Menu Planning Monday....

Monday...Spaghetti with tofurky italian sausage, spinach salad and fruit
Tuesday...Cabbage Rolls stuffed with rice and lentils
Wednesday...Ribollita (Italian kale and bean soup) with spinach salad
Thursday...Mac and "Cheez" vegan style
Friday...Lentil and tofurky sausage soup, baking powder biscuits


And on a positive note, arugula is up and the first asparagus came out of the garden today!

Spring planting...

Today spinach, lettuces, arugula, turnips and kohlrabi were started in the peat pots under the grow lights. 

72 spinach, all peat
25 mixed lettuces, all peat
50 arugula, all peat
36 turnips, organic mix
36 kohlrabi, organic mix

I'm putting them on 12 hour grow light cycles starting today.  We'll see how long they take to germinate!

Book Review: Smack-dab in the Middle of God's Love

Brennan Manning and John Blase have created an adorable children's story in Smack-dab in the Middle of God's Love.  Set in the village of Hopi with the childless couple Willie Juan and Ana, the story talks about Abba, Willie Juan's name for God and the love he has for all.  The illustrations are well done and the children's questions and concerns hit home for little ones learning about God.  It got a big thumb's up from my toddler!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com

Book Review: JRR Tolkien, Christian Encounters Series

Mark Horne puts out a really interesting biography on the life and religion of JRR Tolkien in this edition of his Christian Encounters series.  Horne takes a look at the contributions of Tolkien's Roman Catholicism on his writing of the LOTR saga, as well as his relationship with the another prolific Catholic writer of the day, C.S. Lewis.  The book examines the life of Tolkien through a Christian lens, and while generalized in some ways, he does hit on important aspects of his religion's contributions to his work.  My biggest criticism truly is that he didn't dig deep enough to really allow the reader to come away with a very involved understanding of his motivations to write the books or his faith's contributions to the evolution of the work.  On the whole, the book is a good introduction to the world of Tolkien, although for a more indepth view, other books may provide more.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com

Book Review: Rumors of God, Whitehead and Tyson

Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson set out to examine the declining religious nature of the American public and attempt to enlighten the reader with a more thoughtful, insightful experience with their faith.  The premise is that the Christian of today is drastically removed in faith and devotion from the first believers in the church that we have lost our way.  They set down guidelines they believe will be both life-changing and motivational, but fall flat.  Perhaps it's simply that in this point in my Christian walk I'm not "in this place", so to speak, but I felt it generally oversimplified the faith of today.  As a Catholic, I feel that the rich tradition of the Church has continued though the Liturgy.  Maybe a Protestant viewpoint may differ, but I feel just as strongly that any believer of today can be just as passionate for the Lord as those in his time.  The idea of lukewarm Christianity being a new idea, unique to America and this time, is somewhat lacking and historically inaccurate to boot.  I think that this book seems to capitalize on the idea some have that the faith of those around them isn't as strong as their own.  It seems jaded at least.  I was looking for something less agenda-driven and something more personal, so this book, while having some interesting ideas, lacked any depth for me.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com

Book Review: God's Love Letters to you

The book God's Love Letters to you is a 40 day devotional piece by Dr. Larry Crabb portrayed as an inspirational quick read.  The intent is to give you a snippet of scripture with a dose of prose and prayer and send you on your proverbial way. The entire text can be read in under a minute.  Truthfully, I think more insight could be garnered from simply taking the citations and reading them straight from the Bible, rather than the lukewarm look Dr. Crabb gives.   I found the book a little too simplistic and not always connected to the scripture passages it contained.  I prefer something a little more thought provoking and insightful and I feel this was lacking in both categories.  Also, in regard to the inspirational nature and the "...chance to completely change the way you think about love" (taken from back cover), this one definitely falls short.  I would possibly gift it to someone learning about faith and Christianity, or to an older child or teen.  But as for someone looking for a devotional that could truly deepen your faith experience, I would look elsewhere.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Summer is in full swing...

Ahhh...can you feel it?  Warm, balmy breezes and sunshine...glorious sunshine!  Finally, summer has arrived.  And boy, did we desperately need it!  After the humdrum existence that was this spring, a little light and warmth was just what the doctor ordered :)


Things have been good on the family front.  C is officially done with graduate school on Friday!  He'll take his certification exam some time in August, but for all intents and purposes we have a full-fledged OT in the family.  An accomplishment, for certain.  As for AJ, he's successfully avoided all the summer school work I planned on him doing.  He just returned from a trip to DC with C's family and is heading to Ohiopyle to go camping on Thursday.  I wish I had his social life!  Hopefully things will settle down after this next week and we'll get back on our school schedule.  It's not essential that he be working right now, but I worry that a break will put us way behind in math and language arts.  He struggles a little in both, and he's right in the middle of learning multiplication and division.  Those are tricky enough without too long in between lessons.  That said, the kid did well this year and deserves a break.

Diva is well...she's got her big girl britches on and is testing my patience with potty training.  She is physically ready to be certain, but less than interested in the whole process.  If I could slow her down for five minutes, I'd be set!

Cookies and movies...

A good evening tonight...Chas surprised us with cookies this evening and we rewatched Toy Story 3, again :)  Fun was had by all.  Now we're going to snuggle down and watch some movies.  This makes for a good day, I must say. 

Strep sick and yuck...

I have the world's most annoying rash.  Apparently, I've been attacked by the strep bug.  I don't actually feel terrible, but very tired and run down.  Hopefully, the meds I got yesterday will kick in and make things clear up, but as of 24 hours post medication, there is little change.  I'm hoping day 2 will improve things.

On other matters, I am already tiring of Toy Story 3.  I love the stories, but I am tiring of hearing it as much as I did with Barney.  It's a great story, but watched 17 times a day, anything can sour you.  Oh well...I'm sure she'll be on to something new next week.  She is being really good this morning, so what can I complain about?


AJ is doing really well finishing up his schoolwork and working on his blog.  He's interested in work again, which is great to see.  I really think a less traditional approach to schooling works best for him.  I think that's how we are going to work things next year.  He is doing so well this way that I'm going to manipulate the K12 to make it work more to our advantage.   He is still going to have to get the basics down, but I'm willing to open up and explore more next year.  I'm thinking that engaging him with books and stories is going to do far more for him learning-wise than what I have been doing.  Plus, this will hopefully make him more inclined to creative thinking and writing and more imaginative work.  He is afraid to think outside of the box...I think that's the Aspie in him.  He has so much imaginative potential, but he seems intimidated and afraid to be wrong.  I could kill PS for that.  The first grade teacher truly made him afraid of "wrong", so he hesitates to think independently.  More independent work is going to be an item on our agenda next year!

Rain, rain, go away!

It's still cold and dreary here in SW PA.  If it doesn't let up soon, my beloved garden is going to suffer root rot and I'm going to have to rip everything out and replant.  That is time and money I don't want to waste.  That said, I have have quite a little garden going to date.  The kohlrabi and broccoli went in on Mother's Day, as well as some spinach.  The next weekend I got the zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.  As of right now, I still have herbs and cucumbers waiting to get into the ground.  And at this rate, they may be waiting another week or so.

Also, I've been a bad blogger again.  I was so diligent at the beginning of the year, but alas, I have fallen yet again from blogging grace.  Oh well, fortunately, no one but me reads this, so I'm probably pretty safe :) 

On a more positive note, AJ's FHC went off this weekend splendidly.  He was so excited and pleased to receive, and we were so happy for him. He was truly jubilant.  It was such a happy day, despite the rainy skies and cold weather.  He is growing up so fast!  We are going to let him have his own little blog as a way to try to connect to other homeschooled kids and work on grammar and sentence structure at the same time.  He struggles with creating his own sentences and stories, so I'm hoping that this summer his blog will work to make him more willing to write and more interested in creating his own adventures. 

On the Diva front all is well.  She is so verbal and so busy that it's almost impossible to keep up with her.  Unfortunately, this keeps me more on my toes than I have been for a very long time.  That aside, she is growing up too fast for my taste as well, so I try to enjoy her now rather than stress over her tantrums.  Only too soon she will pass this baby phase and I'll wish for a tantrum over shoes or milk. 

C will be graduating in 5.5 short weeks...none too soon for us.  He is exhausted and misses us all.  Needless to say, this fieldwork isn't going as smoothly as the last.  But, he will finish soon and the real world of jobs and expectations awaits.

We aren't in Kansas anymore...

Yesterday a pretty impressive storm system blew through here, leaving in it's wake an EF2 tornado and a ton of damage to the area. We are safe, but I have never seen a storm like that. We had golf ball size hail and insane winds and such. Thank goodness everyone is safe and although the damage is extensive, no life was lost.

Otherwise, in the wake of this fiasco, our world is otherwise normal. We went to Sam's tonight and stocked up on healthy foods and veggies. We are going to try to make this weight loss thing work again. We have too. Lord knows I tired of this extra weight, but I'm too lazy to do anything about it. We ate out tonight and ingested probably 2000 calories, all of which tasted yucky and benefited us none. We have to stop it. We have to try harder. No other way out...so tomorrow Slim Fast and fruit snacks begin.

I also got my new composting bin tonight. Sad that I'm so excited about compost...but soon I will have wonderful compost for the garden and such. Yeah for me!

I'm off to help C work on his resume...we'll see how this one goes :)

Crackers and cheese, please...

I sit here this evening noshing on some delightful Rogers Sale Amish cheese and Wheat Thins. That makes for a good evening. Kiddies are in bed and C is playing SOCOM to prep for the new release of the next version in a couple weeks. Yeah for him :) Sad little man...I will truly never understand the lore of video games over men folk. That said, I'm sure this time it will be a fight with the little man too, because AJ thinks he's old enough and C secretly wants someone to play with. So battles will inevitably ensue...I will win, but we will battle nonetheless.

On the AJ front, life is very good. Mom is planning on taking the man to Disney World in three weeks, so needless to say he is overjoyed with plans involving mouse ears and pirates, oh my! Diva and I will have an interesting week of it, because C will be at the AOTA conference the same week. So from Tuesday through Sunday we will be a boy-free zone around here. It'll feel weird to be on our own...when AJ was this age, it was just he and I. We had already lost Brian, so the two of us were a pair. With Diva, it's always been a foursome. So the loss of the boys will be unusual for me.

Tomorrow more roofing contractors are coming to give estimates. We already have one for $6000 and we'll see what these guys have to offer. Something has to be done about the roof, so within the next six weeks or so the repairs will be done. I'd like to let it go until we decide whether or not we're selling the house, but in all likelihood we'll be staying, so we might as well get comfortable and get it done.

Sleep, sweet sleep...

I'm tired, but totally and completely unable to sleep. So until my dose of valerian kicks in and knocks me out (hopefully), I sitting out here listening to C bring down the house with his snores. Blech. This will totally kill my attempt at getting up early tomorrow. I feel more productive and generally get more accomplished when I do the early wake-up, but at this point, the idea of the alarm going off in 4 short hours makes the prospect unlikely. I know I'll just give myself an enormous headache in the process.

So for now, I'm off to waste time on the internet until the sandman cometh...

A new, better habit...

Or at least I'm trying to establish one. I'm not an AM person, by any stretch of the imagination. I love my blankets and covers...I adore snuggling deeper under and letting the world slip by quietly. But, I feel that I'm not getting enough done to have made my day worthwhile, so I'm trying to get up with C and get him out the door. Then I've got a solid hour or so to myself in the mornings to become functional. I can have already had my tea, a light breakfast and possibly workout, not counting the load or so of laundry I could be ahead on if I try really hard. I will never be a morning person, but perhaps I can be less of a slug-a bed :)

Goodbye, dear bed...

So, our bed is dead. Kaput. Done for. The main frame rail cracked and it will be impossible to repair or replace. The rails we tried to buy on the cheap are useless, so we are officially stuck buying a new bed. Crud. I hate spending money on something like this. Especially considering the old bed was only about five years old. I mean, seriously, what happened to craftsmenship and quality? Argh. So now we are on a mission to find something reasonably priced and sturdy enough to fit the four of us...because Lord knows we can't leave out the kiddos!

Diva has her 18 month shots tomorrow...joy of joys. She's just over being sick and we're going to have to deal with immunizations. I feel bad for the mite. Otherwise all is well in our world. C and I are spending the evening staring out at computer screens searching for deals or ideas to make the bedroom situation work. Hopefully this will resolve quickly from this point. I'm tired of dealing with it!

So good, so long...

I did so well keeping up with my blog after New Years. I was quite proud of myself, needless to say. But then life crept in, slowly, and kept me from writing or reading. Sickness invaded, and we are just now recovering from it's onslaught of awfulness. Everyone is still slightly congested and snuffy, but we are all far better than we were two or three weeks ago. Thanks be to God that the sickness seems past for now and we are returning to real life again.

That said, February is almost over. Diva is officially 18 months now and showing her independence more every day. AJ is getting bigger, and I'm noticing bigger boy tendencies in his behaviors and attitudes. I am not ready for that, needless to say. The cuddles and snuggles are still there, so not all is lost. As for Diva, I'm thinking we are just starting to dig in for what may be a very long terrible twos stage.

Lent begins for us on Wednesday. I am ready for the opportunity to pour my heart into something great and good. I feel relief that this season is here, which is strange. I am almost looking for the chance to sacrifice and have a reason to resist indulging. I have yet to decide officially what I will choose as a sacrifice because I don't feel anything I've come up with so far is truly a sacrifice. So I will dwell for a while longer on that one to make a good decision.

I'm off to organize laundry and get something done before bed tonight. We have piles of laundry to get done...blah. One of my least favorite chores!

A very happy birthday...

Today is my 32cd birthday. In a way, that number both scares and humbles me. I am, of course, petrified by the idea that I have surpassed 22 years old. Remember 22? Me neither. Great year, 22. I was on top of the world...college graduate, in graduate school...the world was at my feet. Then, 23 came and everything changed. Literally, in the span of one month I was laid low. Life was no longer my oyster. I couldn't afford store brand fish sticks, let alone oysters. 23 was marked by Aidyn's birth and the effective end of my youth as a whole. In the span of three months I became a wife, mother and my college career was curbed. My reverse birthday was definitely a life changing year. Funny how it seemed tragic then. Now if for my reverse birthday year at 32 I could have another baby, life would be grand. Priorities definitely change.

I'm hoping 32 is a banner year for Krista :) Our world is looking pretty good...the kids are healthy and happy, C is inching closer every day to finishing his OTL/R and we're even contemplating going to Disney World. How much more fun is life than that? I'm also hoping to truly renew my weight loss effort. For this, C and I have decided to splurge and buy an elliptical. I have wanted one for ages, but now seemed the right time. Of course, as soon as we got it home and started putting it together, we realized a part was incorrect. So, for the moment, my banner year is on hold until my new parts get here.

Otherwise all is well in our house. I need to get in gear and get writing more. I was doing very well at the beginning of the year, but I have been slacking off lately. Silly girl. I really need to buckle down and get those thoughts of mine cataloged. So many important things to say...lol. I'm going to get ready for bed now...cuddle up with my honey and enjoy the sounds of his snores as the snow/rain/ice hits the roof. Good birthday :)

A week in the life...

This week literally flew by for us. Between having a sick kid Monday and Tuesday, through dentist's appointments and basketball games and everything in between, I feel like I haven't had a minute to think. But, Sunday has come, naps have commenced and CCD was accomplished, so all of us are sitting around doing a little bit of nothing. C is playing Civ, AJ is playing Football, I'm on the computer and Diva is flittering around between the three of us. Her main goal is enticing us with promise of Elmo karaoke. Little does she know, the only one that likes Elmo karaoke is her!

So a new week is on the horizon and we will bid adieu to January this week. Other than being frigid, snowy and gray, you've been good to us, January 2011. We've pretty much mad it through in one piece, which is more than I can say for many months. I feel like I can almost see the light of warmer weather (that being above 20 degrees, I mean). If I can get through February, I can start thinking about my garden and other summer goodies. I can stop worrying about snow boots and heavy coats...and how I hate heavy coats! And on a garden note, I got my seeds yesterday. We'll see how this experiment in starting seeds myself goes this year. I'm positive, but not sure how well it will go...think happy, green plants!

I'm off again...Diva lost her banana and it must be retrieved. Oh the glamorous life I lead!

Small steps...

I was roaming around the cyber world this evening, checking the blogs of various cyber friends and other interesting places around. I was particularly thankful to run across Erica's blog this evening to find some great insights. Elizabeth Foss has a great website on Catholic families and education (along with many other interesting topics) that offered a great article with insight into my life recently. I have been in a funk...I have been grumpy, grumble-y and altogether unpleasant at times. I have put that burden on my family. I read that post she offered, as well as what Erica wrote and thought to myself...these are simple, small steps I should be taking. Why am I not? I am being uncharitable to others because of my own discomfort. This definitely not the attitude I need to have, or the way I want my children or others to see me. So, I am going to take to heart the idea of small steps. I am going to very consciously make an effort to put more joy into my life by adjusting my attitude toward a larger picture.

I am going to put a smile on my face and be thankful for the small moments with my children, no matter what time of the day or night I find them.

I hope to find joy in my daily tasks. Beautifying my home is a blessing for us all.

I am going to strive to think more calmly and act more charitably toward those I have grievances against. Even if I am frustrated internally, allowing my feelings to show externally only teaches my children to be spiteful and vengeful.

Hopefully these small steps today will lighten my heart tomorrow. I want harmony and happiness to be in my home, and I need to be the catalyst for it. I definitely need to quit enspousing the "sour saint" mentality.

To a better tomorrow!

Meal Planning Monday

Monday...Roast Pork with cabbage and potatoes
Tueday...Out to dinner with associates of C
Wednesday...Italian sausage veggie soup
Thursday...Stuffing and turkey casserole with mashed potatoes
Friday...Mahi mahi steaks with roasted garlic potatoes and veggies