Awesome Book Giveaway

If you don't have Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions, here's a great chance to get it for free! It's one of my favorite cookbooks.  Janice, one of my fellow homeschooling moms in the area is giving it away on her blog. There aren't many entries, so you have a good chance of winning!

You also have the option of getting Sally Fallon's brand new Baby Book. I purchased it right after it came out and have been loving it! I was going to recommend it on my blog, but this will do.   She gives solid nutritional advice (think: Weston A Price Foundation) and a ton of other advice to keep in mind. I have learned quite a few things. I've owned probably a dozen baby books and by far, this is the best.

I also like that she's very common sense when it comes to parenting. She doesn't side with attachment parenting or baby training, but instead suggests parents use their good old common sense when it comes to putting their kids to bed, baby wearing, sleeping, etc.  She even says not to feel bad for giving your kids the occasional spank for very naughty behavior.  I like this woman! 

There is a weird chapter about not teaching your baby until their ready to learn. It's kind of new agey.  I forget the name of it.  Other than that, I think it's a great book.

Spring!

I think everyone would agree it's been quite the long, cold winter.  While we have enjoyed our new baby, it seemed like from January to March, all we've been doing is getting sick and trying to recuperated from being sick.  Thank goodness for the ray of sunshine called Faustina!

She's three months old now and getting so big! She's able to sit up when we hold her hands, is fascinated with her hands, and is trying to talk to us with her coos. 

Jude said today, "I just love her so much!" Sounds so cute coming from a two year old boy.

Liam has lost both front teeth now. According to traditional Fuji culture, he's now ready to leave the bosom of his mother and work along side his father all day.  I have yet to see a loss of attention. He's still the one-upper when it comes to affection. If I get one kiss from Eric, Liam's giving me two.  Yes, they make me feel like a queen every day!

Faustina is now back to good health after the RSV- pneumonia-hospital stay.  It was one of the scariest things I've been through as a parent.  To top it off, I got into a fender bender on my way to pick up a prescription after I learned she had RSV.  No damage was done, but the other guy made such a fuss over nothing, I ended up a hot mess of tears over all the stress.  I think that was the third day of lent.  Let's just say, dealing with that guy during that stress was all the sacrifice I needed to do.

Despite all my good intentions of celebrating the liturgical year in full, we had yet to celebrate one feast day- until St. Patrick's day. The kids decorated and we made green cookies. Today they said, "What can we do for St. Joseph's day??"  So I found the lazy mom's guide to a St. Joseph alter- a paper one! We did make some chocolate crowns of thorn though, which they are eating at present.  Maybe this is the start of something. 

I'm trying my best everyday to overcome feelings of being too overwhelmed.  Keeping my eyes from the over achievers blogs, really does help! I tend to feel like I have to do what everyone else is doing or I'm not doing enough.  When I look at my kids playing together, I realize that even though they don't get to do a whole lot outside the home, the best gift we've given them is inside the home. Siblings. Siblings are friends that live with you. God is good and His grace is always sufficient!

Some Good Questions

Allison gave me an a blog award and I'm going to be a good sport and answer these questions.  I'm not going to do all the other nominating stuff (I hope you don't mind).  

1. What delights you most about your life right now? Obvi, my new baby! She brings us such joy. I love the way she is filling out right now.  I can squeeze her with a little bit more vigor now! Her smiles can melt away any stress. I highly recommend having babies. 

2. What about your adult life is a surprise in terms of what you imagined as a child your adult life would be like?  Wow, that's a good question... I guess I envisioned my life as having more time to myself.  It's probably a good thing I don't have more time or I think I would be come too self absorbed. (just imagine me writing these about myself more often! gag.)

3. Where did you grow up and how far is it from where you live now?  I grew up in rural Minnesota. It's much too far from Virginia :(

4. What did you like best about being a child?  I enjoyed creating imaginary worlds and playing pretend.  I can't say I liked being carefree best because no one appreciates it when they are young!

5. What do you like about being a grown up?  being my own boss! Though I am not as much as a control freak as I used to be. I find it relieving when someone else takes control of the schedule and the decisions once in a while (like on the weekends when my husband's home).

6.. What do you think the value of old age is? Wisdom that comes from making mistakes and learning from them.  I wish I had a sage to tell me not to prevent me from making so many mistakes!

7. What do you like to do with your hands in terms of crafts, cooking etc?  I like all sorts of crafts, but I especially like making clay beads! Someday, I'd like to take painting classes.  I love cooking too.  Sipping a glass wine, chopping away veggies with the chef's knife, the smell of a sauteed onion... bliss.

8. Do you like to write letters or postcards? no. I have horrid handwriting.

9.  If you were coming to a potluck at my house, what would you bring? good question... probably something with bacon in it like a broccoli salad.

10. Does your family read your blog? Why or why not? I think my husband reads it sometimes.  I think it doesn't interest him. Probably because he knows everything about me already.

11.  If you could pick one adjective that you'd like people to associate with you, what would it be? loving. I think it's the best quality anyone could have.

Thank you, Allison for giving me something fun to write about. Those were some good questions!

Custom Necklaces

Here's my latest custom necklace order- one for a boy and and one for a girl.   I was a little nervous about making a beaded necklace for a boy, but I am pleased with the way it turned.

First Milestones

The first year of a baby is one exciting year.  The milestones fly by so fast, it's hard to find time to document them.  Today, we finally got some pictures of Faustina smiling. She's been smile for a couple weeks now, but those first smiles are so elusive!  She's been giving my girlfriends big ones, but she's very stingy for Daddy and her siblings. I guess she likes the mammas :) 

I recently read a statistic that 94% of baby with Downs Syndrome are aborted. That number seems too high to believe. Surely, that can't be right.  One thing is for certain, the most dangerous place for a baby with disabilities is in the womb.  I am adding this petition for Downs babies to my daily prayers- that they survive the womb- the one place that is supposed to be the safest.  I am told that in third world countries people with disabilities are abused and mistreated, but here in our 'civilized' world, we just kill them before they can take their first breath.  Ok, I am trying really hard not to go into my "WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WORLD??" rant, so I will stop here.

Brighter news: Faustina started rolling too! She's rolls from her tummy to her back.  It makes mandatory tummy time a little hard when she's constantly flipping to her back.  I lay her down, she rolls on her back. I put her back on her tummy, she rolls back to her back, again and again. 

This boy loves his baby sister!

Mother Love Winner!

Thank you to all that entered the giveaway! The winner of the Mother Love prayer book is Mary. I will be emailing her shortly for her address.

To those of you who ordered the Jesse Box, I hope you enjoy it! I am looking forward to doing the first Lenten Reflection after the kids start to feel better. We've been hit by a cold here- some more than others. Trying to get my kids to drink their broth more frequently so they recover more quickly!

Have a Blessed Lent!

Awesome New Product and Giveaway!

I am so excited to tell you about a very special new product for Catholic kids that I had the pleasure of reviewing.  It's called the Jesse Box.   The kind people at Angelus Press allowed me to review one  to get the word out.  And they sent me another little gift which I will be giving away here on this blog (more on that below).

To really understand this brand new product, you have to watch the video- it's such a neat idea! Don't think, 'Jesse Tree', because that what I initially thought when I heard the name.  It's not that at all.



If you watch the video, you'll understand the concept better, but basically, the box transforms into a stage where the children act out the stories of the Bible.  The box includes all you need to for Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter, but online you can print out more stories and even more will be coming every four months. I'm looking forward to printing out the Origins of the Eucharist props and story!

When I got our Jesse Box in the mail, I couldn't wait until Lent to try it out, so here's our pictures of using it for the Feast of the Presentation.  The great thing about this learning tool is that it can be used with any Bible story.  It's meant to be an aid for families to share the Gospel in their homes, with their children, so representing the story is only one element.   From this special family time, children encounter Jesus present in the Word.

Step 1: Read the Gospel

 I plan to make the Jesse Box a Sunday tradition.  Reading the Gospel with my kids is something I've always wanted to get in the habit of doing- especially on Sundays, so this is perfect!

Here's the documentation of our first "Jesse Box Time".

Step 2: Cut out the props

Step 3: Create the Scene

Creating the scene: Liam making the temple for the Feast of the Presentation (these blocks are not included)

Step 4: Recreate the Scene.  This is where we found ourselves explaining a lot of things to the kids about the bible story...like how to haggle for the price of turtle doves for the offering.  Here Analee was selling them to "Joseph" while Mary and Jesus sat on the donkey.  This was really funny, actually.

The scene in the Temple: Anna with sacrifice, and Simeon talking with Joseph and Mary (the bird was not included)

I think the secret to success with this product and to keep it from being just another toy on the shelf is to keep off the toy shelf!  I'm not going let my kids play with this except when it's "Jesse Box time".   It's not going to be an everyday toy in house; I want its purpose to be kept sacred.

Setting up the environment for a prayerful family time is also key.  On the video and in the booklets, there are suggestions on ways to help prepare the environment like laying out a table cloth (very Montessori!), lighting a candle, and saying a prayer before even reading the Bible story.

The kids had a great time with this! They couldn't wait to do it again.

The Presentation in the Temple (See, you can create any bible story!)

The Jesse Box is perfect for the kinesthetic learner who has to being doing something to really understand it.  Sometimes just having things in your hand, helps to make the connection.

This was a prop from the Exodus story, but I thought she made a perfect "Anna".   (Duck was our own prop)

The first thing I noticed about this product is the beautiful artwork. It's not at all like the cheesy children's toys I am used to seeing.  It's gorgeous-even the box- even the box that that box came in!

So, would I buy this?  Absolutely!  I almost did after watching the video, then I went back to read the email more closely and read that the folks at Angelus press were going to send me one to review.  Imagine my delight!

I was going to buy for an Easter gift for the kids, but this way, we can use it for Lent.  Included in the box is a Lent/Easter booklet with a mini prayer service for every Sunday and all the props you need for the readings.  I am looking forward to starting this!  It's going to be a nice addition to our Lenten tradition of saying the Stations of the Cross on Fridays.

They also sent me Mother Love a beautiful prayer book for mothers that I often use for my morning offering.  It includes my favorite "After Communion" prayers (that I pray in the morning because they are so beautiful).  Since I already have one, I am giving this away for free! ($24.00 value) (U.S. and Canada residents only).

To enter the giveaway, I ask that you go to the Angelus Press website and view the Jesse Box video, then leave a comment here.  For second entry, share this post it on Facebook, blog, Twitter, or email and leave a second comment telling me you did so.   I will choose a random winner for the Mother Love prayer book on Thursday.