Happy Halloween

We took the munchkins Trick or Treating on Thursday evening. They got a ton of candy for Casinodad & me - LOL!!!

Here is The Saint in our great $5 garage sale find! The costume still had its tags on it & would probably have retailed for about $20 or $30. He'll probably be able to wear it next year too!


The boys wanted to be the Super Mario Brothers. I had a heck of a time finding overalls for boys of their age & finally ended up ordering from Amazon.com. I also ordered their newsboy hats there. For the initials on the hats, I just used a circle of white felt & colored the initials w/ Sharpies.


The Princess decided the day before that she wanted to be a bride. I was going to use an old ivory tablecloth for her costume until I remembered that I had my First Communion dress. She tried it on & it fit her perfectly...at age 4...so I know it won't fit her in 3 1/2 years for her First Communion.

And here is our Pro-Life Pumpkin. One of the ladies in my homeschool group sent out a link to the pattern. When I pulled it up online, the boys loved it right away & asked if we could do that w/ our pumpkin. I'd never stenciled a pumpkin before. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be.


This evening, we went to Mass at my parents' church. Dad (the parish deacon) was doing his homily on the history of Halloween & had invited the children of the parish to come dressed up. Then, he asked the children to come down to the foot of the altar & he directed his homily toward them.

Hope you had a wonderful Halloween!

Small Successes

"It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that."

What a productive weekend we just had!

1) Friday, The Archangel wanted to help me w/ household chores during his quiet time. (Yes, I know he was just trying to get out of it, but he wanted to clean, so I let him!) He helped clear off the island, wiped down counters, swept the floor, & other stuff I can't remember at the moment. Casinodad came home to a nice, clean kitchen! The picture below is to prove that the island was cleared off (sorry it's kind of dark - I think we need a new camera).

2) On rainy Saturday, with the munchkins help, we cleaned & organized most of the basement. We still need to clear out under the stairs & who knows when I may get to the crawlspace, but that's not a priority at the moment. They now have plenty of room to play & we've been making sure that they put things away before getting something else. How long this will last...I do not know.

3) We took advantage of Sunday's beautiful weather to do yardwork after Mass & PSR. The Prophet mowed the lawn w/ just a bit of Casinodad's help. While they did that, The Archangel & The Princess helped me weed & clear out the flower beds on both sides of the house.

Wow! I'm tired just typing all our weekend accomplishments! What have you done this past week? Check out Faith & Family Live to share yours & see what others have done.

Wordless Wednesday - More of The Saint

Small Successes

"It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that."

1) Still working on the kitchen (it's taking a lot longer than I expected - basically I'm just plain lazy at times!) Anyway, I'm still keeping up on the dishes each night, cleared off most of the island (that is the worst part as we always just dump stuff there), & sorted through a stack of recipes that have been sitting by the fridge for months. Maybe I'll actually use some of them!

2) I created a five week meal plan (yes, I said five week & only 3 meals are doubled w/in that time). All seven days of the week are included & I even gave thought to the evenings we have plans (my Small Church Community gatherings every other Wed. & Cub Scouts on Thursdays). I planned stuff that Casinodad can't have (due to his GIRD) for nights that he works later. Now to create the shopping list - perhaps a success for next week?!?!

3) Finally started reading my newest book to review for The Catholic Company. My goal is to finish it w/in the next month, if not sooner!

What are your successes? Inquiring minds at Faith and Family Live would love to know!

Wordless Wednesday - The Tiger & Bear Cub Scouts

Small Successes

1) I decided to focus on the visual parts of the kitchen this week. So far I have rearranged the kitchen table to make the space more open, kept up w/ the dishes each evening, cleared off some clutter on the counters, & put up some Halloween decorations. It's all about getting rid of the clutter & opening up space.

2) Got all but a couple fall items up for my decorations. Wow! I could really use some more. The munchkins did help out & created their own pictures to hang around the house - spider webs, ghosts, mice, & pumpkins.

3) Prior to putting up the decorations, I got the living room cleaned up - including going through some files on the computer desk that haven't been touched in ages.

So, what have you been up to the past week? Check out Faith & Family Live to share you successes & see what others have accomplished. Remember, no success is too small! Those are the ones that help me feel like I've accomplished something.

Wordless Wednesday

Quirky Ole Me

I've had the idea for this post rumbling around in my head for a while, trying to think of all the funny little quirks I have. So, here are some that I came up with.

1) I cannot visualize the faces of the characters in the books I read. No matter how well the author describes a character, the faces are just a blur to me. I can see their hair, clothes, settings, etc. - just not the faces. Sometimes, if the book has been made into a movie, I can see the actors' face, but even that doesn't happen all the time. Case in point - I just finished the Twilight series but none of the images in my head fit the ones from the movie.

2) When I eat my cereal, I take a few bites of the cereal & milk together. Then I drink down all but a little bit of the milk before I finish eating. The only reason I could come up w/ for this was that I don't want the cereal to get soggy.

3) I think I'm allergic to thinking hard! Go ahead...laugh, but it's true! Almost every time I put myself deep in thought or prayer, my nose gets all congested & I start a sneezing fit. I first discovered this about 10 years ago when I was taking a mail correspondence course in writing. Whenever I had to concentrate & focus, it would happen.

4) The open end of my pillowcase must always face towards the outer edge of the bed.

I'm sure I have more & will post them once I think of them. Do you know of any quirks I have or are you a quirky person too? Leave me a comment & let me know!

Small Successes

"It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that."

1) It seems like I've been doing a lot of laundry lately. Sunday, I did four loads & put most of them away. Yesterday, I did two loads of the munchkins' clothes AND put them all away!!!

2) I did not freak out when I first heard, then saw a mouse trying to scratch through the kitchen floor near our patio door. I calmly grabbed a mousetrap, put some peanut butter on it (we've since changed to that cheese in a can stuff), & set up a blockade w/ our kitchen chairs to protect little fingers & toes from the trap. It's been about a week & he's not been caught yet. He is still there, though...we've seen sawdust from his scratchings.

3) We got our Halloween & Fall decorations out of the crawlspace. They're not all up yet, but getting them out was a big step for me this week!

What have you succeeded at this week? Share & see others at Faith & Family Live.

Small Successes

Recognizing the small things in life really helps me get through the rough times. It makes me feel like I'm still accomplishing something, even if it is small. So, here are this week's successes...

1) We rented a cabin in Hocking Hills (southeastern Ohio) for a couple days last week. It was a fun family vacation, even if only for a couple days. We hiked through Old Man's Cave & the Rockhouse, played at a nearby park, & just enjoyed life as a family w/out cell phones & computer. (That is why I missed last week's successes!)

2) Upon our return, I didn't go straight to the computer! We unloaded the van, unpacked our stuff, & I even threw our dirty clothes in the washer.

3) After the initial shock wore off, I did not freak out when The Archangel cut The Princess' hair last week! I even managed to laugh about it.

How about your successes? Check out Faith & Family Live for more.