My Sad, Lonely, Little Blog

As you can see, it has been a while since I have visited this little corner of my world...

I have been seduced by the ease and convenience of Facebook : (
I need to figure out how to link "Mark of Humility" to my Facebook page, but at the moment,
our computer is in its last throes of death...
It won't even let me go back and "edit" what i am doing right now.

It has been a crazy year...
Scooter was diagnosed with Asthma,
Tilly was hospitalized & diagnosed with Type I Diabetes,
Snorkie ended Thanksgiving in the ER with a mild concussion...

We are getting through it all with the support of family, friends and most of all Faith!

Wishing everyone a Blessed Advent!

and we will see if I can spen some more time in my lovely little Blog world this year....



A slow, lazy, yucky sort of day...

My sweet little guy is feeling awful today...

fever, slight cough, runny nose, nausea...

Daddy is away on business and not feeling very well either.

Down sort of day...

Watching movies and finally nibbling on some food...

Say a prayer for a quick recovery for both of my guys, please.

Thanks : )

My Favorite Renovation: The Girls' Room

When we first bought this house in 2005

The "medium" sized bedroom

was set up for the girls to share.

It was already pink....

Very Bright PINK...

and we had been given a very solid bedroom set for them to use.

(having lost most of our furniture in flood #2)

I have never been terribly fond of a "Pecan" finish...

and the furniture was a little dated...

In the Summer of 2007,

I finally got busy re-doing their room.

Out went the wall shelves, the bright pink and the pecan finish...

IN came a peg rail, custom built display boxes for their

 porcelain dolls, an over the window shelf/ curtain rod

White painted "cottage-y" furniture and a

custom Canopy that didn't interfere with the ceiling fan!

Oh, and custom painted lamp shades with Flower Fairies on them

to put on the custom made/ painted lamps in the room : )

(New hardware for the furniture, too)

The canopy is made from @ 7 yards of light yellow chiffon that

I found at "W"mart for $1.00/ yard   : )

I used screw in supports and screwed cup hooks into them,

then used small cafe rods to hang the canopy from the cup hooks.

Easy up, easy down to wash, dry and rehang : )

The ceiling and top of the wall are periwinkle.

The walls a lovely rose with muted texture

(can't see in the texture ery well in the photos).

We made copies of Flower Fairies from a book we owned

on good matte photo paper and attached them to the

painted furniture using contact paper.

We framed others in clip frames and hung them from the pegs.

I had found the chenille bedspread at a thrift store...

used yellow and green bath mats as rugs (they don't slip)

This photo shows the colors to good advantage...

I never did take any "formal" photos in daylight.

The doll boxes were built to fit 18" x 24" white picture frames.

I glued the glass into the frame then hinged the frames to the

boxes and added magnetic latches (they are hinged at the top).

The lovely toy box with the blue cushion left the room rather quickly...

we needed two desks sooner than I thought we would : )

I LOVED this room!!!

Sadly,

The girls moved out of their joint room last saturday...

now the room belongs to the boys.

Time to buy paint!

Titanic Memory

I stayed up WAY too late last night (1:40am)

reading A Night to Remember

It is truely a wonderful book and

so very sad to realize that when it was published (1955),

those who had survived the Titanic disaster were

aging and would not be around to consult anymore...

Well worth reading...(I only started it in the afternoon)...

I have to remember to talk to my family members more often.

All those thoughts and dreams and memories

will be lost if they are not shared.

I also have to remember to write things down for

my own children. My own memories, hopes and dreams.

Latest Cakes...Catching Up

Somewhat out of focus "Princess Cake"

The cake is 4 yellow cake layers with chocolate fudge filling...

Covered with almond flavored fondant...yum.

Candy melt covered ice cream cones for the towers

green icing vines and grass...

The princesses were reverse "painted" in colored candy melts.

I did the "outlining" and my girls did the painting in : )

This was a cake for a friend and her sister who share a birthday : )

Johnnie's Lego cake for a party with his friends...

1.5" x 3" brownies with mini marshmallows coated with candy...

Joanne "built" the display tray out of duplo blocks : )

LEGO STAR WARS

love those mini marshmallows : )

The figures were built from brownies coated with fondant

and melted candy...

Catherine made her own cake this year...

Bag End

I helped with the chocolate work...she did the rest : )

The kids have such great ideas!

Catherine and John with their cakes : )

Aunt Karen's Surprise Birtday Party!

This was just the cake topper...

It went on top of a very rich 10" diameter x 4" high Cheese Cake...

The camera is rice crispie treats...

cut, molded and covered with black colored fondant!

The silver details were painted with silver dust mixed with

lemon extract on white fondant...it smelled so good...yum.

Aunt Karen taking a "picture" of her cheese cake...

with her rice crispie camera : )

Alleluia! Christ Is Risen!

Happy Easter to all!

We took this photo after Mass this morning

in our parish "grotto".

It's hard to believe the children are getting so big!

Our Proud Cub!

This is our "big guy's" first year as a cub scout

His car came in second place...by HUNDREDTHS of a second

in our Pack's Pinewood Derby!

He is Soooooo proud of his accomplishment!

This is his entire den...

four boys : )

Also the Pack leaders and Den coordinator.

Great guys.

To be honest...he did all the cutting and sanding and painting

on his car all by himself. Good job Snorkie!

Dad set the axles...good job dad!

The pack leader had the whole thing hooked up to his laptop

so it produced instant, incontrovertible results : )

Lots of fun when you have a bear cub...

for the Weeblo II's...hanging out all morning watching that many boys

race their cars that many times...whew.

Little man is having lots of fun in scouting.

Day camp type events, over night at the Franlin Institute,

nature hikes, making bows and arrows...

such wonderful boyhood adventures!

He follows a long family line of Boys scouts including his big brother,

Grandpop, uncles and two cousins who both made Eagle : )

May he continue the tradition!

God Bless you little man!

The Newest Members of the Family : )

This is Zalia curled up on the living room couch

She's put on some weight since she came home with us...

She was only 6 1/2 pounds when we got her...

she has gained at least a pound since then...lol.

"Hunny" in the yard with the wind in her hair : ) 

She is doing well as the newest member of the household...

Hunny and I at the store before we brought her home!

She is a 4 month old "Morkie"...

1st generation cross of purebred Yorkie and purebred Maltese.

She is a "Butterscotch/ Blonde/ Golden Morkie

She fits right in with the rest of the blondes around here : )

Tillie and Zalia cuddled up on the couch!

Great friends.

Zalia is a one year old Tortois Shell/ Calico Mix...

We hit the "kitty Jackpot" with this one...

She LOVES to cuddle!

Pretty Kitty

We got a New Kitty Cat!

Her name is "Zalia"  (zah-lee-a)

that's the name she had at the animal shelter and it suits her

She is a Calico/tortois shell mix

she was @ 6 pounds when we brought her home but she is

seven pounds now and on "weight maintenance" food!

She LOVES to eat!

She also loves to snuggle, be petted and,

unfortunately

take swipes at Lumpy's face : (

He loves her anyway!

Zalia cuddled up with Lumpy as he is occupied and didn't notice

Lumpy and Scooter with Zalia

Scooter thinks she's leaning out of the photo ; )

There are lots more great photos...but the are on the girls'

cameras and i-pods...I'll get some up here soon!



We Know Not the Day or the Hour...

I spent some time last week (10th, 11th 12th)

trying to figure out what to say about my personal 9-11.

35 years ago

my mother had a massive coronary on September 2nd...

she spent nine days in ICU and never regained consciousness.

Each of us: Dad, brothers, sister, myself, had some time to

come to terms with the fact that Mommy was

simply not coming home ever again.

 She died on September 11, 1976...

I am 47now... 35 of those years have been "Motherless".

This year was more difficult than many...

I finally figured out

- with the help of the Holy Spirit-

what was bothering me...

My eldest daughter is now the same age as I was

on that awful day...

I prayed so hard that she would not have to experience

the pain of a loss like that at so young an age.

We had a wonderful day on Saturday the 10th at a Healing Mass,

and having some spiritual direction as a family.

Seeker Man was approaching a big legal date

that we have been praying about for many months.

It was a difficult weekend, but we made it through...

Then Tuesday morning the phone rang.

My Sister-in- Law sounded horrible...

her voice caught...

she told me that my brother had a heart attack...

I waited to hear that he was in the hospital...

he was not.

He was dead

at 52.

(This photo was from one of his 50th birthday gatherings)

He was my eldest daughter's God Father.

In the last week, I have seen my Dad and Step-Mom,

My eldest brother and his wife from Florida,

My sister and her family who live in Illinois,

Many cousins and Aunts and Uncles...

I loved and hated every minute of it.

We laughed alot and cried alot...

and prayed so very much.

Surely, we do not know the day nor the hour...

make those phone calls.

Write those letters.

Say "I Love You" more often.

Give big hugs.

You will be glad you did.

So many things to say...

Well, I HAD intended to use the summer months

to catch up and try to post AT LEAST weekly...

HA!

Here it is September 3rd and I have been away from

this blog for months again.

I blame all the fabulous bloggers out there who

attract my attention with their wonderful writing

and keep me reading other's work

instead of writing my own!

I really have to do some housecleaning on here to

update the blogroll, etc.  I have been behind

in keeping this place organized...

sort of like my house : )

I want to try to catch up on some of the things we did

this summer: Catholic Familyland, family funeral,

family wedding, the girls trip to Morningstar Camp,

the boys and I in Massachusetts while the girls

were in New Hampshire...

oh, and the eternally ongoing

"minor" kitchen renovation...

as well as planning for our homeschool co-op...

the first time I am teaching something more

difficult than the art classes...

Middle School History!

Pray for me!!!

July 2011at Catholic Familyland!

It's been a long, long time...

On the 16th of June we had our "Portflio Review"

and "officially" ended our school year...

of course we still have things to do and to finish

over the Summer, but we are done with the heavy stuff...

I still have to drop the portfolio off the

School district for review...but that is a formality.

You'd think I'd be nice and rested this week...
But last week was Vacation Bible School and I was a teacher.
We ALL had a great time, but it is flat out
EXHAUSTING!

It has been ages since I posted last...
(March 29th to be exact)

so many things have happened,

gone on, are in the works or are happening...

I cannot talk about some of it.

I cannot remember all of it...

I would like to share a few things...

I would like to get back to my original intention

for starting this blog...I had such plans!

HA! 

God has His own plans and HIS purposes for everything.

Today I read an article encouraging Catholics to just

BE

on electronic media.

I like that idea.

My Catholicism, My Faith,

should be evident in my life & in my posts...

no need to hit anyone over the head...

no need to preach...just be.
I am going to try to post more often, though
with summer upon us and a couple of trips planned,
I won't PROMISE anything : )

Confirmation!

Not a great photo of Scooter...but the only one we took

with just her and her sponsor with the Bishop...

Much better photo with the whole family!

a very fancy dinner out for our newly Confirmed Catholic!

I used to waitress at this restaurant...

LOVE the tableside cooking!

CONGRATULATIONS Scooter!

A Pi Day Celebration

Ever since my kids watched

Night at the Museum:

Battle of the Smithsonian,

they have all ('cept the baby)

been able to quote "Pi"

to eight decimal places....

3.14159265

We love that scene with the Bobble Head Einsteins...

Soooooooooo

we HAD to celebrate

PI Day

March 13th

(get it...3.14)

some go so far as to

celebrate at exactly 1:59 pm...

For dinner, we had

homemade Turkey Pot "Pi"

and simple baked apples

in Spelt flour "Pi" crust...

(dad gave up sugar for lent)...

This was so much fun,

especially because Scooter 

just finished studying the

Area and Perimeter of a circle!

Tilly and Snorkie have been doing fractions this week...

"pieces of the pie" and Scooter started Pie Charts!

Perfect Timing!

 (found this image and thought that I will

HAVE to do this next year...

it is an Actual apple Pie

baked to look like a math book,

with Pi cut into the top crust!)

Mardi Gras

Here it is...the feast before the fast...
a few decadent photos before Lent begins...

Scooter and Snorkie's

Voyage of the Dawn Treader cake...

they are 12 nad 6 this year...

:::sniff:::

Amazing how time flies...

the ship is 4 layers of brownie...yum.

the ocean is yellow cake and Aslan on the beach is plastic

A "Despicable" birthday event....

Snorkie's "Best" friends party...

Welcome Minions!

9 little minions in flannel minion shirts with felt goggles.

We had so much fun...

all the little minions after games...

Munching Minions....

Snorkie wears his shirt at LEAST

once a week...

We had all minion food...Goldfish crackers, cheese doodles,

popcorn, mini pretzels, lemonade...

My FAVORITE Minion

::::hugs::::

Can you believe that he's 15 month old already???

Happy Birthday Scooter!

Today my beautiful Scooter MacDougall turns 12!!!!

Eeeeek

She got her ears pierced for her birthday gift

(yesterday)

and we had the "party" last weekend

(cake photos to follow).

Tonight we are having her "choice" of dinner

 Bacon and Eggs

(the real stuff)

I'm going to try homemade English Muffins...

Amazing how time flies!

Museum of Natural History Nov 2010

Springtime in the back yard with Daddy...

2002

::::::::::::sniff:::::::::::::

Catch-up Wednesday

It is a snowy day in Easten PA

I will have to shovel in a little while...

BUT...I can waste some time by

catching up on some of the photos

accumulating since November.

Tillie's family Birthday Party cake...

Mommy Hedgehog and 12 babies...

(German Chocolate cake with Chocolate Mousse icing)

encrusted with chocolate sprinkles...YUM

Lumpy is my "Turtle Man"

the red looked more "brown" without the flash...

The hedgehog baby faces were Hershey's Kisses

covered in fondant...

Tilly did the faces and ears for all the babies...

Lumpy's cake was RATHER Large...

three layers of orange cake with vanilla icing and

covered with almond flavored homemade fondant.

We took all the leftovers to my sister's house...

we left the next morning to get there...

At my big sister's house in Illinois...

Grandpop and Grandmom celebrating all five

November and December Birthdays...

(two of my kids & three of my sisters)

the Day after Thanksgiving : )

We celebrate Thanksgiving,

five birthdays and Christmas...in three days!

Back home for...

Tilly's actual Birthday

Pumpkin Pie!

Apple Crumb for the rest of us...

Tillie's "friend" Birthday Party was a

The Lion, Witch and Wardrobe theme...

We had bows and arrows to shoot at the witch's wolves,

put the tail on the Beaver and a white witch's wand piniata...

she had @ 20 boys and girls at the house for the day!

This was a brownie cake with LOTS of Decoration...

everything but Mr Beaver and Aslan was edible...

The trees and Wardrobe were chocolate...

the snow was icing...

the water was piping gel...

I made a "mold" for casting

the wardrobe pieces out of craft foam...

we drew the light chocolate designs first, and then

poured the dark chocolate over top for an "inlaid" look.

This party was actually in Early November : )

(gratuitous cut baby photo)

Chewba Grabowski in Scooter's Beret...

what a face.

Snorkie and Santa in their Jammies!