a 45 degree angle about 1/2" thick. Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet and return to the oven for 10 minutes, turning them over once, to dry slightly. Let cool on a rack. Store in a tightly covered container.

Makes 3 1/2 dozen (or so) biscotti

Kid's Literature

1st Quarter - Week 9

We have a "C" theme this week, so many of the characters in the books we are reading begin as such. You'll also find a quilting theme. Our Five In A Row book this week is The Rag Coat, which is the story of a poor Appalachian girl and her homemade coat.

Curious George Learns the Alphabet & Curious George Gets A Medal by H.A. Rey
The Patchwork Cat by Nicola Bayley. Great story about a Tabby that sets out to retrieve her beloved patchwork quilt. My favorite passage from the disgruntled cat: Tabby licks herself and thinks. "I should send this family away and let the milkman stay with me."
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. All-time favorite children's story!
The Name Quilt by Phillis Root. Loved this story about a Grandma & a quilt.
The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills
Cook-A-Doodle-Doo! by Janet Stevens & Susan Stevens Crummel. Very funny spin on the Little Red Hen story.
The Baby BeeBee Bird by Diane Redfield Massie; illustrated by Steven Kellogg. Another all-time favorite library book.
Babushka's Doll by Patricia Polacco. Very valuable story about a little girl who gets a doll that turns out to be twice as rambunctious as her owner.
Cock-A-Doodle Dudley, Chester the Worldly Pig & Cowardly Clyde by Bill Peet. Mr. Peet has become one of my favorite story tellers. Always very clever and great illustrations. No wonder - he was a Disney artist for many years.
Carl's Masquerade by Alexandra Day. I liked the illustrations in this book, but I don't care for books that have few to no words. The main character is Carl, a Rottweiler. Not exactly the kind of dog I want to lead my children to think are safe & cuddly!
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
C is for Clown by Jan & Stan Berenstain
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

Candy eaters...

My kids are funny. They are quite picky about candy. They don't just eat any candy. Sophia likes plain Hershey's chocolate, M&Ms and gummis. Will likes M&Ms, sugary Spree-type candies and suckers. They both like Twizzlers.

So, where does that leave all the caramels, Kit Kats, Almond Joys, Snickers, Milky Ways, 3 Musketeers, Twix, Whoppers, Butterfingers, Baby Ruths, Peanut M&Ms, hard candies and jaw breakers?

This is why Halloween is fast becoming one of my favorite times of the year also;)

Halloween Costumes

It is amazing how children and time changes a person. I've never been a big fan of Halloween. I don't like the dark, bloody, scary images and costumes. Over the years though I've given in a little more each year. The first few years that we were married and had no children, we didn't answer the door or give out any candy. Now we dress the kids in costumes for trick-or-treating, carve jack-o-lanterns, and give out candy. What a push-over I am!

Enjoy the photos from our Halloween journey...

Sophia as Blessed Mother Teresa at the FAMILIA All Saints Day Party, 2003.

(note: we did not do anything for Halloween this year.)

Sophia as St. Gianna Beretta Molla, the Italian woman who sacrificed her own life so that her unborn daughter might live, at the FAMILIA All Saints Day Party 2004

2004 marked the first year that we actually went trick or treating. Bubbles Grandma bought this cute duck outfit for Sophia. I decided though that if I was going to cave in to handing out candy, I was also going to hand out religious cards also, which we did until our supply finally ran out in 2007!

Sophia as an Inch Worm (AKA The Wiggle Worm) in 2005.

2006 was Will's 1st Halloween. Here are Sheriff Michael, Will the Lion and Sophia the Puppy. The Puppy outfit was cute because, by pushing a button in the paw, it would actually make barking noises!

My little Joseph & Mary with baby Jesus (doll), 2007.

I actually fashioned these outfits out of fleece.

2008 Halloween Walk in our downtown area. Nicholas is the Duck, Will is a Dinosaur and Sophia is Snow White. I totally forgot that I even had the dinosaur and Snow White outfits in our Halloween box.

Official Halloween 2008 Portrait!

Nicholas is the Wiggle Worm, Sophia is Sleeping Beauty (AKA St. Elizabeth of Hungary), & Will is St. Michael the Archangel (sans the wings).

Little Wiggle Worm - Nicholas' 1st Halloween, 2008

1st Quarter - Week 8 Books

Barney the Beard by Eve Bunting. We have this story in our own library at home. Love it!

Best Friends for Frances & Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban. Only a so-so fan of Frances, but cute stories.

Berlioz the Bear by Jan Brett. Wonderful illustrations.

Nicky and the Fantastic Birthday Gift by Valeri Gorbachev

The Nativity Play by Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen. Great story about kids putting on a Nativity story at school.

My Grandma is Wonderful, My Dad is Awesome, and My Grandma is Amazing by Nick Butterworth. I really enjoy this author's work.

Down the Road by Alice Schertle. Gentle story about a little girl going to buy eggs all by herself. Of course, then Sophia played the same thing several mornings in a row as I was cooking eggs for breakfast.

The Illustrated Book of Ballet Stories: Introduced by Darcey Bussell by Barbara Newman (book and CD). Sophia loves to listen to this CD as she is looking at the book. DK Publishing does this really well.

Popcorn by Frank Asch. Thanks to Bubbles Grandma for mailing us this cute Halloween story about out-of-control popcorn and party guests all starting with the letter B!

B Saints from New Picture Book of Saints: St. Joseph Edition by Rev. Lawrence G. Lovasik, SVD: St. Barbara, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Bernadette, St. Bridget, St. John Bosco, St. Sebastian

If you couldn't tell our Letter of the Week was B. We read lots of books with characters starting with the letter B, made Banana Bread, drew pictures of St. Barbara and St. Elizabeth of Hungary (the B is hidden there:), and colored a "B" book.

We also watched St. John Bosco: Mission to Love from Ignatius Press. Made in 2004, it is a good retelling of St. Bosco's life. It was a very inspiring movie although not quite age appropriate for a 5 year old.

Bishop Martino of Scranton...

WOW! What an awesome Bishop Scranton, PA has. Read here about Bishop Joseph Martino.

Aunt Lovetta 1958-2008

My mother's youngest sister, Lovetta, died last Wednesday, 10-15-08. She had just turned 50 in July. They discovered advanced lung cancer this past spring and tried slowing the advance of the cancer, but to no avail.

I think her legacy on this earth will be the four fine men she bore and raised, Lee, Peter, Paul, and Ben. As an extended family, we are all so proud of them for achieving so much in their educations and their military service.

I would ask you to say a prayer for the repose of her soul, for her husband, Jerry, and the boys.

Kid's Literature 1st Quarter - Week 6

Here is my list of books we are reading this week during story time. You might see our two themes this week: Christopher Columbus in honor of Columbus Day 10-12-08 and celebrating the Letter A.

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

Follow The Dream: The Story of Christopher Columbus by Peter Sis - very

nicely illustrated & well written.

Columbus Day Book by Jane Moncure

One Blowy Night by Nick Butterworth - love this little book with its cute pictures!

Two Dog Biscuits & The Real Hole by Beverly Cleary - not as good as Petey's Bedtime Story, but still good little stories that I can imagine really happened.

"A" Saints from the New Picture Book of Saints: St Joseph Edition by Rev. Lawrence G. Lovasik, SVD - Sophia is loving these saints stories!

Angelina at the Palace by Katharine Holabird

Animalia by Graeme Base - great illustrations, very cleverly writtten.

Joan of Arc by Shana Corey

The Kitty Cat Alphabet Book by Andrea Burris & Anna Schad, illustrated by Andrea Burris

Our Apple Tree by Naslund

Seasame Street Treasury books

Here is what we are not reading after all.

Madeline's Christmas by Ludwig Bemelmans - not as good a story as his original Madeline.

Arthur's Perfect Christmas by Marc Brown - usually I like the Arthur stories, but this was way too politically correct.

Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey - just not as good as his other stories.

7 Things

Copying shamelessly from Dawn's blog, here are seven things you may not know about me.

1. During the pro-life Summer of Mercy in Wichita in 1991, I was arrested three times while "rescuing." Translation: I stood in front of the gates of an abortion clinic and refused to leave. I think we were charged with trespassing and loitering, but we kept the clinic shut for weeks!

2. I once seriously considered becoming a Sister.

3. I've travelled to Europe four times: Vatican (3 times), Italy (3 times), Germany (2 times), England, France, Austria.

4. My older sister, Beth, died when she was 25 years old.

5. I love to make gourmet cheesecake.

6. Despite the discomforts, I love being pregnant. (I'm not right now, but look forward to having another baby in 2010.) It is such a special time to bond with the baby growing inside.

7. When I grow up, I want to be a Barista, or a gourmet coffee maker!

Okay, you may already know these things about me. I'm not usually known for my shy and quiet qualities, but for my verbosity.

Life Chain & Pumpkin Fest

October is usually a pretty full month for us. Our parish hosts a fall festival with lots of carnival games, horse and wagon rides, and food for all. Here are a couple of photos of Sophia & Will on the horses. Fortunately, they were able to take their rides well before the rain started to come down.

October is also Respect Life month with the national Life Chain the first Sunday of the month. It is our opportunity to make a public, prayerful stand against abortion. Here is a photo of Michael and the kids at the Life Chain.

Kid's Literature

As part of our school day, Sophia, Will and I spend 30 to 45 minutes doing "story time." I've been finding good, high-quality books at the library using several book lists, including The Paideia Program, Honey for a Child's Heart, & Landscape with Dragons. I am going to try to keep a list of what we are reading on a weekly basis here on my blog.

1st Quarter - Week 5

Here is what we are reading this week:

Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag

May We Sleep Here Tonight by Tan Koide

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Timothy Too by Charlotte Zolotow

Petey's Bedtime Story by Beverly Cleary

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I've discovered I really like stories by Robert McCloskey. They are just well written, nicely illustrated,easy to follow and easy to read-aloud books. The same for books written by Charlotte Zolotow - gentle and beautiful stories. Until this school year, I had never read Shel Silverstein's poetry. In fact, I'm not a big poetry fan. I find it difficult to understand most of the time. WOW - had I been missing out. Where the Sidewalk Ends is just a plain fun book of poetry. Perfect for little ears. Lastly, Daddy is mostly reading the Little House series to Sophia at bedtime, which both of them love!

And the Beverly Cleary story has been a real hoot! It is a story about a little boy and his bedtime story routine and his exhausted parents. I wonder why I like it so much, huh?;)

Here is what I borrowed this week, but am not reading after all:

Poetry for Young People: Carl Sandburg - not age appropriate right now.

Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook by Shel Silverstein - the title explains why I'm not reading this aloud.

Outside Over There by Maurice Sendak - sort of dark and hard to read aloud.

After a couple of his titles thus far, including In The Night Kitchen

and Where the Wild Things Are, I'm not a Sendak fan.

Correction: I like his illustrations, especially those

in the Little Bear series by Else Minarik.

Below is what we have read in the first 4 weeks of school - and some of my own thoughts:

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder - always makes me hungry!

Hard Scrabble Harvest by Dahlov Ipcar - cute farming story

The First Tulips in Holland by Phyllis Krasilovsky - beautiful illustrations.

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes - Michael remembered this from his childhood. They read it several times. Sophia even drew her own 100 Dresses picture.

assorted Aesop's Fables

Lentil by Robert McCloskey

Little Bear's visit by Else Minarik, illustrated by Maurice Sendak

Little Toot on the Mississippi by Hardie Gramatky

Hop on Pop, The Cat in the Hat, & And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss

Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros?, Giraffe and a Half, & The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein -the rhino story was cute, but a couple of the pages I changed the wording for more age appropriateness.

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf - I loved this story & the simple pencil illustrations.

Frederick & Frederick Fables by Leo Lionni

Curious George & Curious George Goes To The Hospital by H.A. Rey

I Know a Lady by Charlotte Zolotow

The Story about Ping by Marjorie Flack - loved the illustrations

A Fish Out of Water by Helen Palmer, illustrated by P.D. Eastman - the kids loved this one.

Assorted Beatrix Potter tales

little pumpkins...

As soon as the leaves start changing colors and the air gets a little cool, I start planning orange/fall/pumpkin pictures. I just can't resist putting my kids in matching orange shirts to capture the requisite autumn photos. I would probably trace it back to when Sophia was 4 months old, Bubbles Grandma knitted an absolutely darling pumpkin hat for her.

Now, each child has his or her own hat!

Well, here are some of the pictures I've taken so far.

I'm sure I'll take more especially as the leaves start to drop to the ground.

OOOHHH, raking leaves pictures! I can't wait!

Above: Nicholas is standing up inspecting the dishwasher.

His blue eyes just pop right out at you.

Nicholas with wild hair.

Sophia helped get the pumpkins for this photo.

Will is getting to that funny-smile phase.

Nicholas 9 Mo
My 3 Little Pumpkins.

I had to weigh Nicholas down with a pumpkin to keep him from crawling off!

Thankful for Angels....

Yesterday, September 29th, was the Feast Day of the Archangels, Michael, Raphael & Gabriel, while the Guardian Angels are celebrated on October 2nd. During school, Sophia and I read the accounts of Angels from our picture Bible, The Beginners Bible, prayed the Guardian Angel prayer at the beginning of school, colored assorted angel pages, and planned to make an Angel Food Cake. Little did I know how real an angel would be to us...

We went to the grocery store to get the cake mix after lunch. As I was putting Nicholas into his car seat, the grocery cart in which Will & Sophia were standing tipped over off of the sidewalk onto the pavement of the parking lot. Sophia seemed to be okay, but Will was face down on the pavement. When I picked him up, he had a nasty red abrasion on his forehead. I took him straight to the doctor's office to have him checked out. He cried when it happened, but then settled down, talked all the way in the car, and walked into the doctor's office on his own. The PA checked him over thoroughly. He basically ended up with "road rash" on his forehead.

I couldn't believe it! By all reckoning, he should have had some serious head trauma. I firmly believe his Guardian Angel was working overtime for him. Praise the Lord!

Now, before you say anything, I know it was really my fault as they should not have been standing in the cart. (I had them in the cart to contain them in the store.) I think in the future it will be easier to convince them that- if they do end up in the cart - they should SIT.

When we got home from the store and the doctor's office, we made the Angel Food Cake to celebrate the Angels' Feast Day. We also fashioned St. Michael's swords and helmets from card board boxes. Will thought the sword was great fun. He ran around the rest of the day fighting the "bad angels."

Here are some photos of the kids with their armor....

The helmet sort of hides the head wound!

This is Sophia's fierce, red-eye look!

Grandparents & Great-Grandparents

My kids are so blessed to be able to know and interact with their grandparents. We live quite a distance from them, so we don't get to see them daily or weekly or even monthly sometimes. But this past summer both sets of grandparents plus their great-grandparents have spent time with them, either at our house or at family gatherings. I had one set of grandparents living when I was growing up. They, too, lived a long ways off and I didn't feel very close to them. With the advent of unlimited long distance, camera phones and digital photos, I hope to keep my kids "close" to their grandparents' thoughts during the day. The more they know about what is going on with my kids, I hope the more they will want to visit ... and smile ... and keep living!

Here are some photos of the kids with their grandparents:

Bubbles Grandpa & Grandma with the kids in June.

Play-Do Grandma & Grandpa visiting in September.

Horsey Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa at our house in September.

You might ask, "What's with the funny names?" When Sophia was really little, in order to distinguish the grandparents from each other, they were described by activities at their houses. Michael's parents always had bubbles ready to blow, my parents always had play-do at the ready, and Michael's grandparents' house is adjacent to a field where horses graze. Hence, the sort-of silly, yet very endearing, nicknames.