Footprints on the Fridge

Backyard Water Park: A Photoessay

Simply Footprints Daybook

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...it's late and dark and quiet and the ground is still wet from a good soaking we had late this afternoon.
I am thinking...Actually, I'm trying not to think too much these days.  Such big questions loom for us in the days ahead and trust and perseverance seem to be only roles in finding the answer. So I am trying to turn my thinker often and my prayer on. 

I am thankful for...my husband.  After eight days away and Father's Day Eve return, I realize just how I better off I am in his company. He makes me better in so many ways.

From the learning rooms...I had planned to go full force until the end of June, but we are summarily stalled.  So I spent last week considering the balance between simplicity and richness I want in my homeschool while I cleared and decluttered our learning spaces.  And I realized that book lists and a few good art supplies are really all I need for the richness I desire.  I pulled the core subject books for everyone and they all fit one basket.  I made a basket full of main lesson and notebooks.  We have plenty enough. Of everything we need to have.  A weekly library trip and fresh watercolors will round out my shopping for next year.

From the kitchen...there is a summer menu rotation underway.  Last week, I committed myself to shopping smart and healthy.  I shopped the perimeter of the store and grabbed the very few items I needed in the aisles at the very end.  There were fresh blackberries and blueberries and nuts for snacking this week, and even with Daddy away, I fed the kids cooked, healthy food every day.  I think we all feel so much better.  I am obsessed with having summer fruit on the table at each meal.  Can't seem to get enough of watermelon and berries and nectarines.  This weekend on a quick run, I spotted fresh pineapples, and now I can't wait until it's time to restock the fruit.

I am wearing...navy and white sleeveless top, wide legged khaki chinos, and a haircut I gave myself the other day.  I don't mean to brag, but it's cute. Really cute.

I am creating...a purposeful environment in my home.  I have been compelled to conquer one room at a time, rearranging furniture, reconfiguring wall hangings, and moving things around with a point to clearly understand the place and the purpose of each item in the room.  I love my bedroom after its makeover and seek its cheerful quiet often throughout the day.  I'm hoping that soon each room will feel this way and that it will bring the same peace and cheerfulness to my family as it does to me.

I am going...on vacation in July.  With my siblings and their families and my mom and her husband.  And I can't wait.  I am ready to lounge and laugh.
I am reading...Little Talks With God by St. Catherine of Siena.  I need some reading inspiration.  I've been in a funk for a while now. 

I am hoping...that God will begin to clarify His will for us and that we will be able to give a wholehearted "yes" to whatever he asks.

I am hearing...quiet. Finally. My kids were up until midnight.  Hence this post. But now, silence.  Ahhhh.

Around the house...I feel like I am getting my footing again.  When we eased into summer mode I assigned the three older boys one task that remains theirs all the time (maybe I'll switch it seasonally) and one area of the house to keep straightened.  Quinn handles trash duty and the front living area.  Gabriel handles the dishwasher and the boys' bedroom.  Brendan handles laundry switching and the den.  It's so easy to keep them focused and to keep things moving with this in place.  It leaves me to train Evan to straighten the bathrooms (which will become his area when he is ready), to keep my bedroom tidy, and to handle the cooking and kitchen wipe down as well as folding and putting away laundry.  That is a fairly reasonable distribution of daily work.  If we add in one bigger weekly chore each day, like dusting or mopping or changing bed linens, things stay pretty well on course.

One of my favorite things...when a child who has struggled mightily to learn to read snuggles up beside and slowly, painstakingly sounds out every word to the first chapter of a Magic Tree House book.  And the bashful smile that tugs the corners of his mouth when he realizes that he has done it.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Spiritual direction, one dentist appointment, and a 12th birthday celebrate.  And that's enough for me.  Baseball season has ended, and while we all had a blast, free evenings are so, so lovely.

 

Visit Peggy for more June daybooks.

Mudpie Masterpiece

Gabriel, our resident artist, takes mudpie creations to a whole new level.  This child's creative vision near gets boring.

At the Good Shepherd's Breakfast Table

Last week, as I looked over the list for the Garden Party for week two of Easter, first and foremost on my mind was how to adapt things so there would be less sugar pulsing through my little guys veins.  This spring air has left them friskier than normal, the feasting has added the sugar dimension, and the start of baseball and Gatorade consumption threw food dye into the mix.  The results were, how shall I say it, less than desirable?

I quickly realized I could tweak the plan just a little bit and have a reasonably healthy breakfast to serve as our party this week.

We are a bit behind since baseball filled the schedule last week and I took a weekend trip to a homeschooling conference, so this morning, we had our breakfast of

• buttermilk biscuits (bread)
• honey butter (pot of honey)
• strawberries (fruit)
• yogurt (milk)
• grape juice (wine)

We read the lovely picture book, The Easter Story, while we ate and the kids described the events in each beautiful painting before I read the corresponding Scripture to them.

Last week, as we discussed the symbols each day, we spent a lot of time talking about the Mass and it being our chance each to experience again the solemn awareness of the Triduum and the joy of the Resurrection.

Here is our calendar on our school room bulletin board:

For more ideas and inspiration for the Garden of the Good Shepherd Easter calendar, visit Catholic Cuisine and follow the links.

Blessings to you and yours as you continue to rejoice in the Risen Christ.

Nature and Art: The Glory of Spring

With Spring full upon us here and the knowledge that in a few short weeks we will begin to complain about the heat, I am trying very hard to immerse us in as much nature study and outdoor time as possible.  Last month, inspiration struck and I decided on a whim to create a display about birds on the nature table.  Then, a picture book about John James Audubon caught my eye at the library and I decided to make him the artist of the month and tie our art study into out nature study.  It was a lovely and inspirational whim. It led us on a field trip to these gardens to gaze at the snowy egrets, and will culminate in a trip this zoo this weekend, where we will celebrate the ninth birthday of our very own artistically inclined nature lover.  Since this little rabbit trail began, he has been drawing birds with great detail and passion and declaring to everyone that he wants to be the next John James Audubon. 

Here is our John James Audubon Book List:

The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon

Into the Woods: John James Audubon Lives His Dream

Audubon: Painter of Birds in the Wild Frontier

For Picture Study:

John James Audubon: American Birds

There are plenty of great books for studying birds to add to your nature table.  I just pulled from our shelves and from the library shelf and left them there for the kids to peek through as they liked.

This little rabbit trail played itself out so nicely, that I have made my library requests and this month the nature table will be full with picture books about artist Georgia O'Keefe and nature books about wildflowers. 

Here is our Georgia O'Keeffe book list:

Through Georgia's Eyes

Georgia Rises: A day in the Life of Georgia O'Keeffe

My Name is Georgia

Georgia's Bones

For Picture Study:

Georgia O'Keeffe Museum Collections

I hope we can enhance this study with a field trip to this lovely spot which will be lush with azalea blossoms and wisteria vine this month.  Again, flower study will be a random splash of books from our stash and the library's shelves. 

I hope you all are getting out and about into the world this spring.  Do let us know where spring's glory takes you!

If You Give a Mouth a Toothbrush

Preface: Keep in mind the post I am about to write comes as I begin to dig myself out of the rut of first trimester yuckiness.  In those early weeks of pregnancy, I am prone to spend most of every day in pajamas, sleeping, whimpering, or gagging--sometimes combining the three into a veritable symphony of misery.  I face a terrible irony in those days in that my tongue suddenly becomes a piece of sand paper two sizes too large for my mouth and my mouth always tastes like something terrible no matter what I have or have not eaten.  I desperately want to brush my teeth all the time.  The irony is that when you add the toothbrush to the too large  tongue and the propensity to gag constantly, very bad things happen.  Very bad things that erase the momentary mintiness and leave you with a taste in your mouth that makes you want to brush your teeth.  You get the picture, right?  I spend a large portion of the first trimester trying to hide the fact that I'm brushing my teeth from my own mouth, or on the worst days, settling for Watermelon Extra chewing gum and a scrub of my teeth with the washcloth.  I know it's gross, but it's true.  So, there's your background, people.  Aren't you glad you stopped by today?

Premise: I am a firm believer that the way I dress and care for my personal appearance has an effect on the way I perform as a wife and a mother each day.  Don't tell my mother I said that.  I was so scathingly superior to her in my tender years when she would suggest, as she always did, "a little blush and lipstick".  And I teased her often about the fact that she really couldn't function well without earrings.  A day without earrings for her was like those nightmares you used to have about showing up at school without a shirt on? (Please tell me you had those nightmares, or I'm looking really foolish right about now.)  Anyway, these days my tune has changed.  I know well that people dress professionally for work for a reason, and that if everyone went to work in pajamas or workout pants every day, we'd be in one big mess right about now.  The same applies to me in my work here in my home.  It is my daily duty to bring beauty, joy, discipline, and excellence to my home.  I am much more disposed to seek these things when I am dressed for the task.  And people are much more likely to follow my lead if I look the part.

Problem: So my problem is not with the theory.  I believe wholeheartedly in the theory.  My problem is with the practice.  I go through phases when the practice seems effortless.  I rise, I groom, I dress.  Heck, I even primp a bit.  And then I go through phases where I know I will feel so much better if I put that theory into practice, but everything in my body clings to those pajama pants and hoodie like they were the source of life itself, and getting dressed for real is only for leaving the house--sending everyone in the house the message that whoever is out there is infinitely more important than they are.  Breaking out of the first trimester slump is one of those times.  Postpartum is another.  And then there are just the regular, life is overwhelming and I'm all out of sorts, and I'd kind of like to give up and crawl back into bed and my outward appearance says just that times. How do you resist the temptation to fall into sloppiness on these stretches or break it if you have given in?  That has been my dilemma.

Proposed Solution: So this morning, I started the day with the battle against the pajama pants.  The coffee had been sipped.  The prayers had been prayed.  There had been a lovely early morning chat with my sister.  Breakfast was in the making.  Little people were stirring.  It was time to shake off early morning fog and move forward.  But my body likes early morning fog these days--its slowness, its warm comfort, its lack of demands and expectations.  And so the battle began.  But early on, I gratefully remembered that I could once again brush my teeth. "Well, that's better than nothing," I thought, totally unaware that what was about to unfold was something of a circular nature much like the events that unfold in these well-loved stories.

It goes something like this:

If you give your mouth a toothbrush, it'll feel all minty and tingly and fresh inside.

It'll direct you to grab the nearby deodorant and hairbrush and make use of them.

If you have fresh underarms and tidy hair, your pajamas will seem a ridiculously unkempt match for them and they will insist that you get dressed in real clothes.

If you get dressed in real clothes and glance at your lovely self in the mirror, you will notice that a sweet necklace and pair of dainty earrings would make you look so polished.

If you put on those earrings, they will insist that they deserve the compliment of freshly pinked cheeks and glossy lips.

If you gloss up your lips, they will undoubtedly relish their prettiness and desire to stay that way.  Pretty lips stay pretty by saying kind, gentle, complimentary things.

Moms who say kind, gentle, complimentary things find themselves the beneficiaries of cooperation and respect from their children.

Cooperation and respect from children create peaceful, productive days in the home.

Peaceful, productive days enhance order and rhythm and create joy.

Order and joy are pleasing to the man who leaves the house each day to source provision for his family.

A pleased husband speaks words of praise and gratitude.

Praise and gratitude make a woman feel appreciated. 

Appreciation motivates us to pursue excellence.

Excellence is achieved in the small, daily efforts.

And so we rise again the next day and seek to shake off the morning's fog, toothbrush in hand.

Resolved: Prayer time, one cup of coffee, breakfast prep....then straight to the toothbrush, and you know the rest....

Wordless Wednesday: A is for Apple

 

 

 

Little Bits of Beauty ~ Spring Nature

  The weather this week and a bathroom remodel project that left our homemaking and school routines in a shambles made finding and relishing our little bits of beauty a real necessity this week.  Luckily, our March nature basket contained just the thing to settle us down for a lovely morning and leave us with a sweet Spring reminder that is still making us smile.

We started Thursday morning with a nice stack of spring books to read, including this one from one of my favorite picture book collections.  We moved on to a little research about birds, their eggs, and their nests, then enjoyed a sweet craft and sweet lunch time snack.

I bought those four sweet bird statues for our nature display at the dollar store a while back.  We've already learned their names, a bit about each species, and the likelihood of spotting them in our neck of the woods.  It seemed natural for the boys to each choose one bird to make a nest for.  We researched together what their eggs would look like and then the boys set about filling the nests with some rafia and roving to make them a little more comfy.  They then painted their eggs, added them to the nest, and painted a baby bird as well.

Here are the finished products:

Brendan's cardinal and nest.

Quinn's goldfinch and nest.

  Evan's robin and nest.

Gabriel's blue jay and nest.  His brothers were really impressed with how realistic his looked.

At lunch,we enjoyed a little bird's nest treat for dessert--Little Debbie Star Crunch pressed in the middle holding a clutch of Cadbury Mini-Eggs:

This little bit of beauty in a drab week left us all smiles.

      

       

And our sweet Kolbe?  Napped through the whole thing!

Simple Woman's Daybook ~ October 21

The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ October 21st

~ Do stop by Peggy's for all the Daybook links this week. ~

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Outside My Window ... it's cool and clear and the farmers are already at work.

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I am thinking ... about trying to get back into a homey, comfortable rhythm.

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I am thankful ... for the company of good missionary friends.

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From the kitchen ... pancakes for breakfast, chicken and wild rice soup with homemade bread for dinner.

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I am wearing ... purple yoga pants, navy hoodie sweater, bare feet.

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I am creating ... a set of wool felt horses for Evan for Christmas, and chaplets for the older boys.

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I am reading ... lots of things and finishing none of them.  I'm about to scrap the whole pile and start fresh.

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I am hoping ... my kids are feeling better today.

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I am hearing ... my husband and his buddy returning from morning mass-so nice.

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Around the house ... the fridges desperately need my attention--and it's more than footprints that need cleaning off.

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One of my favorite things ... a crispness in the air that makes my morning coffee feel necessary.

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A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: ... enjoying the company of friends, welcoming home my in-laws, and jumping back into the joy of learning fully.

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Here is a picture thought I am sharing ...

What my wee one looks like right now!

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I hope you all have a wonderful week!

~ Do stop by Peggy's for all the Daybook links this week. ~

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Outside My Window ... it's cool and clear and the farmers are already at work.

***

I am thinking ... about trying to get back into a homey, comfortable rhythm.

***

I am thankful ... for the company of good missionary friends.

***

From the kitchen ... pancakes for breakfast, chicken and wild rice soup with homemade bread for dinner.

***

I am wearing ... purple yoga pants, navy hoodie sweater, bare feet.

***

I am creating ... a set of wool felt horses for Evan for Christmas, and chaplets for the older boys.

***

I am reading ... lots of things and finishing none of them.  I'm about to scrap the whole pile and start fresh.

***

I am hoping ... my kids are feeling better today.

***

I am hearing ... my husband and his buddy returning from morning mass-so nice.

***

Around the house ... the fridges desperately need my attention--and it's more than footprints that need cleaning off.

***

One of my favorite things ... a crispness in the air that makes my morning coffee feel necessary.

***

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: ... enjoying the company of friends, welcoming home my in-laws, and jumping back into the joy of learning fully.

***

Here is a picture thought I am sharing ...

What my wee one looks like right now!

***

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Simple Woman's Daybook ~ September 15

For Today...

Outside my Window...there ate twigs and branches to be dragged to the curb, but everything is still standing, thank God.

I am thinking... of how much it will take to get us back on track after three weeks of hurricane crises.

From the learning rooms...a desperate desire to get something done, anything.

I am thankful for... a quiet Gulf.

From the kitchen... baked oatmeal with cinnamon and brown sugar for breakfast, leftover pot roast for lunch, and large limas with ham with for dinner.

I am wearing... yoga pants and a tank top.

I am reading...a biography of Maximilian Kolbe entitled Forget Not Love--STILL.

I am hoping...that the rhythm that served us so well in August was not completely dissolved by these weeks of crisis.

I am creating... a little felt purse to the family of wooden dolls I painted for my niece.

I am hearing... the scraping of forks and contented sounds of hungry boys consuming a warm breakfast.

Around the house... so much to catch up I don't know where to begin.

One of my favorite things... the sound of my kids' laughter.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... get life feeling normal again, make a meal plan for the rest of September and October and create a shopping list, plan a field trip to the planetarium.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

This is what life looks like in the low-lying areas of our parish (county for the rest of you).  Please pray for everyone affected.

For Today...

Outside my Window...there ate twigs and branches to be dragged to the curb, but everything is still standing, thank God.

I am thinking... of how much it will take to get us back on track after three weeks of hurricane crises.

From the learning rooms...a desperate desire to get something done, anything.

I am thankful for... a quiet Gulf.

From the kitchen... baked oatmeal with cinnamon and brown sugar for breakfast, leftover pot roast for lunch, and large limas with ham with for dinner.

I am wearing... yoga pants and a tank top.

I am reading...a biography of Maximilian Kolbe entitled Forget Not Love--STILL.

I am hoping...that the rhythm that served us so well in August was not completely dissolved by these weeks of crisis.

I am creating... a little felt purse to the family of wooden dolls I painted for my niece.

I am hearing... the scraping of forks and contented sounds of hungry boys consuming a warm breakfast.

Around the house... so much to catch up I don't know where to begin.

One of my favorite things... the sound of my kids' laughter.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... get life feeling normal again, make a meal plan for the rest of September and October and create a shopping list, plan a field trip to the planetarium.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

This is what life looks like in the low-lying areas of our parish (county for the rest of you).  Please pray for everyone affected.