7 Quick Takes: Food and Fall

As always, check Jen out!
**1**
In Rockford, IL which is about 45 mins from my home, there is a horrific abortion mill. It isn't just a women's clinic or a place where babies are killed, it is truly a den of evil. For years now us pro-lifers in the area have been praying and fasting for it's closing. Priests in the area have also been saying prayers of exorcism over the place. The owner is a man filled with hate and anger for God and His people. My parish in Lent did a 40 Days for Life for the closing of this clinic and many wonderful people are always there praying. Well tonight, there is some great news. The state has shut down this clinic due to many health violations. Hopefully it is permanent, but only time will tell. I wanted to share this news with all of you because so often we don't see the fruits of our prayers. Praise God!

**2**
In lighter news, I finally used my bread machine for the first time! We got it as a wedding gift and I always wanted to use it, but I had to run it empty first and just never did that. Well my wonderful husband cleaned and ran it empty for me last week (while I napped with babykins!!) I just cut up our first loaf of whole wheat bread and it smelt and tasted AMAZING.

**3**
I'm never buying bread in the store again! It always bothers me when I look at the list of ingredients and it contains a bunch of stuff I've never heard of before. This way I know exactly what I am eating and giving to my husband and child. Plus I save money and it is much tastier! Bi-Winning.

**4**
I'm one step closer to never buying any foods in the store that I could easily make myself. I partly blame my farm upbringing and partly blame Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship. Love, Love, Love her site. If you haven't checked it out, do it! There is so much to read so you may want to pencil a few weeks in you calendar to absorb everything.

**5**
I also made cinnamon pumkin pancakes for dinner tonight. Yum Yum! I love this time of year. Though I have to say I am mourning the end of my garden. But I think I'm ready to embrace Fall.

**6**
Yesterday my family made homemade apple cider with homegrown apples and the ole cider press.

It is so tasty, and always brings back great childhood memories. Thanks to my grandpa and siblings for picking up all the apples!

**7**
As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I'm in the midst of some intense spiritual warfare. I'm doing my best to keep the evil one at bay and am clining tight to sweet Jesus.  I've been going to adoration at least once a week and even made it to daily Mass today, where Dominic did great! I didn't have to take him out once and it was awesome. The battle rages on and St Michael, and my guardian angel are staying close.

Have a great weekend!

Today

Today it rained all. day. long. I actually kinda like cold rainy days. Dominic and I curled up all warm and attempted to watch a movie. I found Land Before Time V on Netflix (lolz), and since Doc LOOOOVES Dinosaurs I thought it might be a hit. Why I chose #5, I don't know. He liked it, for about 15 minutes or so and then he continued the song he'd been singing all morning long: "Go Wa, Wa". The poor kid wanted to go outside SO badly. I felt bad. I tried to teach him about the rain which was fun, but he didn't understand why he couldn't spend his usual hour or two outside. So here is what our day looked like being stuck inside.

Things Dominic used as a phone: a ball, a dish brush, garlic press, flashlight, MP3 player, and his hand. And I'm sure there where more things that I didn't catch.
He asked to go outside by saying "go wa wa", almost constantly.
Times Doc went bathroom in the potty: 5. Yay Doc!!

He got the hiccups from laughing so hard 4 times.

We played airplane, Doc flew in the air on my feet.

And then he threw up all over my face. and hair.

This has never happened before, I guess I just got a little to rough?

But I kid you not, Doc took one look at me after I was covered in his puke and CRACKED UP.

And he continued laughing as he watched me try and clean myself off.

What a stinker.

We took a glorious 2.5 hr nap.

Dominic helped me wash the dishes.

He ended up doing naked dishes because he just kept spilling water on himself.

We each had 3 wardrobe changes.

Dominic went down his impromtu indoor slide (which is a leaf to our dining room table) to satisfy his thirst for WEEEE.

We ate lots of yummy food-avacado, cheese, bananas, celery & peanut butter, Oberwiese chocolate milk (which is like a mik shake yum yum), and homemade chicken noodle soup.

We did 2 loads of laundry.

Said lots of prayers.

All in all, not bad for a cold rainy day.

Life is good with a little stinker to play with.

I hope you had a wonderful day too.

Playing Rockband with Uncle Corey (yesterday).

7 Quick Takes: Onomatopoeia

Thanks Jen! for hosting Quick Takes.

**1**
Okay so the Suds Fairy didn't come and clean up my dishwasher disaster so I had to take matters into my own hands. The trusty interwebs told me pour 1/2 cup olive oil on the bottom and run the wash cyle. It worked wonderfully! So thankful it wasn't too much of a headache. I went out and bought some dishwasher detergent today and before using it brought it to Geoff and made him confirm that it was in fact dishwasher detergent and not soap; not a mistake I want to make twice.

**2** 
The same day of the dishwasher disaster I had a visit from a friend from Switzerland! Helen was a foreign exchange student in High School and for a whole year we were great friends. Thanks to Facebook we got back in touch and I was so excited that she was coming to town for a week. It was so nice to catch up with and old friend. Dominic was in rare form and was obsessed with entertaining her and trying to make her laugh. She humored him a lot and we had a great time.

**3**
Dominic LOVES talking on the phone and has for quite some time now. Since we don't often let him play with our phones however, he uses anything and everything he can as a phone, sometimes even his hand. Example, last Sunday while I was getting ready for Mass:



 **4**
Dominic has always been a talker, but it is so fun hearing him say actual words. I love it!! Everyday he says something new. Yesterday during lunch he said "soup", which is no suprise since we looove soup and eat it often. He also loves saying bug, truck, down, juice, and of course Onomatopoeia.

**5**
Okay so he may not SAY onomatopoeia but boy does he have the exclamations down. I'll never tire of hearing him say "WHOOAA!" and pointing to the sky when he hears an airplane. Another favorite is "WEEEEEE" which he exclaims whilst swinging, and even seeing a swing. In fact he calls swings and slides "weee".

**6**
 Since we have Netflix for TV, Dominic doesn't watch a whole lot of it. He'd would much rather be outside, and would be all day if I let him. Going for walks:

Playing with sticks

 

Going down the Weeee

Unfortunately I gots important stuff to do inside, like make sudsy messes in the kitchen, so we do have to be inside part of the day. Often when I am cleaning and stuff he helps out. Like when I am washing dishes he rinses the dishes and puts them in the drain board, and then back in the water, and sometimes on the floor. He also helps me put stuff away and cook. When he does get to watch a TV show though, there is only one he loves and asks for by name. Yo Gabba Gabba. I hated this show at first but I have to say it has grown on me. There is a lot of singing and some of the music is tolerable at best, while some of it I really enjoy. Here is my favorite song from guest band The Roots.

**7**
Whoa! That wasn't such a quick take. So I will shut it and leave you with a few more cute pics. :)

Maybe It Will Disappear

I bought some new detergent for my dishwasher.

Today I loaded it and happily filled it with this new, non-chemical liquid.

While it was running Doc and I were sitting on the floor

picking the fresh basil and oregano leaves from the stems for dinner.

Suddenly I noticed that there was soap all over the floor pouring out of the dishwasher!!

OH NOES!!!!

I immediately stopped dishwasher called my super handy and awesome grandpa (who installed it for me)

and ask if he could come over and help, something must have broken.

He said he would be over first thing in the morning (thanks Grandpa!)

I cleaned it up- actually it was nice because the floor got really mopped for like the first time ever.

Then I started thinking...I heard once that it gets suds CRAZY when you put regular dishwashing liquid in the dishwasher.

I got out my fancy new detergant and sure enough, it wasn't dishwasher detergent at all but regular old dishsoap.

DOH!

I had to then call my grandpa back and say,

um yeah so this turns out to be more of an operator error situation.

My dishwasher is still filled with suds,

I'm hoping maybe they will disappear overnight and I won't have to clean it up.

Srsly, I know the tooth fairy comes and gives kids money for teeth, and gnomes come and make shoes, but where is my suds fairy?

Will report back to let you all know if one exists.



My Battle Plan

Today was a good day. Since Sparky (the evil one) has been attacking, I knew it was time to start fighting back with avengance. I always pray the St. Michael prayer multiple times a day, call on my guardian angel's intersession, and pray daily rosary (all great weapons in spiritual warfare) but today I pulled out the big guns. My MIL watched Doc so I could go to confession and daily Mass. These two things I know need to be done with much more frequency. I mentioned in my last post that I have had quite some attacks in years past (stories for another time perhaps), but during my pregnancies and new mommyhood, God gave me a break while I adjusted. I'm so grateful for that!! Now I suppose I'm adjusted and I am seeing the attacks again. I just need to fight hard and do my part and give it back to Him anyway.

Before Dominic was born I went to at least monthly confession, sometimes weekly, and daily Mass. I think I received the Eucharist almost every single day Doc was in my womb. I do miss daily Mass a lot, and I think it is time to start going on the days Dominic and I are home. The local Newman Center has Mass at noon which is awesome for us late sleepers. It used to always be during Dominic's nap time, but now he only naps once around two pm so I should be able to swing it. The only semi problem is this college Church (which actually is also a Parish) is so child unfriendly. There is no crying room. There is a Narthax but there aren't speakers so I don't really feel like I am attending Mass. Like I said before Dominic is quite the talker (and the occassional screamer), and I don't want to ruin Mass for anyone else. I suppose I'll give it a try and maybe he will suprise me with his good behavior!

As far as confession goes, there is no excuse to not be going at least monthly right now; I owe it to my husband and son! Every two or three months just won't do. Fr. Gabrielle Armorth, the head Exorcist for the Vatican says that one confession is more powerful that a hundred exorcisms. WOW! What better defense in spiritual warfare?

Adoration is the other BIG thing I need to start going to with much more frequency. I love spending time with dear sweet Jesus, who sits and waits in the Little White Host for love of us. Again at least weekly and I think this too is possible. The best thing about this, is it is something we can do as a family. I will never forget a couple days before Dominic was born, Geoffrey and I went to adoration together and prayed hard for our little one and for a safe and healthy birth. What an answer to prayers we had! Then the week after we had him my wonderful husband went to adoration to say thank you for this incredible gift. Dominic was only a few weeks old when we went as a family, the three of us on earth. It was...overwhelming. I guess what I am trying to say is, I LOVE adoration and need to go more often.

There are many other things on my battle plan, like fasting (again something I don't do nearly as often as I should), acts of penance, daily examinations of conscience, and more spiritual reading.

I'm feeling refreshed today after Mass and confession, I just need to stick to the battle plan.

A Call to Arms

There is so much I want to blog about right now...

I have so many half written posts and half formed ideas,

but this week has left me exhausted.

I am so blessed and life is great

but the evil one is prowling.

I can hear his breath.

He is trying to break me.

I am so weak

and so I must cling tight

to the Eucharist in adoration,

to confession,

to my rosary,

to Mass,

to prayer.

Because dear sweet Jesus is strong,

my guardian angel is by my side,

St. Michael is waiting for the word to strike

and the devil doesn't stand a chance.

I am no novice to this battle,

I carry the scars of years.

It's been quiet for a few

and God has kept the evil one at bay

whist I adjusted to my new role as a mother.

But now, now the honeymoon has ended.

God is calling me to battle

I must grow in humility, obedience, and gentleness.

They are my shield.

I must return to fasting, penance, and mortification.

They are my sword.

St. Gemma, show me the way.

"Put you on the armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places. Therefore take unto you the armour of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of justice, And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace: In all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. And take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God). By all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the spirit; and in the same watching with all instance and supplication for all the saints..." Ephesians 6



Sit Down and be Quiet!

It is easy to get frustrated when our little owns aren't behaving how we would like them to. One of the worst places for me is restaurants. Oh how I loathe going out to eat now. Another place I sometimes get frustrated is at Church. Overall I would say that Dominic does pretty well, but our boy LOOOVES to talk. Constantly. All. the. time. I have no idea where he gets that from?? I don't mind if he is talking quietly a little bit especially since we normally attend the Extra Ordinary Form which is in Latin, but as Mass goes on he gets louder and louder. Usually we make it to the homily before Geoffrey or I bring him out back in the Narthax (where thankfully there is still sound). But right now, my Church is doing some much needed renovations: marble, Communion rails, high altar, need I say more, I'm already in love! In the mean time we are having Mass in our large gathering cafeteria type space. Yep, the same space I bring Dominic while we are at work to run around and go crazy in. So to tell our very active (I can't but think that is an understatement) 18 M old that he needs to be quiet and sit still in a place he usually plays in is nearly impossible.

A few weeks ago we attended the Saturday evening Mass because we were leaving for vacation the next day and wow was it horrible. I was in tears for a better part of the Mass and not in a good way (yes I am a frequent crier during Mass because, wow Jesus is there and that is awesome!) Dominic was being his normal self and oh my were we getting the dirtiest of dirty looks. Now let me say that my husband is super sensitive and considerate in this area and any peep too loud he wisks Dominic out. It is the Holy Mass and Geoff always says he doesn't want Dominic to take away from that for other people. I tell you that so you know we weren't letting him run wild and he wasn't screaming up a storm, but every little peep produced an evil glare. Not from just one person but from mutiple. We were just about the only family there with a youngling so I think this crowd wasn't used to that but it really just saddened me. These were mostly older people who were 30, 40, or more yrs removed from their own child rearing days. Have they really forgotten what it was like? I was feeling terrible and was questioning my parenting abilities. Thankfully Fr. L. was there to help after Mass. He calls Dominic "the Pistol" and always comments on how he is all boy, always on the move. After that particularly rough Mass he reminded me to not let other people get to me. He said we do a great job as parents and that they were being just plain rude.

So I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Do we put unrealistic expectations on our wee little ones? Don't get me wrong, I believe firmly in discipline and think that there will come a time where there will be more consequences for how he acts, but I have to keep in mind that Dominic right now is a one yr old! He doesn't yet understand that it would really be convenient for me if he was quiet and sat still for an hour/hour and a half long Mass. He doesn't know that when he screams in the grocery store because he wants to run around and not ride in the cart that it is unpleseant for other people. He doesn't understand why he can talk freely in someplaces and not others. But he is getting there, so I practice with him by going into the Church for instance while we are at work and showing him how to act. He will get it, but expecting him to sit down and shut up right now, would be asking him to simply stop being himself. Just like those people who were giving us evil glares at Mass, I don't remember what it is like to be a one year old kid. I do know, however that it is hard to sit still and be quiet at 28! I can't imagine what it is like for Dominic.

Patience, understanding, and a whole lot of grace will get us through. And then when we do, if God so blesses us, we hope to have another little one to not sit still and be quiet.

Thrift Thursday: Art Edition

Tonight I had a youth group meeting with the jr. high kids.

For a craft we made shrine pictures,

something I've been wanting to do for a long time.

Years ago on Ebay I bought a huge pack of old Italian prayercards for cheap.

They are beautiful.

I always had this idea to decorate and hang them in some way,

but never could quite put the pen to paper so to speak.

Last week I bought some neat frames at a garage sale

and this set everything in motion.

I've only done one so far and can't wait to make more!

I started with St. Cecilia, one of my patrons.

For the background I reused old cards that I've received for my birthday and baby shower.

The music is from an old Missalette.

So from there I got the idea to do the same type of thing,

but with a family photograph I printed out but never did anything with.

It's super cheesy and I love it!

Again I used baby shower cards and even part of a baby shower decoration that my SIL Chris made.

Again I am excited to make more of these.

I'm sad that garage sale season is almost over,

but we have a lot of awesome thrift shops in the area

and I don't think my sil and partner in thrifty crime, Robyn is worn out yet.

Happy Thriftin'!