Yes, My Boys are Crazy!

 One ran to the mailbox, one took the dog out . . .

Thank God for Aunts

My children are blessed with some wonderful aunts.  They love my kids, pray for them, offer treats and cousin time, and accept them unconditionally.  I'm so grateful to them all.

 

Len's sister lives nearest to us, and is a champion example of aunt-awesomeness.  (When I grow up, maybe I'll be as good as she is.)  She comes over regularly (even though most of the children are too old to be baby-sat) and spends quality thought, time, and resources on gift-giving occasions.

 

For example, to celebrate Joseph's birthday, she took him out to eat (twice in one day--those teen boy appetites!) and then to a rock-climbing class.

MA bought Rebecca a Sculpey starter set and project book for her birthday.  She took her out to eat, then came home to work with the clay.  The ladies created

colorful pony-tail holders (with a button kit)

 and twisted bracelets.

 Thank you, 'sters, for your gifts of time and love.

A Blessed Easter

I pray you're enjoying a happy, holy Easter.  Here is the latest update from Rome:

 

Happy Easter to all of you back in the USA!!!

 

The past couple of days have been crazy but amazing!  On Good Friday, we had a retreat in the morning for the boys and then went to St. Peters to wait in line for the Liturgy of the Passion.  We were able to get awesome seats for this and some of the boys were able to get very close to the Pope as he processed out at the end.

 

Yesterday, we were very busy!  We visited St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran, the catacombs, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and many  other things. 

 

Today, Easter Sunday, we got up early so we could get a good spot in line to get into St. Peters Square (sorry...international keyboard that does not seem to have an apostrophe) for Easter Sunday Mass with the Holy Father.  Well, we did get good seats, front row!!!  It was a beautiful Mass...some of the boys even made it on the huge screens that they set up in the square for those who are far away.  It was a beautiful liturgy.  Afterwards we went to Trastevere for a nice sit down lunch as a group and the boys are now playing sports.  Tomorrow is Assisi and then we head home.  We have been keeping all of you in our prayers, and look forward to seeing everyone Tuesday night!  I hope you are all having a blessed Easter!

More From Rome

Another update from Joseph's trip leader:

Thy Kingdom Come!

Greetings again from Rome!  It has been a great trip so far and all of the guys have been fantastic!  We've been very busy, so I can't say everything we've done, but here are some highlights:

On Wednesday, we had one of the more special moments of the trip, getting to attend the Papal audience.  We were very early and got in the 2nd and 3rd row, but most of the boys were able to be right on the fence when the Holy Father drove by in the popemobile!  Also, our group was welcomed by name by the English speaking priest who welcomed the groups and introduced the Pope's comments in English.  When we jumped up and cheered, Pope Benedict looked our way and waved.  That afternoon we got to visit St John Lateran and then climb the Holy Stairs on our knees (these were the stairs from the Praetorium that Jesus walked up during his trial with Pilate...brought to Rome by St. Helen).  Then we went to the Church of the Holy Cross which has many relics from the Passion, including wood from the true Cross and one of the nails.

Yesterday we saw the Colosseum and Roman Forum before going to St. John Lateran for the Mass of the Lord's Supper (long but beautiful...we got seats but not very close...a lot of people pushed ahead of us in line).

I'll try to write again soon, we are keeping all of you in our prayers!

From Rome

Joseph is in Rome for Holy Week.  What an experience!  Here is an email update we just received from the trip's leader (Joe's Confirmation sponsor):

Thy Kingdom Come!

Dear all in Christ,

Greetings from Rome!  We are doing great, perhaps a little bit tired, but having a great time.  Yesterday, when we arrived in Rome, we spent a little time getting settled, played a little soccer, and then went to visit the city.  We stopped in St. Peter's square briefly and then had a chance to do some shopping before visiting the Legionaries' other seminary (the Center for Higher Studies) to look at a cool exhibit there of the Shroud of Turin.

Today, we went to St. Peter's early in the morning for a private Mass at the tomb of Bl. John Paul II.  After that we had a tour of the inside of the basilica with Br. N., climbed to the Cupola, had lunch, and then visited the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel.  We wrapped up with a visit to the Fountain of Trevi.  We´ll make it an early night tonight because we're getting up early again for the general audience with Pope Benedict.

I'll try to keep you posted, we are keeping you in our prayers, and when we receive the Pope's blessing tomorrow, it also extends to all of our families, so you will also receive this special blessing!

Captions

Some recent happenings

 Princess Brooke serving Prince Daniel at their Engagement Tea.

Len removed a sickly tadpole from the group and commenced viewing under the stereoscope (20X and 40X).

We were able to see its eye, the passing of gas and waste, and blood circulating around its tail.  Cool!

What began as the after-dessert discovery of dinner's sliced watermelon quickly morphed into an eating contest, complete with laughter and dripping chins.

The entire family is fascinated by the tadpoles.

Yeah, I think we'll keep the lid on their habitat . . .

Joseph's scout troop held a Court of Honor this week, and we all managed to attend the ceremony and potluck dinner.  Joe earned several merit badges and his Star rank.  He's really enjoying this group of young men and is looking forward to a high-adventure trip to Alaska this summer.

Amphibians and Reptile

First, "Days With Tadpoles" by Rebecca:

Yesterday Marianna and my mom were taking a walk with Dusty, and they came to a place where a big tire had made a puddle.

 They saw a bunch of tadpoles, which are baby frogs or toads.

So they came back and told me about it.  Then I woke up Joe and he wasn’t very excited, but we got on our bikes and went to the place where they were. 

 We brought a bag and a cup.  Then we got some tadpoles in the cup and poured them into the bag.

Then we went home.  We poured them into a habitat in my kitchen area.  We put pebbles in it and creek water. 

First they all started down at the pebbles, but after a while they came up and were all swimming around.  My mom bought fish food, but they didn’t eat it until this morning.  It’s Marianna’s job to feed them breakfast and my job to feed them dinner.  They ate a lot of algae from the water. 

We’ve only had them for a day; they’re really cute and tiny.  Lucca watched them for a minute or two, but she wasn’t very interested.  The tadpoles have a tail and it’s kind of see-through. 

They swim around all day.  They still hang out at the pebbles, and a few were hanging on a stick and being very still.

"Tadpoles," by Marianna:

Yesterday morning, while I was on the walk with my mom and Dusty and Mrs. Laing, we found in a giant tire rut hundreds of tadpoles.  When we got home, we told Becca, who got very excited.  Then we woke up Joe, who was not very excited about it at all. 

We got out the tadpole habitat and dumped a bunch of creek water into it.  We also put in a bunch of pebbles at the bottom.  Then we rode on bikes and put a bunch of tadpoles and some rainwater in a quart size zipper bag.  When we got home, we dumped them into the habitat. 

When we first put them in, they just went down to the bottom and wiggled in between the pebbles.  They didn’t move for a while, and I thought they were dead.  Then they touched each other and started swimming around.  They still spend time in between the pebbles.

Right now they are very tiny.  They are black with a little tail.  They are swimming around a lot, all over the place.  They’ve been eating the algae in the water and ignoring the fish food we gave them (until this morning).  We saw some hanging from a tiny stick that was floating in the water.  They looked funny. 

 And David's northern ring neck snake (or so I've been told), named Linnaeus (after the father of taxonomy):

Supposedly it eats worms.  There was one in the dirt David put into the aquarium, but we can't tell whether or not it's been consumed.   David is also trying scrambled egg, cooked chicken, and live tadpole (in the water dish).  Hopefully time will tell.

On a Lighter Note

Literally!




Find his Christian music inspirations here.

Skip Counting

I think it was Joseph who noticed that from September to November our family has children ages 5-10-15-20. Cool!

Dinner with Joe

Cooking a meal with a child can be a time consuming project. Joseph's dinner, rescheduled twice, ended up mid-week, so we planned quicker but still tasty fare.

Tonight's menu: shrimp scampi, peas with pine nuts,

fresh fruit salad,and Moosewood fudge brownies.

-

As they say on A Prairie Home Companion, "tasty and expeditious!"

Yes, It's a Beer Ad

But when Joe saw it this weekend, he proclaimed it "the greatest commercial I've ever seen!"

It really is fun to watch, and so very BOY...
Did I mention he got a Nerf assault rifle for Christmas?

Fiddle Lesson

The recital video of the quartet playing an Irish medley is still unplayable, so I recorded Joe and his teacher at Thursday's lesson. They're playing Swallowtail Jig, Lannigan's Ball, and Morrison's Jig, complete with an interruption by Rebecca and "harmony" by Max the dog. Enjoy!

A Fiddler in the House

Last week, Joe played in a short recital at his teacher's house. She's been teaching him some fiddle tunes, which are a lot of fun to listen to.

I've been wanting to post the videos ever since, but we've had one technical difficulty after another. At first we couldn't find any movies on our new computer after downloading them from the camera. Then blogger wouldn't upload them. David managed to post one on YouTube for me, but the other won't even play on our machine any more. Argh!

Anyway, this is Joe and a fellow student playing "Soldier's Joy", an American Fiddle tune, with Mr. M, his teacher's husband, accompanying them on guitar. I will keep trying to put up the other movie, because it's a medley of three Irish songs which I enjoy even more.

Speechifying

Joseph joined Boy Scouts just a few months ago, and is really enjoying it. This week he's participating in a 5 day workshop (?), working towards a communications merit badge.

Yesterday he gave a speech about the best way to eat ice cream. Since visual aids were required he brought in cones, sprinkles, sauce, and scoops. His three minute presentation lasted just a minute and a half, probably due to the typical banes of beginners: forgetting some points and talking too fast.

Today Joe is supposed to speak for 6-8 minutes, and someone suggested homeschooling. He agreed, knowing that at least there is plenty to say. ;-) Last night I helped him organize his thoughts in outline form. His practices at home have gone well; he's been working hard, and I'm proud of him.

I started typing up his outline for the blog, figuring that OF COURSE you would be interested, but now I'm not so sure. Suffice it to say Joe gave an overview of homeschooling, including schedules, subjects, teaching methods, and advantages and disadvantages. Fascinating stuff! ;-)

UPDATED: Sounds like the speech went well, with appropriate audience reactions to the high points (no homework, four fewer weeks of school, that sort of thing). Joe zoomed through it, but pacing takes practice.

Another Proud Mommy Moment

We spent a long weekend in New York, up for my neice's 8th grade graduation and a combo grad/Confirmation boat party. It was a lovely visit.

When we arrived home late Sunday, a letter awaited Joseph: he's been accepted into a county-wide youth orchestra!

Earlier this spring Joe auditioned for a highly competitive regional youth orchestra, but did not get in. I was proud that he was willing to gear up (mentally and musically) for another try-out. Being invited to join is a happy accomplishment for him. He's being recognized for his violin progress so far, and can now look forward to working and growing with other young musicians. I think being part of a large group will make practice seem more practical.

There are of course logistical issues--the weekly rehearsal/lesson/whatever is on week nights and not close by (I believe I've mentioned before that our metro traffic is #2 on the national "bad list"...), BUT it will be great for Joe AND I feel confident that we'll be able to form a carpool with other edge-of-the-county parents.

Three cheers for Joseph! (And thanks to his violin teacher for her talent and encouragement.)

Joe's Din(n)er

At last, some special cooking time! Joe and I prepared last night's dinner. It was an eclectic menu: Watershrimp and Hotroot Soup (Redwall-style, complete with fresh mussels), homemade baguettes, corn pudding, green beans, and frozen chocolate covered bananas.

We fit the cooking (and multiple clean up periods) into a day with a few errands, but it wasn't busy enough to make us crazy. Cleaning the mussels (scrubbing all and de-bearding some) was simple but time consuming. The soup is a lot like clam chowder--leeks, potatoes, milk, seafood.

The bread was attractive AND delicious.The corn pudding was not popular enough to be made again; I think we'll have trouble consuming even the leftovers. It turned out the way it was supposed to, but just isn't to our taste.

The chef:Another happy customer:The pops were exactly right, and easy to make (based on the recipe from Emeril Legasses's There's a Chef in My Soup!). Joe froze four bananas (8 halves) with skewer handles (Craft/popsicle sticks would be safer, but we didn't have any on hand.). The next day we combined 1/2 cup of hot whipping cream with 1 cup of chocolate to make a thick ganache. The frozen bananas were covered with chocolate and returned to the freezer. Delightful!

Meatless Meals

Because of Jesus' ultimate offering on Good Friday, the Church calls us all to make a concrete sacrifice on Fridays throughout the year. In our home, that usually means no meat.

Joseph has questioned me many times about why we eat no beef, pork, or chicken, but do allow seafood (catfish, tuna, pasta with clam sauce...). The answer lies in tradition with a small "t", but I admit it's not fully satisfying. I'm going to try to let this child lead me.

Now I'm planning Friday meals that are solidly vegetarian. It probably won't be 100% right away, but that's okay. It took a few years early in our marriage to get from meatless Lenten Friday to meatless year-round. I'll still try to make things taste good--soups, Tex-Mex foods (beans and rices), cheese and egg concoctions. (We're not vegans yet!)

This week I tried a new recipe for butternut bisque. As I expected, the reactions were mixed: thumbs up from the adults, thumbs down (way down) from the children. A favorite "fasting" dinner is soup, rustic bread, cheese, and apples, so at least no one went hungry. It did take some of them a while to empty their bowls (only one scoop each!) though.

I'll try something safe this week, before stretching our palates again. :-)

BTW: I followed the recipe pretty closely, but added about a teaspoon of salt.

If I Only Had a Brain

Joe's aunt and uncle are celebrating baptism anniversaries with several of their godchildren today with a trip to the Kennedy Center. He received his invitation weeks ago, and the event was duly written on the family calendar. Len's sister followed up a few days ago with an email. Yesterday we spoke about the arrangements--dropping Joseph off at their church and picking up from their house later.

You see where this is going, don't you?

1:40 p.m.: The phone rings. "Barb?"

Aaaargh! Joe was supposed to be at church TEN MINUTES AGO! I managed to COMPLETELY forget!

It turned out fine. Joe changed, we hopped in the car and zipped down the highway, arriving at the Kennedy Center just a few minutes after the rest of his group. He didn't even miss the instrument petting zoo before the performance.

It was almost pleasant driving into DC without traffic--zoom, zoom. It would have been nice to not have to drive so far, but the worst part was really that feeling of totally losing my mind.

Does He or Doesn't He?

Joseph's favorite refrain since Lauren left for college is, "I don't miss you!" We're pretty sure he doesn't mean it. =)

Proof that out of sight is NOT out of mind: On last week's nature walk, Joseph took the picture below and immediately said, "That was a Lauren picture. It took skills."
Side note: As I was going through the massive file of photos last night, I actually deleted this one because it's not perfectly in focus. (Joe and I both need to practice using the manual focus.) Later I remembered that I hadn't even shown it to Lauren. Waaaah! But this morning Len taught me about the recycle bin, and lo and behold, the picture is restored!

Midafternoon During the Olympics

Yes, we've been staying up past our bedtimes!