AND it's off to the movies we go!

Well - yesterday I had a HUGE list of things to do ready for myself, but first I needed to lie down with Elsa after breakfast I was, err - I mean she was tired. She nursed quietly for a bit and we both dozed off. I woke with a jolt and hurried downstairs to grab my clothes out of the dryer.

Once dressed, I called the gang together and we said our Rosary. By now it was about 11 am. Well - I thought I still have a little over half a day with which to tackle my ‘to do’ list. Lesson plans times five children so we can get back to school next week. List five items for sale for my husband; help with packing as we are behind since so many of us have been ill. Finish two loads of laundry, prepare supper. Get everyone to do the three o'clock chores, preferably at three for a change. Oh, there were other inspirational thoughts on my list of to do's but at 12, almost exactly twelve, Nathaniel, my five year old handsome red head (not toot, only girls and babies are toot!) remembered that I had promised that I would take him to the movies.

I had been looking at his hair that was badly in need of a trimming so I asked; "Tanny - would you like me to cut your hair today? (Not, btw, on my to do list!) And his little face just lit up as he said; "Oh yeah - so we tan go to the mooies? You haid we would go to the mooies today. "

He had me over a barrel with those big owl round blue eyes that were shining with expectation as well as the confidence that I would keep my word. I had promised. I had promised I would take him LAST Saturday, but I saw no benefit in pointing that out since I had clearly forgotten that promise. My husband's eyes grinned at me over his laptop balanced on his knees. "I have a ton to do with this business plan.", he reminded me. This was also true. I looked at Nathaniel and his happy grin. "Well," I said, "we need to have a bath before we can cut your hair."

He skipped up the stairs ahead of me and made not a complaint while I scrubbed his scalp clean and wrapped him up in a towel in prep for the hair cut. While I was doing this, word got around that 'we are going to the movies'. Bethany pirouetted before me seeking approval of her blouse and pant combo. She got it. Another child checked to see if their hairdo was suitable for the movies. Another child was told he was not invited, no one was sure why but apparently he was not. I quickly put that rumour to rest. So, total count for this trip was eight plus Mummy. Thankfully we were heading for the 1.50 theater.

Finally, all groomed and presentable, my ‘to do’ list completely forgotten, we loaded all the car seats, diapers bags and babies, toddlers and the rest of us into the van. We waved goodbye to Finnegan and left. We made a quick pit stop at Ahmed's to top off the gas and thriftily pack the diaper bag with some candy and tiny cans of pop - cans the perfect size for the youngest to enjoy a taste of soda during the movie. The older kids and I would buy some there.

We got there with time to spare to spare so I ushered all the girls into the Women's bathroom while sending Teddy and Noah to the Men's. I had a mild heart attack when Anna asked me; "Where's Nathaniel?" He, of late, has decided he is too old for the Women's restroom but I had not given him permission to go to the Men’s and did not know if he had done that or gone looking for our movie - Madagascar. I hurried back out and, of course, there was no little red head to be seen. But I did spy a little blond boy about 7 years old. AND he was heading to the Men’s. I cut him off and asked him if he would look for a little red head who was five, or maybe just call out Nathaniel and see if anyone answered. "Sure!" he said as the door swung shut behind him while I tried not to obviously glance in. I strained my ears and I could hear a young voice calling out Nathaniel and I heard other voices. I waited and then clapped my hand to my forehead - of course - I had not asked him to come back out to tell me, so of course... he did not. A few paces back and forth and the boys, all three, trooped back out. By now Gabriela, 14, had joined me in the hallway so I told her watch them all while I went back to supervise the rest of the female pit stop.

Bladders empty and fingers squeaky clean we scooped up two booster seats neatly piled by the door to Madagascar and filed into the empty theater. After all - it was too early on a school day for there to be many children there. Two other families joined us as we settled into our seats and quietly divided out boxes of candies and split up the single box of popcorn I had purchased. Sadly I had not thought to bring some zip locks so I carefully wrapped up handfuls of popcorn times seven and passed them down. We were all ready when the lights finally dimmed and the previews rolled across the screen. Jaws silently chewed, and Emma gave up on her seat since it kept closing up on her like a clamshell regardless of her booster seat. Elsa more or less co-operated, but surprisingly I found that her attention is better held by the grown up movies we have brought her to. Perhaps it was the fault of the much taller seat backs in this theater? None the less, she added to the enjoyment by constantly tackling the wrinkly sounding chip bag on my lap.

Ninety minutes later and it was all over. Not a single bathroom trip was requested and I consider that quite a feat! Madagascar gets five stars from me!

Later, at night, I lay in bed and thought guiltily of my forgotten ‘to do’ list. I felt a bit miserable. I had not done a single thing on it. Nothing had been posted for sale, I had not packed one item, supper had been late and the three o-clock chores were done around seven. But then as I lay there, I looked at the 'got done' list; breakfast together, a little laundry, a pleasant cuddle with an adorable baby, a hair cut, one set of bangs trimmed and happy memories for seven wonderful kids. And most important - a promise kept, even if two days late. Read more!

We Remember 9/11

We remember the victims and their families. May God continue to bless this great country and protect us from further terrorist attacks. Read more!

A flower for you...

Saturdays have become our yard cleaning days. Now what kid looks forward to a Saturday morning clean fest, eh? None that I know and I happen to know twelve. So when I created this new family tradition this summer, I decided that I would get up early and have a nice hot breakfast ready for everyone, with coffee and bacon smells calling everyone out of bed, instead of me with a cup of water poised just so over one's forehead.

So far - it has been well received and everyone enjoys the special ‘breakies’ I have been concocting, pancakes and fried ham on the side, or fresh bread toasted with eggs sunny side up - you get the idea. Right out of Little Farmer, by Laura Ingles Wilder, only not quite on the same scale. Same menu, only spread over several weekends, not served all on the same Saturday morning.

As some may know, I have been ill. Quite ill actually, so the groceries had really petered out and there was no juice to go with the hot breakfast I was planning on, so I slipped off with cash in my pocket and walked over to Ahmed's Gas Station. As I made my way through the crackly dry, freshly mowed field that lies between us and the gas station I glanced down at the bright yellow mustard flowers. Despite the heat and dryness of the season they were in abundance.

Suddenly I thought of Emma, my soon to be three year old. Actually I thought of all my children when they were of the flower bearing age - sidling up to me poesy in hand. I remembered the delight that always danced across their faces when I accepted this token of love with a smile and a thank you. I thought; ‘How fun it would be to give Emma a little token of love for a change. Children take so much delight in this; it must be so special to them.’ I chuckled mentally at the thought of her face when I surprised her with a little handful of flowers.

I quickly made my purchases of juice, greeted Ahmed and hurried back to the field where I carefully chose a few buds of yellow. I made sure they were long enough to put in a glass of water. When I entered the house through the back porch, Emma was sitting at the computer with one of her siblings playing a PBS kids game online.

"Emma," I called coyly, "Look what Mummy has for you."

She scrambled down off the chair and with her face lit with expectation she hurried to me. I showed her the flowers. "I brought you some flowers Emma." She drew in her breath; "For ME?"
"Yes - for you!"
Anna, twelve, asked her; "What do you say Emma?"

"Your Welcome Mummy!" she breathed as she started to show everyone her flowers before feeding them to Finnegan.

Hmmm, yes. Thank YOU Emma, I thought, YOU give me so much pleasure! Thank YOU! So really - her welcome was quite appropriate! Read more!

Thing One and Thing Two

Well - the puppies are growing. I swear they are double their size since we "adopted" them from the stranger that ambled up our drive that hot dusty Sunday afternoon. Since then they have been de-wormed, vacinated and eaten us out of house and home.

They have been learning how to sit and to "walk easy!" as well as to sit at the door before we open it. However, I have not been able to work with their training much the past two weeks between being ill, and still trying to keep the house going. So I have been worried they would forgot much of their training. But I never thought they would forget their names - or at least one of them forget.

Tonight my son Jonathan came out to the garage where I was hidden, working on the computer for the business. He said; "Madre - did you know we have two puppies named Zack?"

"WHAT?" I asked!

"Yup - tonight I called Zack, and he came bounding across the living room, but then seconds later Ares skidded around the corner, crashing into him. So I waited until Ares was distracted and chewing on a bone and then called him by his name. 'Ares....' no response, he just kept chewing on his bone."

Jonathan continued: "Ares, I called louder, slapping my thigh and clapping. Nope - no response. 'Zack?' I said, and he leaped up and tore across the room to me, with his tail whipping like crazy. So, I guess we now have two puppies named Zack."

I just stared at him in disbelief. But then it is no wonder, as almost none of the younger children get Ares's name right, They keep calling him things like Heiress, Areeeez, anything but Ares.

So, maybe they'll just be "Zack One" and "Zack two", they certainly cause as much trouble as Thing One and Thing Two!

My poor puppies.... I clearly need to get back to their training! Read more!

Lost keys... again!

Earlier this week my husband was once more desperatly searching for keys. Keys for a vehicle that, again, has not been driven for a while. But this time I did NOT climb on a chair and search through bottles and bottles of Baby Tylenol, Children's Motrin and other sundry medicines. I had already cleaned the fridge off, and it was quite empty, so I already knew there were no keys of any sort there.

I did not empty out laundry baskets or sort through the items that are stacked on the shelf over the washer and dryer. I didn't even ask my husband if he had looked in any of these areas - I just stared at my rectangular bruise and bit my lips. I said not a word - I was sure he would find them again without my help and... he did.

I learned this when he walked into the kitchen covered with sweat and announced; "I just walked three miles."

In this heat?

I whirled around to stare at him and asked, "Why did you do that?" He and I have been talking about excercising, but surely there was a cooler, and less busy time of day, to take a walk. Especially a three mile walk.

He wearily wiped his forehead off, with a look of disgust.

"Because the stupid blue van broke down three miles from here, that's why."

I didn't bother to ask where he had found the keys this time. I just called AAA and asked for a tow.

Anyone know of a Patron Saint for old vehicles? Read more!

I am stealing from Danielle Bean...

I am stealing a list of items needed by the Baton Rouge Saint Vincent DePaul Society from Danielle's Web Site. Like so many other's I want to do more than pray and wring my hands while I listen to the suffering that is still ongoing and here is a chance to do so.

Locally there was ONE location in a nearby city that was accepting donations between 10am and 2 pm for only TWO days... Doesn't really seem as if they want many doantions. And we have received a few hundred evacues here in NC.

Given I am still sick and unable to drive, these limited hours and a location more than an hour away kept me from being able to donate the toys my children have chosen to share. I also want to go through clothes we have and share these items as well, but I could not do it before those two dates came and went, so when I saw Danielle's posting I grabbed it to share and to use!
Here is her list and the address is below it:

• Infant Clothing/layettes
• Diapers
• Formula
• Bottles
• Baby wipes
• Children’s Clothing
• Children’s Shoes
• Socks
• Undergarments
• Washcloths
• Towels
• Toiletries
• Blankets
• Children’s Sleeping Bags
• Book bags
• Pillows
• First Aid Items
• Children’s Tylenol
• Baseball Caps to limit sun exposure
• Non-Aerosol deodorant
• Non-Aerosol Bug Repellant
• Coloring Books
• Crayons

Please list contents of all packages on the label. And please package clothing in separate boxes or plastic bags according to size and sex (example: Boys Size 6 or Women’s Size 12) and be sure these are clearly labeled as well.

Please ship packages to:
St Vincent DePaul Society
St Vincent DePaul Place
Baton Rouge LA 70802 Read more!

Check this out...

Here is a URL to a local Mississippi tv station. Here you will find articles as well as video clips of the devastation that the residents of the Gulf Coast have suffered!

http://www.wlox.com/

I have finally turned the news off and am not so focused on it today. I have done this especially for the children. Still, I feel so much compassion and horror for these poor people, that they are on my mind all day. There are whole towns gone, wiped offthe face of the earth. Because of the immensity of the problems New Orleans faced, it has over shadowed Mississippi's and Alabama's tragedies.

Today and yesterday my children have taken turns going through their toys and we will pass those on. Yet, I wish to do more. Because we travel so much, these are areas we know. In fact last summer we raced, I think it was Ivan, to gather up merchandise that was on the Kessler Base. We were afraid to wait until after it had passed in case we lost our purchases in the storm. While there my husband, Hugo, said; "Hey - we are only about 55 miles from New Orleans, why don't we take a quick detour and head over there." Tired and anxious to get home before the hurricane made land, I replied;
"Nah, New Orleans will always be there, we can check it out another time..."

Now we scour the tv screen trying to catch a glimpse of anything we recognize from Biloxi or Gulfport, and I regret not having gone to New Orleans. Who would ever have thought it would not always be there? Read more!

Where are the keys...

I had a fever, a sinus infection, an eye infection and my chest was hurting. Then because I was feverish and a bit dizzy I lost my balance while standing on a chair. I was trying to help Hugo find the keys to our van. This van has been up on blocks for WEEKS and we were finally ready to test drive it... but the keys were missing.

Earlier that day Hugo had turned his pockets out... I had turned my pockets out... he had dumped his laundry basket... I had dumped the big boys’ basket (and then picked it all up again). No keys.

Later the kids searched through the couch and chair cushions in the living room, and searched under these pieces of furniture as well. No Keys.

Eventually I called from my sick bed; "Have you checked the fridge?"
''Oh yes - several times.
"Humph - I thought. Sure you did. I know how well you check on there.

So... I went downstairs and began a through search over the fridge; moving bottles of Advil, boxes of Band-Aids, bags of dog treats etc, found missing nail clippers. And then I stretched a little too far to the right and the chair I was balanced on flipped over out from under my feet. I swung precariously through the air while holding onto the freezer door and managed to land on both feet, but not before banging up my left foot and right leg.

Sporting a gumball under the sole of my left foot, and a bruise 4 inches long and 3 wide on my right leg, I crept back to bed. There I quietly prayed for help from St. Anthony in finding the keys as obviously I was in no shape to keep looking.

I fell asleep and when I woke up the van was gone. THANK YOU St. Anthony I whispered to myself! When my husband got back from his test drive of the van, I asked him where were on earth had he found the keys???
"In the van.” he responded nonchalantly.
"In the van??” I repeated, staring at my black and blue calf.
"Yeah, they were in the ignition." Read more!

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

This month my first baby boy turns TWENTY!!!!

I will then have THREE kids in their twenties, but I still consider myself a “young” mother. As long as I have a child still in the single digits – I figure I can qualify as a young mother… At current count I have five children still in the single digits, but once Elsa hits ten – I will have to think of another way to define young. Read more!

Here is a most interesting blog dedicated to Katrina and her aftermath. There are photos such as you are not seeing on national tv, making it even more personal than the tv coverage has been able to do.

http://dancingwithkatrina.blogspot.com/

I have not checked it out in it's entirety, so I am not sure how graphic some photos might be. Therfore, I would caution allowing children to view this blog until you have perused it yourself. So far I have not seen anything I would not allow my children see but, as I said - I have not viewed the whole blog.

I continue to pray... Read more!

The Blessed Sacrament is the first and supreme object of our worship. We must preserve in the depths of our hearts a constant and uninterrupted, profound adoration of this precious pledge of Divine Love.
Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier
http://www.goodshepherdsistersna.com/Euphrasia.htm Read more!

SPAM Comments...

Because I have had what I consider a large number of SPAM comments for what I am assuming is a rather small readership I have added a verification step so that people will have to type letters that they see in a box before posting. I am sorry for that but I feel that it is unfair to everyone to have SPAM posted on our blogs. Has anyone else had this problem? I hope to eventually have my own website and possibly avoid this problem as a result.

I will try to remember to post my email address so that people can write to that if they prefer rather than go through the verification process. I hope it is not too cumbersome. I really enjoy reading people's feedback. If I forget to add my email address you can always roll down a little and find an older post with my email address.

I will republish this explanation for a while. I am sorry for this!

Blessings
mum2twleve@yahoo.com Read more!

How can we help the victims of Katrina?

I have been extremely restless the past week as I have had my ears glued to Fox News via our XM radio. I have been spared the horrific views of the pain and suffering, but my heart still cries for the hungry, the displaced, the babies, the mothers of these babies. I have listened to the frantic notes of Shepherd Smith’s voice, of FOX News, as he pleaded for help for the people surrounding him on highway 10 exit 235 a. As I listened to him describe fathers helplessly wandering up and down the pavement while jiggling newborns in their arms and describe a mother cuddle her desperately ill 3 year old, I itched to be able to fill my van with water and diapers and head to the highway myself. But this was neither feasible not realistic, but I want to help someway myself.

So I am listing here a number of ways that one can donate to the cause. Many people will have already have done so, but it you have not, and are not sure the best way to help – here are a number of Charities, some that President Bush himself has suggested we give to.

The two suggested by our President are the Red Cross , and the Salvation Army .

Here are some others:
Catholic Online
FEMA's link to many other valid charities

Where to help the pets of Katrina’s victims: SPCA

Please, please – keep in mind that there will many despicable folks, disguised as charities, out there trying to fleece others. It can not be emphasized enough that there will be a number of scams going on. I have heard on Fox News, that at this point, charities such as RED CROSS are too busy actually assisting the victims to be making phone calls soliciting donations. If you get such a call – it is most likely a fraud. Please do not make donations by phone. If you get a phone call ask the caller to mail you documentation so that you can confirm that they are legit. Tell them you will donate by mail after you receive confirmation that they are legit. If they are real – they will only be too glad to mail you this information.

In some situations people do not have the money to send to a charity – in those cases we can go through our closets, bookshelves and pantries and select pieces of clothing, shoes, books, children’s videos etc to donate to local charities to give to the hundreds of shelters for the victims.

We can also volunteer man hours to local charities to help sort through the donations and organize them for deployment.

And, of course, we can continue to pray.

God Bless America and, most especially, the victims of Katrina.

POST SCRIPT a link to FEMA's guidance regarding legit charites vs Frauds
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/charity.htm Read more!

One Person's Punishment is Another's Game...

Recently my nineteen year old was enjoying himself regaling tales of when he was little to his younger siblings. Somewhat along the lines of "I used to walk 3 miles in barefoot in the snow to get to school" he told of how he and the other three oldest children, would have to share a single can of soda pop.
"You guys have no idea how lucky you are - maybe once a month we would get to share a whole can of soda. Yep, Daddy might bring home one can of soda and would tell us - You can all share this - and we would be so exited. And you guys get a whole can each!!!" He shook his head sagely as he watched their eye get rounder and rounder. Eventually he switched from tales of treats and sharing, to the subject of discipline.
"Do you know what we use to have to do if we got caught running on the stairs?" Pausing for effect, he glanced around the dinner table as our "second" family stared mutely back at him shaking their heads no. One or two stole a sip from their cans of sodas.
"Oh Man - you guys have no idea how good you have it. We had to walk up and down the stairs the same amount of times as we were in age. "
One of the youngest piped up; "So I would have to go up and down seven times?"
He solemnly nodded. All that was missing was a long white beard for him to pull at while he continued. “And you had to walk up and down for that to count as one!”

This was punctuated with the arrival of eight year old Teddy as he landed with a thud at the bottom of the stairs. Unaware of the change in the subject he had flown down the stairs and cleared the last three in a single leap. Jonathan looked at me expectedly and six pairs of eyes fastened on my face. Struggling to keep my face straight I explained to Teddy he would now have to walk up and down the stairs eight times. Nathaniel, five, watched with wide eyes and then got up and came over to me. He pointed to Teddy as the other children counted the trips; “Four….. five….”
“Can I have a turn Mummy?” he chirped eaglerly. He grabbed Jonathan’s hands and said “Tum on Jonaten. Mummy said I can doe up and down too! Tum with me.”
Smothering a chuckle at how the tables had been turned on him, Jonathan joined Tanny Paul as he happily counted steps up, and then down again. What a game he thought it was, while Teddy wearily finished his count of eight. The rest of us started to clean up from supper, a few not bothering to hide our grins as Jonathan continued to help Nathaniel count his steps up and down, up and down and up and down. One person's punishment is sometimes another's game.

mum2twelve@yahoo.com Read more!

This is almost eerie. This article was actually written and published a few months ago. It could have been written yesterday or today.

We continue to pray and turn our thoughts towards all those who are suffering.


mum2twelve@yahoo.com Read more!

May God be with the people of the Gulf Shores!

My 19 yr old son personally has friends in New Orleans. He has heard nothing from them since Sunday night. As well, he has a friend in college up North whose parents live in New Orleans and he has not heard from his parents since Katrina struck. The last he heard was they were unable to escape due to huge gridlock that occured when people realized Katrina had become the much feared cat five. Understandably, this young man is feeling somewhat desperate for news.

How many others are in this heart wrenching situation - worrying about their loved ones and unable to contact them? Our family has been praying for all of these poor people. For those trapped within the chaos and disaster along the coast. For those who escaped, but now have no home to return to. And finally for those who wait, with hearts in their throats, to learn what has happened to their family members and friends who were unable to evacuate.

May God Bless them, and may His saving grace pour down on them all! Read more!

The verdict is in...

And... it is red hair. Yup, we have finally all concured that Elsa's hair is red, or well maybe strawberry blond, or possibly auburn. At any rate it has a definite red tinge to it - don't you think so?

mum2twelve@yahoo.com Read more!

Let us pray for those in the path of hurricane Katrina

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae.

Amen.

Read more!

The Blessed Eucharist is the perfect Sacrament of the Lord's Passion, since It contains Christ Himself and his Passion.
Saint Thomas Aquinas Read more!

No news yet re the AMBER alert...

Thank you, everyone, for praying. For now there is no additonal news - the amber alert is still active. It is very, very sad! We are so praying for a positive outcome, but as everyone knows - typically the more hours a child is missing, the less likely that there will be a happy ending. But one thinks of Elizabeth Smart and hopes!

Please continue to pray for this little girl. I intend to write to various members of government regarding the sentencing of sex offenders. In our small zip code there are SIXTEEN registered offenders alone. Many of them REPEAT offenders. It is sometimes a very scary world out there. We have reminded our children of the need for safety and caution as we live a very short distance from the highway. As well, we are just a jump, skip and a throw from one of the local gas stations where a lot of young men hang out washing their cars and it seems, sometimes imbibing in illegal activites.

It is a delicate line to balance on - keeping them alert to possible dangers without terrifying them. I fear that I err on the terriying side of things. It has been a terrible summer, whether there are really more abductions or just the media playing it up more - I don't know. I suspect the latter. Still - better safe than sorry is the old adage and I really prefer that my children be more safe.

My fourteen old has suggested that we add the safety, in this regard, to our prayer book that we read our intentions out of before praying the family Rosary. Out of the mouths of babes! Read more!

An Amber Alert here in NC!!!

Above is picture of a 2005 Hyundia Sonata.

I REALIZE MANY OF YOU ARE NOT FROM NC BUT IT IS POSSIBLE THE ABDUCTOR & VICTIM ARE ALREADY IN A NEGHBORING STATE... and I am trying to inform as many people as possible!!!

Formal Alert reads as follows:

"The Rocky Mount Police Department is searching for Jodie Renee Collie. She is a 12 year old white female, approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 114 pounds. She has blonde hair and green eyes.The abductor, Phillip Daniel Denkler - a registered sex offender, is a 27 year old whilte male with straight, short, black hair and brown eyes.
They were last seen in a beige 2005 Hyundia Sonata, NC License Plate NMN-2630.
Call 911 if you have information on this abduction."

This little girl is from Rocky Mount NC. Please pray for her safe return!!! Please also share this info with anyone you might know that is, or will be, traveling and can watch for this vehicle.

God Bless
mum2twelve, including a 12 yr old daughter - so this really hits home! Read more!

Hermosa!

Babies are absolutely adorable. Yes, I think we can also all agree that babies are cute, sweet, beautiful and absolutely delicious to behold. Yet somehow we can't get away with being bald, chubby and toothless. How is that? Read more!

Be careful of the words you use!

You never know how seriously they will be taken...
Mummy; “I am dying for a book to read!”
Nathaniel (5) in a shocked tone; “You’re DYING, Mummy?”
Mummy; “Oh No, Tanny – I’m not dying, don’t worry!”
Nathaniel; (Sounding somewhere between questioning and making a statement) “Oh – you were dust doking?
Mummy; "Yes Tanny - I was just joking!" Read more!

A Little Favour to Ask...

Mum2twelve needs some help, a little input if you would. As you know Emma Louise Kathleen is pottie training and has been making progress. She loves to show me on a regular basis - her accomplishments. Whether I am on the phone, eating, or nursing the baby at any moment, I might have the pottie waved under my nose. Yes- right under my nose!

But while there is progress, I have run into a problem that I have never experienced in the toilet training of my previous ten children. As long as Emma is bare bttomed she will remember to use the pottie, but let us dress her in panties and she wets them and only then runs to the pottie to "finish".

Having had so much illness in the house along with just the normal 'heckness' of running a business out of the home - I must admit that I have not been a 100 % concentrated on her training. Still, my experience has been that once the child has gotten the idea of what the pottie is for - we could start using undies with few accidents. Right now, a pair of undies equals 100 % accidents.

My question is; "Has anyone else experienced this with their child and if so - how long did it take before the child could start to wear the undies with a "normal" amount of accidents?" Normal meaning possibly one accident a day, with them spacing out slowly until they are non-existant. And the time frame being a month or two. I am just flabergasted by the 100 % predictability of undies equals puddles! But bare bottom equals 100 % use of the pottie.

Here is the favour I am asking - would people having experience with this, or a having suggestion, leave a comment or send an email to mum2twelve@yahoo.com. I would so appreciate it.

Emma will be three in a month, and while I know every child is different, this is VERY different from my vast and varied experience! Still, I am sure others have experienced this. I probably should just be surprised it took to # eleven to have this problem.

Many thanks in advance!
Blessings from
a somewhat frustrated and puddle mired mum2twelve Read more!

Your Welcome...

Recently my daughter Anna was serving ice cream cones and Emma, who is two and a half, called out; "Tank ooh Daddy", as he was the one who had gone out to buy the ice cream.

She looked around the room and seeing that her father was not there - she called back to herself; "Your Welcome Emma!" in a deep voice. Satisfied that she had been acknowledged, she bit into her cone and wandered out of the kitchen, leaving Anna in a fit of giggles. Read more!

"Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you, for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart. "
Saint Therese of Lisieux Read more!

Oh yum....

Recently, while I was enjoying a well deserved respite with a cup of tea and a snack - Emma very proudly showed me the results of her newly learned ability! Emm yum! Read more!

The Power of a Mother's Prayers...

A few weeks ago my two oldest sons announced that they were going to go camping. Not the “cushy” camping that we, as a family, are accustomed to, in a campground with camp sites, bathroom and shower facilities and water spigots spread through out the campground. No, this was going to be “real” camping.

In preparation for this long weekend adventure, they went shopping and came home with roman noodles, some chicken, milk, rice, juice, cereal and all the ingredients needed to make s’mores on the nightly campfires they were eagerly anticipating. I approved their purchases while noting the lack of vegetables, but they were only camping for three days – they would survive.

All Thursday was spent packing the back packs, and checking, and rechecking their gear. They hauled all their groceries, back packs and the like out to the trunk of Jonathan’s old jalopy. They threw the sleeping bags and other assorted camping gear into the back of the car and finally, eager to be off, they called out good bye to the rest of us watching from the back porch.

After watching all of this prep through out the day I suddenly realized something very important.

“Wait!” I called; “Exactly WHERE are you camping?”

“The Linville Gorge.“

“The what? Are there are camping sites there?”

They stared at me like I had two heads.

“No.”

“Oh - so what are you going to do?”

“Camp, hike – eat – have fun. We gotta go now, Madre – we’ll be late. We agree to meet Don at three, and we still need to get Mike.”

“Ah, okay. You have cell phones – right? Don will have a cell phone – right?”

“Sure!” they called, as they waved good bye in the dust stirred up by their spinning tires. The last I saw was their grinning faces as they drove off carefree, happy and young.

A cold piece of ice gripped my heart as I thought about just how young they really were and that this was their first camping trip without their 21 yr old sister to keep them grounded. Heck, this was Miguel’s first camping trip, period, sans parents.

They’ll be fine – I assured myself. We can call them on Don’s cell phone.

Of course, Don’s cell phone was out of range and not reachable when later that evening I realized I had forgotten to lecture – er, remind them to be careful about diving into unknown waters.

“Oh Mary – please pray for these boys who believe themselves immortal, and with boundless luck. Please safeguard them if they go swimming – don’t let them drown or break their necks diving into too shallow waters. “ This was followed by several Hail Maries.

Friday dawned, and still Don’s cell phone was unreachable. Suddenly I experienced this horrible lurch in my stomach – what if they were to get lost in the Gorge. What if they had left the trails they were planning on following? How would we know? When would we know they were lost? Not till well after Sunday when they were to return at some indiscriminate time in the afternoon.

“Oh Mary – please watch over my sons, as well as Don and Michael – don’t let them get lost please. Help them stay safe.” I followed this with more countless Hail Maries all afternoon and throughout the night, neglecting to mention my fears to Hugo, thinking he would just chide my foolishness.

‘Of course they are fine – it’s just a short camping trip, just a few hours away. Relax. They’ll be back Sunday.’ I could hear my husband’s quiet, calm voice in my head and I tried to listen to those imagined words of advice, but continued with my Hail Maries regardless.

Saturday morning dawned and with my sons hopelessly lost in my imagination, another horror hit me – what if one were to step on a rattle snake while traipsing about lost and bewildered through the Gorge??? More fervent Hail Maries were uttered under my breath as I went through the day – cleaning, tidying, reading emails, answering children’s questions and planning Sunday and generally just trying to whittle the day away.

We prayed our evening Rosary. With the children settled down for the evening, I sat down before the computer, prepared to distract myself some more when a slight movement in the corner of my eye caused me to look to my right – just in time to see Jonathan, exhausted and rumpled, sink into the arm chair beside me. His bare arms were badly scratched; his face was sun burnt and very, very tired.

I glanced behind me expecting to see his younger, though taller, brother behind me. He wasn’t. My heart leapt to my throat! This was not Sunday – why was Jonathan home so early, and without his brother? Why did he look so disdraught?

I gaped at Jonathan, and startled him out of his reverie as I yelled at him; “WHERE IS MIGUEL?”

“I don’t know…”, he replied as he rubbed his hand over his eyes.

“YOU DON’T KNOW?????” I could barely breath.

“No – he’s around somewhere, maybe still in the car. I don’t know.”

A huge sigh of relief issued from my lips. Now I could relax and pepper him with questions.

“Why are you home so early?"
"Did you have fun?"
"Where is Don?"
"Is Michael still with you?”

Again, my son wearily rubbed his hand over his forehead.

“Don is home I guess, Mike’s in the garage and we got lost.”

“Lost? You mean as you were driving home or when you drove up?”

“No – in the Gorge. We got there late Friday night, and that's when we found out that Don had neglected to inform us that we were hiking in – everything had to fit in the back packs. So we set up camp for the night, packed up in the morning, leaving the chicken and milk behind and hiked into the Gorge. Within about an hour we were hopelessly lost. I almost drowned crossing the falls, but luckily one of the guys was holding onto my back pack and kept me from going over. They hauled me out of the water, and we decided to cross further down. Then Don almost stepped on a 5 foot rattle snake. Man – it WAS HUGE! We scrambled through underbrush for hours and hours – look at my arms. You should see my legs, they are worse! Oh, and some bug bit me on my back – hurt like the dickens. Can you check it later Madre? So, when we finally stumbled out back onto a trail we told Don we had had enough and high tailed it back to the car and came home. And THAT’S why we are home today instead of tomorrow. If you don’t mind – I think I’ll take a shower and go to bed."

I will never doubt the strength of a Mother’s prayers and especially those of our Mother Mary. Thank You Mary – for hearing my prayers and praying with me so that my boys and their two friends came home safe and sound!


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Is It FAIR??

Sometimes I question God's sense of fairness. Sometimes - like now for instance as I watch Nathaniel who, just yesterday was still lanquishing about on the couch recovering from the virus that had caused a fever to spike as high as 105 (41.2c), is now able to tear about today as if he had never been ill. Not a care in the world, nor any responsibilites beyond being cute and helping his sister rip the living room apart whilst building great railroads for the world to admire...

But I, the heart of the family, am still just limping along. Barely a fever, but aching joints and sore throat still plague me slowing me down to a crawl!

Where does all of that energy come from - or perhaps the better question is - where did it all go? I am tempted to tell Nathaniel to slow down and try to conserve some of that excess energy for the future - for when he is 40 something and feeling - somewhat tired. Yet, I know if anyone had told me that when I was five, I would have stared at them as though they had three heads and eight eyes. In fact I would have still stared at them like that when I was eighteen? Me - old? Me - tired?

Still, I can't help but wish that someone had warned me and that I had been able to save a little of that precious energy for days like today! Yup - it somehow just doesn't seem quite fair - does it?

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Whose Living Room is It?

Do you ever do stupid things like getting mad again over something that happened a long, long time ago. And then lie awake for hours stewing about it - getting more and more incensed thinking about what you should have said and what you could say, if it were to happen again.

How about doing that until you finally fall sleep exhausted at 3 am, only to wake up to see that it actually has come to pass again!

Over the winter I was often frustrated and irritated by the fact that due to cold temps making the garage impossible to work in, my husband had to work with his equipment in the living room. Today - my living room floor was littered with projectors that my husband was testing, since he likes to use the white wall behind the couch as a screen.

While I sat there typing on the laptop writing a different story I intended to post today, I was expending much needed energy in ignoring this intricate design of silver boxes spread about the living room floor. Possibly reading my mind, my 19 yr old son ventured to ask me how I liked the current display? 'Padre spent hours designing it, I think he means it to be permanent.'

My husband sitting beside me snickered, and made a joke himself about it. I stared at him for a second before informing him how I had lost hours of sleep last night lecturing him mentally about all of this mess I had put up with in my living room all last winter. Now did my husband repent, and immeadiatly offer to remove these items?
No - he merely grinned and said;
"Well, there's your problem - if you would just think of it as MY living room instead of yours - it wouldn't bother you so much.... " Read more!

Thankful...

I am very thankful!

The past week we have had a virus spreading through the house - typical symtoms - heach ache from fever - usually running between 103 - 104 f or 38.8 - 40 c with either an accompanying stomach ache or sore throat. Most of the children recovered with in 48 - 72 hrs and a few had sore throats that lingured longer.

However my little red head, Tanny Paul, decided to go a slightly different route and scare the Dickens out of me by running a fever that spiked at almost 105 f - or 41 c. Over the past 22 years of parenting/nursing - I have yet to have a temp hit that high. So I was scared.

Nathaniel braved a tempid bath and the little fellow, who hates "hot" baths, actually found it cold. Still - the temp would not fall below 40 c. We thought we were out of Motrin and clearly the Tylenol was not cutting it. A call had already been made to the Doctor's office and an appointment secured for the little fellow. I finally remembered a bottle of Motrin that I thought was tucked away in one of our many travel bags for the numerous family business trips we make yearly and checked. YES - it was there!

Got him to swallow the sticky orange goo, and watched the clock while we waited to leave. We are now 45 minutes away, instead of 15 from the doc's and the a/c is NOT working in my older son's car, (The family van still only drive forward!) and I did not want to be too early for his appointment since it was the first after lunch break, and I was not sure the doors would be open.

We finally got there - late. I will enventually adjust to the longer drive and start arriving on time again! Steam was raising off the wet pavement, and heating our knees as we hurried through the parking lot, Gabriela with her God-daughter in her arms, and I with Nathaniel in mine. He was too weak to walk, but did not seem as hot to me as when we had left home.

Despite the lateness of our arrival we were seen quite promptly - perhaps some other mother was also late - caught in traffic in the sizzingly heat, about 89 or so, not including the humidex. The nurse asked the normal questions and soon our favourite Dr. came in and chatted with Nathaniel who stared at him with his blue owl eyes, sometimes nodding yes to his questions, and at other times whispering no. Clearly his throat hurt. When teh Dr learned how high the temp had hit he was concerned about menigitus, but thankfully Nathaniel was able to move his neck and head just fine. Next the temperature check.....

97.3

How much more normal can you get, than that??? Isn't that always the way?

As a precaution, our pediatrician ran a strep test and while we were waiting the results - Nathaniel had his hearing retested as he had failed his last test several months earlier.

HE PASSED!!!

I am so happy! AND he also "passed" the strep test - so we are dealing with a "simple" virus - no more, no less! AND he doesn't need hearing aids - just possibly some speech thereapy. I am so happy! And I am so grateful!

Thank you Jesus, Mary and Josef for prayers heard and answered! Read more!

Guardian Angels come in all forms...

In our case one came as a dog - a Bouvier des Flandres, by the name of Caila. Before she was even a yr. old she proved without a doubt that Bouvs make great protectors, whether trained to do so, or not!

One warm spring day way back when Noah, now 10 and a half, was just a newborn; we left all 7 of the children (ages 12 and down) in the van in the local strip mall parking lot of small town Perth.

My husband went to pick up a couple of items from the IGA, and I headed into the small privately owned pet store for… pet supplies! Typically on the occaisions that we did this, we always told the kids to lock the doors, but this particular time we forgot to remind them of this. So, of course, they didn’t.

Greatest on my mind right then was the possibility that Caila might have an accident while in the van as she had bowel problems that, as yet, we had been unable to resolve. This problem had resulted in our typically leaving her home on family outings despite her love for car rides. That morning she had jumped in the van as soon as she noted the crew all boarding together. Although not yet fully grown, she was big, heavy and determined. She is a Bouvier after all, and they are known for their pig headed manners. Anyway – my husband asked if I wanted him to pull her out, but feeling a little sorry for her, as well as in a hurry to get the day’s errands over I responded; “No – just leave her, and let’s all pray she doesn’t have an accident – poor thing!”

So while I was searching for cat food, litter and puppy food and my husband was searching the isles of the grocery store for whatever was on his list, the children sat chatting away waiting for our quick return. A few cars back, they noticed three teenagers, 1 girl and 2 males. These three were weaving in and out between cars laughing and joking together, as they made their way in the general direction of our van. The kids thought nothing of it as it was small rural town and generally peaceful.

Suddenly, however, the three teens came to a stop beside the side door of the van beside which my 9 yr old son, and newborn sat. As they continued to laugh and joke with each other, the tallest of the three yanked the door open. The children were shocked into silence while unbeknownst to the invaders, one “passenger” seated in her favorite seat, the driver’s, was alerted to the danger by the sudden tension that filled the air.

Up till then, the only training Caila had received was to sit, lie down, and GIVE (whatever is in your mouth to ME NOW). However – despite her sad lack of training in family protection Caila, swiftly and silently, moved from the driver’s seat to between the intruder and his prospective victims – my children. Now silence befell the three teens as Caila stared them down and then silently barred her teeth. She made not a sound, the children said and, in text book fashion, she warned these three potential criminals out of HER van.

The teens slammed the door shut, and the three of them made a hasty retreat and in high voices asked each other – “Did you SEE that DOG, Did you see those TEETH?? And then the comments that still today, leave chills down my spine;
“I’m not doing it, are you?”
“No – I’m not – are you?”
We will never know what “it“ was, Thank GOD and Thank Caila!! Ten years later, the oldest four still remember that day very, very clearly.

Dog books describe the protective and intelligent attitude of the Bouvier as follows. 'When confronted with an intruder the Bouvier will size up the situation, and apply force only as needed. At first the animal will silently bar its teeth. Then, if the intruder does not respond appropriately, the Bouv will growl and if that still does not cause the intruder to retreat, at that point the dog will attack.'
What amazing dogs, eh!?!
Amazing Caila! Read more!

St Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for you!

This prayer was recently posted on a Yahoo Catholic mom website/support group - I thought I would share it here.

Wishing everyone a peaceful Sunday!

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Neck and Neck!

Well - I have to say that Emma, Zack and Ares are all progressing with their toilet training. In fact you could say they are currently neck and neck, with some days better than others. But I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel! Read more!

illness abounds...

I have not had time to post the last three days since in addition to the normal, (usually joyful), chaos that abounds in our life ,we have various children running temperatures from 39 - 40 c or 103 to 104 f. (I guess I really did have the flu last week, and not just an "allergic" reaction to puppies!)

I feel blessed that so far we have not had stomach heaves or any other complaints - just a general malaise and high temps. Mind you, I am keeping a close eye on Bethany, my 7 year old, who started with the fever last night. Last November, while my husband was on the road, and I was without a vehicle and did not have 911 activated on my phone yet... she had seizures as a result of a very mild fever! Praise be to God she survived with no lasting side effects, while I (alas) gained a few more gray hairs!

So far her body is dealing well with the fever and responding to the Motrin - but I am still keeping a close eye on her!

My cartoonist has just sucumbed to the fever today - but still a cartoon is in the making and will be posted later today or early tomorrow. She has been hinting lately for a raise - I really should consider doubling, or even tripling her salary, after all 3 times zero is still zero - no? On the other hand - a night out with mummy for an icecream, or a soda might please my artist!

With this new onslaught of illness I have just remembered one very important way to know when you are a large family...

When you have enough members in your family that by the time a virus ciruclates through, it has mutated enough that the first victim falls prey to it a second time and the party starts all over again!

I would also like to thank Saint Anthony publicly for prayers answered. We have been looking for some time now for bunks - the ones with a double on the bottom and we are being blessed with not just one set, but two! These will come in very handy as we are currently squeezed into a 3 bedroom home!

Blessings to all and please keep us in your prayers the next few days, esp Bethany!

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Before you know it...

Before you know it the tables will be reversed.
Yes – before you know it, your 18 yr old son will be following you as you walk to the gas station, because he is worried for your safety.
Before you know it your oldest daughter will be sending you to bed for a nap because you look tired.
Before you know it, you are not needed to make dinner for Thanksgiving.
And then before you know it, one of your oldest daughters starts baking the birthday cakes instead of you…
And before you know it the oldest, instead of calling from the kitchen table - "Mummy - can you help me with this algebra question?" is calling you on her cell phone and asking; "what's the difference between a POS, an HMO, or a PPO insurance plan?"
Yes, before you know it – the oldest of the bunch are almost all grown up, and you feel misty eyed. Where did the time go? Wasn’t it just yesterday you were bandaging their knees, and changing their diapers?

And while you feel a little stunned at this reversal, you put your feet up on the coffee table and gratefully accept that cup of tea while you ask hopefully - "Are those oatmeal cookies I smell in the oven?"

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Meet the boys...

Zac & Ares 12 weeks

Here are our little orphans that we "adopted" a week ago! Zac is on the left and Ares the right. I'm sorry to say that these two mites are doing much better at their 'toilet training' than Emma is with hers!

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We have lost control...

“We have lost control” stated my husband helplessly as he stood there stunned by 2 yr old Emma’s determination to go to the store with him. Her happy little jog down the stairs in her cargo blue jeans, hippie t-shirt and good shoes was followed by a determined little shove past her daddy as she announced “Hey – I’m tumming!” in a voice that was irresistible.

He was standing in the doorway about to slide out hoping she would not see him. Already the little red head, who had quickly whipped his bathing suit off and replaced it with his cords and t-shirt was sitting expectantly in his boaster seat in the car. Emma having noticed him change in the middle of the living room (without his customary – “Hey duys – no lookin, I’m donna be naked!”) had immediately caught on that a trip was about to be made and had dashed up the stairs with a big sister in tow to help her change. In a voice strangled with laughter he stated; “We’re getting too old for this! It’s time to be grandparents!” (Please note however that I am NOT ready to be a grandmother!)
While Emma pranced down the front porch stairs, completely sure of herself, we choked back our chuckles and went out the back door to retrieve her car seat from the van. We know when we have lost, and this time the battle didn't even have a chance to get started.

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Happy Birthday Tanny Paul!

Guess who turned five this month? Nathaniel Paul! Now, although five technically, he is a teen in spirit. Also he is "han'um and dood lookin" But he is not, I repeat, NOT cute!
Babies are cute - Nathaniel is not!

But I say - look at those pictures have you ever seen a more cute - err, sorry, dood lookin', han'um red head?
Happy Birthday Tanny!!!!

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Good News Bad News, Bad news Good News

The Good News is that Sam's Club took care of my husband's laptop - no questions asked!

The bad news is my husband lost his wallet with THREE green cards in it, his license and social security card. OUCH! This is going to be a challenge and prayers are heartily welcomed!

Bad news - again.... the transmission went on our "new to us" van - again prayers heartily welcomed! :-)

Good News - this has forced us to go to Mass seperately, which means I went with only three of the girls tonight and actually got to concentrate on the Mass instead of on children 5 and under. What a peaceful experience. I do enjoy attending Mass as a family and I am impatient that we get the van repaired, but at least I have found a silver lining in this problem.

Wishing everyone a peaceful Sunday!

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NICELY!!

Earlier this week Emma, two and a half, had finished her dessert and decided she wanted down. This she proclaimed to everyone in general with a bellow. Given all of us were still busy eating our own dessert, we did not all immmeadiatly jump up and respond to her highness. Miss Emma proceeded to bellow;
"I want DOWN! I want DOOOOOWWWN!" This was varied with "I want OUT!", this was usually followed by a grunt as she pushed on the highchair tray in an attempt to free herself.
At last, tired of her screaming and whining Noah, 10 years, stood up and with his hands on his hips yelled back; "How about maybe you ask NICELY?!"
Emma paused, drew in a deep breath and in a sweet voice sang "Nicely!"

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Prayer Request to any and all who may read my blog...

I have a wee favour to ask. Please pray for our lap top. My husband is self employed and the lap top is fairly integral to the business. This morning my husband was getting out of the bath and had the lap top a safe distance (he thought) from the tub so he could listen to Rush.
As he was getting out, he slipped in the tub and thank God is okay. However, a small tsunami ensued and flooded the bathroom. As a result his laptop got wet and immeadiatly shut down.
He has gone online and read what to do, and we have taken all of the steps. Please pray that it will turn back on in 24 hrs when we are to try again. And NO, he will not be listening to Rush in the bath anymore!

Many Blessings
mum2twelve

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Call me crazy...

...because I am!

Yesterday I claimed to have the flu and I certainly felt flu like. Aches and chills, and a certain feeling of confusion. But was it a virus, or was it PUPPIES???

Yes, that is in the plural. You see on Sunday, out of the blue, a small thin man walked up our drive and he had with him two small animals on chains. They loped along tiredly beside him in 90 plus degrees. Who was he, and why was he coming up our drive and with such purpose in his stride. In a hurry to head him off, I went out onto the porch and sat down on the front door step. With a tired look matched only by the pups’ drooping chins, the gentleman wiped his brow and asked for my second oldest son. By now, excited faces were pressed against the porch door and one child raced off to find said son.

While he waited patiently for my son to appear the puppies flopped down and chewed on my sandals and each other until my husband joined us. As Hugo scratched the puppies’ humongous ears the man finally divulged his business.
“Y’all give me ten dollar, and a’ll give ya them dawgs.”

I looked at the exhausted wee things and said in Spanish to my husband – give him the ten dollars and we’ll take the poor things to the SPCA. My husband nodded and the fellow continued to chat in a language foreign to my understanding. I understood a few words, but his southern accent was so heavy it was difficult to decipher much of what he said. We did understand one thing – “Don’t fed ‘em all ta'geder or them'll fight!”

Small wonder I thought – the poor things are skin and bones. I asked him if they were maybe 12 weeks, he nodded and wiped the sweat off his brow again. It was obvious he was ready to go. I asked the kids to get the poor puppies some water while my husband dug into his pocket and pulled out a five and four ones. We were a dollar short.
“Never you mind,” he said, “I see yo’ son around all da time. He can give me a dollar any ol’ time. “

Stuffing the loose bills into his pocket he called to one of the pups gruffly, causing it to lean into my young son’s side.
“C’meer dawg!" Sssvet he whistled. "Get over here dawg. You be good booboo – you be good now!”

With that, he rumpled the pup’s ears, and sauntered off into the hot Sunday afternoon.

I stood up and shooed everyone out of the heat into the house and amidst the excited giggles and yelps I said determinedly;
“Now, the pups are only here until we can get them to the SPCA. “

The pups now named, Zack for Zackaria and Ares, are STILL here and while the aches and pains are fading – I am still experiencing a sense of confusion.

What can I say – except… call me crazy.
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Mum2twelve is ill...

...just the flu bug so there will be no post today and possibly tomorrow. But prayers are gratefully accepted!

Heaps and Heaps of Blessings from
mum2twelve

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You know you are a large family when...

You can’t sit everyone around an 8 ft long table.

It takes over two dozen eggs for everyone to have their fill.

Two fridges can’t hold a weeks worth of groceries.

A dozen rolls of toilet paper won’t last a week – so you switch to single ply, hoping that will help.

You are buying two sizes of diapers and pull-ups…

It takes 45 minutes to make enough grill cheese sandwiches and 10 minutes for them to disappear, only to realize you forgot to eat one yourself.

A 15 passenger van only allows you one guest – if you don’t bring anything with you on the trip.

Not everyone can have a turn leading a decade in the Rosary – even if you were to pray it twice in one day.

You find yourself surfing the restaurant supplies online in hopes that you might find a soup pot large enough to hold your family's favourite soup.

After you give your order at McDonalds, they look over your shoulder for the soccer team.

It’s been 23 years since you have slept through the night, and you realize it will be another ten or so before you do.

It takes two crock pots to hold a recipe you have quadrupled with the vain hope you might have leftovers.

You have more joy and blessings in one day than you feel that any one person deserves.

Read more!

It Takes a Family...

Here is a book I intend to read very, very soon! At this time, more can be learned about this book here... http://www.isi.org/ Read more!

I have been replaced...

Lately I have noticed that when I try to talk to my husband he seems distracted. Often he is grinning, and sometimes even chuckling a bit. So I will raise my voice.
“Ahem – did you hear that last thing I said?”

“Yup.” – he continues to grin and chuckle.

“What was it?”

“Err, something about the dog needed a walk or…”

“Not Quite. I said that Teddy took the dog for a walk and … are you listening?” I ask again – as his grin broadens even more, and he starts to talk in a low voice in Spanish. “Hola Chicitita! Linda, sinverguenza!!”

“I’m sorry,” he says, looking guilty. “What did you say? I’m trying to listen, really I am!” But his eyes are not on me as he speaks. They are glued on this lovely picture before him.

Feeling even more annoyed I try again, but within seconds I realize that it is useless. After all – what is my story compared to the beautiful baby balanced on his lap? Sighing, I give up, and then laugh.

“Honey!” –I say as I join him in his worship of this chubby little Buddha. “It looks like I have been replaced by a younger woman!” Read more!

side bar lost....

For some reason the side bar, with my profile as well as links, has dropped itself way down to the bottom... so you will need to scroll waaaaaay down to find it... for now. Possibly it will return back to the top - where it belongs. All by itself - just as it moved down ~ all by itself...

Crazy! Read more!

It's all a matter of how you look at it...

I stared at the pile of laundry and it stared back. It sat there, huge, and looking as though it would grow another five inches if I let it. I sighed and felt burdened and annoyed. Why did I always have all of this laundry to do – no matter how many loads I did – there was always another one waiting for me… How annoying, why can’t someone else wash it. Why me? But then another thought played around in the background, and I pushed it away. But it came back. Maybe this wasn’t a burden if I looked at it another way. Maybe this was a chance to do something loving, a gift if you would, for my family. This laundry was possibly a means to elevate myself – to do unto others as I would have them do unto me. Perhaps this laundry was only a burden – if that is how I treated it. Read more!

Meet Judge John Roberts...

Here is a brief bio for Judge John Roberts from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Policy, and below is a link to what Father Frank Pavone of Priests For Life has to say regarding this nomination to the Supreme Court. http://www.priestsforlife.org/judges/robertsnomination.htm

My apologies to President Bush for losing faith in him yesterday when rumours abounded regarding the possible nomination of Judge Edith B.Clement . My key opposition to her was due to her having stated that 'Rowe v. Wade is settled law and within the constitutionally protected right to privacy'.

Thank you to the Priests for Life for the prayer that Danielle posted on her website regarding the nomination to the Supreme Court. We need to continue to pray for this as well as future nominations. Read more!

The Many Faces of Anna!

Happy Birthday Anna Pies or Piesie, or Slimy Anna or AnnapiesKentuckyFriedChickenanaPizzahut!
You are twelve this week! We love you Anna!

Anna is the cartoonist for this blog! Look for more of her art soon. Read more!

So how is YOUR Monday going?

Hi - a comment has been posted that it looks as if blood is dripping from the mouse's finger! This picture is from a mug recently given to us, and I thought it would be a good post for a bad day - which today is! When I first saw the mug I just assumed that it was water dripping from a dam - but on closer inspection it does look a bit red. (Blush) However, I am prefer to pretend it is water, or grape juice! So anyway - Happy Monday! Tomorrow is Tuesday, and it can only get better, right??? I mean we have already broken a window, discovered our 9 month old vacum cleaner is dead, and it can't possibly get any hotter tomorrow - can it? Read more!

Why pray as a family?

Mary, our Mother in Heaven

The candle is lit beside my Italian statue of the Blessed mother cuddling baby Jesus in her arms. The rosaries have been handed out and Emma is dressed in the remaining ones. With Elsa dosing in my arms, I relax and close my eyes as we begin our family Rosary...

Hail Mary full of grace….

Mummy – can I go to the bathroom…

Yes .. the Lord is with thee

OUCH – you just stepped on my toes, watch it!

Blessed art thou among Women and…

Mummy – Tanny won't stop dancing with Emma.

I open my eyes and feel dizzy as I watch the two of them twirl endlessly as well as dangerously close to the fireplace. My husband clears his throat and asks them to sit.

Nathaniel does while Emma continues to swirl and my heart constricts as she almost topples into the unlit fireplace. The candle flame wavers as if her guardian angel’s wings have swished past it. Emma balances and then topples away from the stones.

"Where were we?" I ask.

We manage to get though almost the next decade without further interruptions and then Elsa wakes and will not settle down to nurse. Clearly she has a huge gas bubble. I stand up to jiggle and burp her while we sort out who gets to pray the third mystery.

'But I wanted to say the third. You ALWAYS get to say the third.'

'Uh uh – Noah said it yesterday.'

I sigh as I watch my clan argue over this momentous decision.
"Guys, guys – stop it! Teddy you say the third, and please remember we are trying to spend time with Mary. We are asking her to intercede for us – Please let’s be a little more polite in front of her. She is taking time to pray with us. Let’s show her a little courtesy, okay?"

We settle down again, and as I rock the baby she finally burps and several kids rush helpfully to grab the closet receiving blanket, towel or whatever will suffice to clean up my arm, now covered in baby spit up. I appreciate the help, but feel so frustrated by this newest interruption.
‘Why do we bother?’ I wondered. ‘Can this possibly be worth the frustration that is burning in my chest and tightening my throat. How many times have we lost focus, how often has someone lost count of their Hail Maries…’

But recently a friend joined us for the Rosary, with all of its customary interruptions and re-starts. He does not speak English very well and I am not even sure if he is familiar with the Rosary, but still he wanted to sit with us and listen as we prayed. When we were finished my 14 yr old daughter Gabriela asked him what he thought. “Did you like the Rosary?’ she asked. I had to translate his answer;

“I liked it for many reasons.” He said.

“First - it is time with the family spent together. And second during that time they are showing respect to God, and also to each other. It is important that the children learn to show this respect to God. And last, although I have many, many more reasons to like this prayer time – they learn to love God. “ Read more!

Where has my newborn gone to? She was so tiny, with flailing arms and stick legs when we brought her home in April. She was both plump and skinny as only a new born can be with rolls of extra skin waiting to fill out. Her tiny button eyes blinked with consternation as she attempted to absorb this puzzling new world that she was so suddenly exposed to. At times a double chin unfolded itself.

Where has she gone? It is as of her newborn body has just melted into a plumped out three month old. Her eyes are still button like and filled with curiosity that is slowly being replaced with looks of recognition as she develops memories of us all. She is wearing sleeves of fat and dimples on her arms now. The empty rolls of skin are no more, having filled out with endless meals of mother’s milk.

Her flailing movements are becoming more filled with purpose and sometimes her tiny hands actually connect, with the fingers intertwining, and she raises her arms and notices. She can hold up her wobbly head and glance around for short bursts of time before resting it again on the shoulder of whoever is holding her.

And her smiles – they just fill her face and spread over onto ours as we smile back, entranced. She is a newborn no more and while I miss my little newborn – I wouldn’t trade her for a second. She is just absolutely perfect as she is, double chin and all.


Hi Daddy! Read more!

A favourite Prayer

We include this prayer as part of our family Rosary - we learned it in Canada.

Blessed be Jesus in the Holy Sacrament of the Alter. Come Holy Spirit; come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse. Amen

We always add it after the prayer that Mary taught the three children of Fatima so it is said five times throughout the Rosary. People who have not heard this prayer before always enjoy learning it when they join us in our rosary. So I thought I would post it here for others to enjoy.

Blessings
Mum2twelve Read more!

So much cuteness should be illegal...

“Too much cuteness! There must be a law against so much unbearable cuteness!” is what my husband says as he watches our youngest ones scoot around being – well, cute.

Several (several) years ago when I still only had four little ones – I was asked by a Sister from a local parish;
“How do you keep your spirits up? I just have to ask because I do it by going to the local mall and just sitting there watching the mums with their babies and toddlers. I watch the little ones’ silly antics and laugh. Then I head home refreshed by a shot of youth. But you are surrounded all day by little ones which must be so exhausting. You never get a break from them, so what do you do?”

I don’t remember my reply to this Sister, but I have often thought of this question while I sit on my couch and laugh at the silly antics of my little ones. I laugh as the older ones do crazy things to make their younger siblings laugh. Sometimes it is a huge guffaw, sometimes just a snicker, but regardless I feel filled up to the brim with joy as I watch them play. In fact, no matter what mood I am in when I sit down to watch them – it is immeasurably lifted… and I don’t have to go to the mall for it. Read more!

I found the link to this wonderful interview on Danielle's website so for people who are also reading her website, and have already read it - I'm sorry BUT this was too awesome not to post! It was so wonderful to see in print much of what I already think and feel.

To touch on just one of her thoughts - a baby does bring so much joy to the family. Even my daughter,Amanda, who is 22 and actually older to her youngest sister than I am to Amanda, can't get enough pictures of her baby sister. While she loves all her siblings deeply - right now she is just in awe of the baby. It is wonderful to see. I don't which is more fun to watch - her with Elsa or the youngest siblings who are instinctivly protective of her.

Well - speaking of Elsa - she is hungry so I had best go feed her, and it is time for the Rosary as well. In fact - we are late now that I look at the clock.

Blessings...

http://www.priestsforlife.org/testimony/dippolito.htm Read more!

Fertility

When Elsa was about 4 weeks old, and I was still feeling the ravages of a c-section I was at a parish function and a mother mentioned to me how she was hoping to have another baby soon. She is the mother of a large family and is, at the moment, nursing a 5 month old.

I stared at her and clearly the look on my face said “Are you crazy?”, as she laughed at me. I stammered “But, but you JUST had a baby?!”
“I know, she said, but you just had one sooner, so of course you think I am crazy! But I just love giving life, and I so want to have one more baby, before I am too old to be able to have any more.”

The conversation changed, and I thought no more of it for a while. Then when Elsa was about 7 weeks old – I caught myself thinking; “It would be so awesome to have one more baby – a little boy, some blue around the house again would be nice.”

This thought, before it had entirely registered, was sadly immediately followed by the thought of “what would my father say?” I sat there pondering this reality, that my family while embracing each of my children fully, does not understand my willingness to have so many children. To be open to life.

Suddenly an answer to the question; “Aren’t you too old?” posed itself in the form of another question.

“If I am too old – why does God allow women my age to still be fertile?” Read more!

A Saturday in the making...

How about a little music to start the day off right - maybe some Jar's of Clay?


Chow time - err, sorry Tanny - I meant to say chore time!


Yeah – chores are almost done - let’s dance!


Let's all help with Elsa's bath.



My first BUBBLE bath!



Now for some R&R with big sister Gabriela.



And a little snooze!

I hope everyone had a GREAT Saturday. Except for taking a little slide across a wet floor and landing on my patoot, it was been a pretty nice Saturday for us. Now we are waiting for Jenny to come home to spend Sunday with us. God Bless!


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Be careful what you pray for...

...because you just might get it – and not the way you planned on it either! While I was pregnant with Elsa I often prayed “God when I had surgery at 18 – it jump started my thyroid – maybe the c-section could jump start my thyroid again – and then I could lose some weight. I really want to lose some weight God.”

Well – I got through the c-section okay, and we are well on our way to recovery ten weeks later and God seems to be answering my prayer to lose weight. But not in the way I wanted. God, I have determined, truly has a sense of humour.

Elsa, while not suffering from reflux as seriously as some of my previous babies have, still has some digestive problems, especially when it comes to chocolate. Shortly after Elsa’s birth she began to inform us through gas and oodles of spit up which foods she can tolerate, and which she can’t. Tomatoes and onions were a given, and not even in my diet yet. But imagine my consternation when it became obvious that chocolate was an issue! Chocolate! If I cheat and have even just a snippet of chocolate – Elsa is simply ill the next day. Miserable and burpy and unable to settle.

So – I simply replaced the chocolate on my menu with my second favourite – molasses cookies. A particular brand is my weakness. Almost immediately Miss Elsa kicked up a fuss! Then I discovered my daily tea with it’s oodles of sugar that I used, was a problem.

Hmm – maybe asking God to intervene with this weight loss issue wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought. Yes – Elsa’s birth was going lead to weigh loss, but not in the way I imagined. Candy or cookies, anyone? I have a few boxes to give away… Read more!

What a day it has been – I am giving myself permission to relax – sort of. My sister lives in London and my husband is driving through the western part of the State, with our 18 yr old son, where the roads are in danger of flooding out in the mountains. We are under a tornado watch and about 25 miles north of us a tornado has been reported on the local radio station. It’s traveling at 25 miles an hour through the county. May it keep going that way – North!
My double sink in the kitchen is plugged – has been for two days despite regular doses of drain “debloggers”. The hot water tank died for a few hours because of another blown fuse – the wiring in this house makes me very, very nervous! So this morning, after calling my dad to check on the status of my sister and her family, which I am happy to report are fine, alive and well, I had to send my 19 yr old son to the store to buy dish pans. Two – one for washing and one for rinsing, the plan being to set them up on the counter, just to the right of my useless sinks. While he was gone, I mopped up the floor from the constant leak that spews oodles of dollars worth of hot water each time you re-connect the hot water. Not knowing the hot water was cold – I had reconnected it with the idea of maybe, possibly, hopefully washing in one sink… After mopping the floor – now squeaky clean, I set all three kettles on the stove to boil.
Ordinarily by this time – I would be red in the face from frustration and grumbling up a storm to match the weather – but instead I was feeling very grateful. Grateful that my sister is alive, grateful that my capital had not just been attacked by terrorists and grateful that I had mundane chores to do. I was also immensely sorrowful for the wives and mothers in England who would soon be getting a call that one of theirs had been in one of those trains…
Tonight when we pray our Rosary we will continue to pray for my husband’s safety as he continues his drive home. And we will certainly be praying for the families who have lost loved ones or are now crowding hospitals to care for their injured family members. Now, I better go; the kitchen door just blew open.
(Cartoon by Anna - age 11) Read more!

This is the Body of Christ...

On the odd occasion that I feel that I cannot receive, perhaps I was too distracted by the little ones, or by my worries, to feel that I have properly prepared myself for the receiving of our Saviour. Or perhaps – I was late with my breakfast and feel that I have not properly kept the fast. Whatever the reason – I try to think about spiritual communion when this happens. In some Missals there will be a prayer for Spiritual Communion, and I try to read it if there is one available.

However, whether such a prayer was available or not, I sit there quietly in my pew, and in between reminding the children to say their prayers of thanksgiving following the receiving of our Lord, I glance around the church and let my eyes fall on my neighbours who have just received. I look carefully, and I think about the fact that each of them has just received Jesus. He is now as present to them, as if we are all on the Mount listening to Jesus’ sermon, and as such through them – I feel as though He is now present to me. Each and every one of these fellow worshipers has received the Precious Body of Christ and I am surrounded by them… and as such, I am surrounded by the Body of Christ. Read more!

ooops!  Read more!

We are in training...

We are in training this summer. Toilet training that is…. A most difficult, stressful time for both the trainee and the trainer! So I think I can be forgiven when I succumbed, in desperation, the other day to bribing 2 and a half yr old Emma.
“Emma!”, I said in a conspiratorial whisper.
“If you go pee in the pottie – you and I can go to the gas station and buy a treat – a candy!”
Apparently my whisper was more of the stage type as our 4 yr old, solidly toilet trained, jumped up from his train track engineering and shouted;
“Oh, I will doe pee Mummy! I’ll doe to duh baa-woom!” And before I could respond, he was in the bathroom and …. well, you can guess the rest. Pulling his pants up, his round blue eyes lit with expectation he said; “Ohtay Mummy – I weady to doe to the gas hation!”
Inspired, Emma climbed up on the toilet, and tried very, very hard. Sadly, without any success. Did we go to the gas station? Yes – to get some pop for Emma to drink in hopes that a fuller bladder might help. And it did – we just didn’t make it to the pottie in time… Oh well – we have the whole summer to go! Say a prayer though, please! Read more!

Oh no....  Read more!

Cleaning up...

Well – as I suspected there was a party lurking about and it did pop out and we had a blast! I managed to sneak off for a nap with the baby under the guise that she needed some quiet time to nurse. However – while she had a feast for an hour, I did not get that much coveted nap. The 2 year old noticed, followed up behind us and stood there bellowing and knocking on the door.

Once I gave up on the idea, and passed a very full baby off to another set of arms, I caught up my wallet, begged the car keys of my 19 yr old son and headed off for the local grocery store. Remembering that the handle on my stove had finally fallen off, I immediately asked hopefully at the bakery counter if they had a sheet cake in the back - minus all decorative icing. “No ma’am, we sure don’t.”

Sigh. 'Oh well,' I thought,'back to plan A, we bake cupcakes and decorate those. I will just have to manage the oven door for Anna.'
She is our current cake baker. Of course, when I got home I realized I had forgotten the decorations for the cake and the cocoa for the icing.

While the cupcakes were issuing lovely odors into the kitchen, I quickly slapped 15 huge burgers together, and unwrapped the 12 “dogs”. The others happily tore open bags of chips and quickly dumped them into metal bowls, and we all carried the feast out to the porch where the electric grills were plugged in and waiting for us. Given our gas barbeque is in need of maintenance and, as such, on holidays, this was our only option. Call me crazy, but I find food cooked outdoors tastes so much better – even if it is only on an electric frying pan.

I plopped a burger onto one of the grills in my outdoor kitchen and awaited the pleasant zizzle… Nothing, not even a zzzzz. I looked the hot dogs, cold and wet on their grill… They too were silent. Hmmm. I checked the plugs and wiped the sweat from my brow wondering why I was doing this when I could be using these same cooking utensils in my wonderfully cool kitchen. ‘Because,’ I grumbled to myself, ‘I want a BARBEQUE and barbeques are done outside in the heat and the flies’. So I gritted my teeth and stomped into the garage to check the fuse box. Everything looked good except for one fuse…. # 30. Yup – plug in on porch and downstairs bathroom lights…. Flipped it back and we were in business. Until I heard a strangled cry from my husband.
“Christi – the cat is eating the burgers…”

Shoot! I dashed back to the porch, where said culprit was long gone, and meticulously examined the meat. No bite marks that I could see, no fur. Whatever had my husband been talking about? Likely she did not more than sniff them, and at 4.19 a pound I was not about to waste a scrap of meat!

Soon there was a lovely sizzle and then we were all happily chowing down on burgers, chips and dogs! A traditional July 4th meal if there ever was one. We even had a surprise guest join us. A real party now, guest and all. And there were still the cupcakes to go, which I suspected was about all that was going to end up in Emma’s tummy since she was too busy chasing the flies and commanding them to "tay off, tupid fies" and yelling at them that "Dat's mine" to actually eat any of the food she was defending!

Finally we were all satisfied and I sat rocking Elsa on the porch enjoying a soft breeze while the kids raced around chasing each other and generally just having fun. Emma suddenly announced “I wanna baf.”
"Later hunny, everyone’s busy, we can’t watch you in the tub right now."
“I wanna baf.... Peeeeease!?”

I spied the old metal tub we had brought with us from the old house, and had a brilliant idea…. Read more!