Laundry experiment day…

If a fabric laundry hamper is full and the clothes need to be washed, can they all fit in one load??  Why, yes, they can fit. 

But, can the washer run??  Why yes, the washer can run. 

But, can it run without burning out the motor?? 

Thank goodness my little scientist didn’t get that far into the experiment before I heard the poor machine –she was groaning with the weight of water & clothes- and called for the load to be halved. 

Lifesaver

Zeke, coming in from visiting the momma and baby kittens:  “I basically saved Teeny’s life”.

Teeny is the momma cat.

Me:  “Really?!?  What did you do?” while thinking, ‘I hope she’s okay because Grandma Green Acres already had to nurse one batch of kittens last year and we really don’t need to do THAT again.’

Zeke: “I pulled a tick off her.”

Father’s homily on March 7, 2010

I meant to post this some time ago, but life has been a little crazy.  Real life was being lived.  Anyway, the simple, but powerful words of this homily keep entering my thoughts and pushing me toward something. 

We are always thrilled to be able to participate in the Mass at St. Mary’s.  I always learn something during the homily.  Father Wilhelm’s homily this particular Sunday – March 7, 2010 during Lent -- has really stuck with me.  The points he made kept popping into my head throughout the following week, and have kept at me.  (But do you think they could all pop into my head at one time to share with you???  NO!  So, this post has been written over a few days…and now months.)  Even though it’s the Easter season, his points are still relevant.  I should still be trying to accomplish these suggestions.

1. Pray.  If you aren’t at a different place in your spiritual life than you were two years ago, you need to do something different.  Yes, there are times of darkness … a week, a month, sometimes a year or more, but don’t give up on prayer.

2. Make an ACT.  At the time of his homily, Father meant an act of sacrifice or giving for Lent.  But, why not try to do this every day.  I can do a small sacrifice or give something of myself each day.  It doesn’t have to be much … maybe taking the time to read a book to Graham or making Zeke an egg-in-the-hole for breakfast when I’d rather make one for myself instead.

3. Attend Mass outside of Sunday at least once each week.  This one is particularly hard for me … with five kids … every week.  Part of it is the 20 min. drive to church, the other is the time (and sometimes location) of daily mass.  I know, excuses, excuses.  What are we here on earth for?? … yes, yes, I get that.  I’m praying for my answer/solution to be made clear.

Anyway, I don’t want to forget to try.

Spring Cleaning at the Blog

Got the Spring Cleaning Bug and am making some changes to my blog look ... please bear with me as I figure this out.  Seems that each time I want to do a little changing, it takes me forever because I've forgotten what I've learned about HTML and then so many updates have occurred that I'm 'behind the times.'  But, change was needed ... it was still snowing on my blog this morning and the snow is gone in real life...

Movin’ Up

… in car seats.  I tried to hold off on this move as long as possible, but Baby Louis is just ounces away from 22lbs, which is the max on the infant carrier we own.  I ordered a convertible seat a couple weeks ago, and Monday night was his first ride in the new seat.  It’s comfy for him and he can see out and around well.  Of course, that means I carry him out to the vehicle and into any store/location at which we may stop.  Granted, he’s lighter without the car seat, but this change definitely adds to the ‘time needed to prepare for leaving.’  I think it’s time to consolidate my purse & the diaper bag.

*The angle of this pic is just terrible.  No matter which way I display the picture, he looks uncomfortable.  But he honestly wasn’t uncomfortable and took a nap to and from dance – 70 miles one way.

Outdoor time

Last night, the whole family went out after supper to create an outside pen for the hens.  Again, it’s crudely constructed, but we got it done in less than 2 hours and were back in the house in time for the kids’ bedtime.  I didn’t get pictures of this process and that’s probably a good thing … you’d be able to see –forever—our disordered construction process!



We didn’t let the hens out last night, so this morning, the kids and I went out early to let them out.  That’s 7:45a and I needed to coax Graham out of bed – didn’t take much to encourage him once he realized we’d be letting the hens outside.  The morning was cool and windy, but the hens came out right away and started pecking away at the grass and exploring the area.