Saint-O-Lanterns

Sunshine chose St. Josephine Bakhita, sometimes referred to as "the African flower", who is the patron of Sudan, Africa. She chose an African flower, the hibiscus, to carve onto her pumpkin. Hibiscus tea is very popular in Sudan. Wedding celebrations are typically toasted with a glass of hibiscus tea sometimes flavored with mint or ginger.

A hibiscus for St. Josephine

Shortcake chose to dress as St. Zita this year.

St. Zita is the patron of lost keys.

The Professor wanted his shirt design transferred to his pumpkin.

The Mighty Archangels' symbols

I always give my kids the option to choose a silly face instead of a religious image to remind us of the joyfulness of the saints in Heaven. BigBoy chose to draw his own design which I transferred and cut out for him.

Click here to see them all!

 

To all my friends...

Happy All Hallows Eve!

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate...

...getting ready to head out the door or opening your door to a parade of Saints who will be supping with you this evening and making merry: Hope you have a wonderful vigil celebration that continues on to tomorrow when we join with the angels and give thanks for the excellent example of these men and women who lived lives of heroic virtue and who now triumphantly petition for us in Heaven. If anyone calls you lame, ignore it. I stopped caring what the kid next door thought a long time ago and I encourage you to do the same.

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...getting ready to head out the door to delight the elderly, comfort the lonely, revel with friends and earn treats for your cuteness: Be safe! Have fun! Eat a Butterfinger for me! I will leave a bowl of candy outside for you. (If someone gets to it first and empties it out, I'll let him explain why his greediness was more important than your fun.)

Please don't think I'm a "ninny" or a "goody-goody" or on some kind of moral high horse for not participating any more than that. I don't think trick-or-treating is satanic and I have not been secretly influenced by Protestants.

Sigh.

My children take no delight in ghosties or ghoulies or creepy things in general and while I know you would not dream of gorifying this cultural tradition, sadly not everyone is as enlightened as you. Those who say we are "lame dorks", well, we are kind of used to being considered weird in all areas of our life by now and are pretty content with our dorkiness.

I don't mean to bring you down with my little quibbles, I am just feeling awfully pushed around right now by people of the same faith from whom I would expect a little more understanding. Not you, of course, I know you understand. What I don't understand is all the contortions fellow Catholics are going through to make Trick or Treating something it isn't? Nobody ever feels the need to infuse fireworks on the Fourth with some sort of sacredness. As someone who grew up running from house to house with my friends dressed in all kinds of fanciful garb I know that it's a fun custom, uniquely American and not typically an occasion for sin unless you try to eat the whole bag in one night, which I know you won't. :)

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... to all my friends who's festivities have already finished: Sit down, put your feet up and have a glass of wine! This weekend which has included a potluck, a funeral, and birthday party so far with more to come means I'm almost running on empty and would love to join you, in spirit, if not in flesh. Pray for me! :)


Peace, friends! Have a good night!

Our Little Crouton

This is Crouton.

Those of you who have been reading here for a while might remember our doggie adventures beginning with the not-so-great greyhound saga of 2009 and ending with the Crouton cuteness of 2010.

We all wholeheartedly believe that Crouton is the right dog for our family. She's a little nervous and anxious just like me, especially after dark. She is playful and nurturing like my girls, loves to chew things (but nothing she shouldn't), especially food, like my growing boys, and has a sensitive stomach like... well, we won't say who.

She is also highly intelligent (the vet says that's the terrier in her, not the Chihuahua). After about a week of house training, she learned to ring a bell when she needs to go outside. Sometimes, it's to take care of business and other times, it's to take a little sunbath.

She also lets us know when she is feeling frisky and wants to play. She howls in the silliest way, it's almost like trilling an "R" like you would speaking Spanish. When we hold a toy up and say "Ready?" she supplies her own unique little "Go!" The kids wanted me to share this with you all. Some of you were very helpful and supportive when we were beginning this adventure. Thank you!

Sorry it's so dark. It was after the kids went to bed that she decided she wanted to play so Husband obliged.

A New Game

Along with some of our other standard games we are bringing to the homeschool party and including in our family party, we are trying our hand at a new one.

St. Nicholas's Coin Toss

Remembering the story of St. Nicholas delivering the three bags of gold as dowries for the three young girls and honoring the idea of St. Nick's fascination with chimneys, we constructed a chimney, of sorts, out of an empty box some brown wrapping paper and construction paper "bricks". I also made six bags of "gold" to go along with it. I like games like this for big groups because it can so easily be adjusted for children of different ages. Wee ones only have to get one bag in and they can toss from closer up. Big kids have to stand further back and try to get all three bags in.

Here is a picture of one of the bags opened up. I used a dinner plate to trace the circles, cut them with pinking shears and tied them with rubber bands. Couldn't have been easier and my kids say that the large lima beans really feel like coins inside. My only tip from letting the children practice with it... place your chimney up against a wall or weigh it down on the inside with a real brick or a heavy book so that it doesn't keep tipping over.

A reader's request

I got an email asking about how to create a St. Patrick costume from a mom who doesn't sew. I thought I would share my answer here for anyone else with a similar problem...


What I try to focus on are the symbols of the saints or those things that identify them. For St. Patrick, the iconic image of him is 1) as a bishop 2) with a shamrock and 3) driving out the snakes in Ireland.

1. You can make a simple bishop's miter out of craft foam. Cut out two shapes like this and glue them at the sides so that they fit your son's head. You can then add a cross or ribbon decoration with glitter glue if you want. I think just a cross would be sufficient.

2. Give him a shamrock to hold. Cut it out of green cardstock or green construction paper. Here is a pretty basic one you can print off and glue to something sturdier.

3. If you have any plastic snakes or can find one at the store, let him hold a snake too or if you want to, you can make a stuffed one by filling a tube sock with rice and tying off the end. Draw a silly face on it or glue some googly eyes to make it less scary if he doesn't much like snakes.

As far as his actual clothes for the costume, a simple sheet folded in half with a neck hole cut at the top and draped over the front and back of him like a poncho can be tied around the waist and will look like a tunic. The sides will be open, so make sure he's wearing something that blends underneath like a white shirt and khaki pants or white sweatpants if using a white sheet. #4 in this article explains it differently. Or, if he is average sized or smaller, a Men's XL t-shirt tied around the waist with a sash might work just as well.

A plain rectangular piece of fabric cut with pinking shears doesn't have to be hemmed and can be draped over his shoulders like a cape. Cut with regular scissors, you might get edges that start to fray unless you use fleece which will not fray even when cut with straight scissors. You can see our St. Blaise for an idea of what I'm talking about although I would make it green for St. Patrick. If you really want it to look finished but can't sew a hem, consider using some No-Sew Hem Tape or Fabri-Tac or Alene's Fabric Fusion.

Lastly, here is a link to my friend Jessica's blog. The last couple of pictures in that post have some St. Patricks in them. Maybe this will inspire you, too!

Hope that helps!
 

All Saints for Big Kids

The Professor has reached that age where dressing up in a costume really doesn't appeal to him. OK, maybe it's not as much the age as it is the size in his case. He's taller than me (5'6" on a good day), has the biggest feet in the family and is sporting man fur on his arms and legs. A young man with a more extroverted personality might still enjoy the prospect of donning a costume, but my quiet, retiring Professor just doesn't have his heart in it this year but, at the same time, feels bad for not being more enthusiastic about dressing up.

Firmly believing that you are never too old to party for All Saints, we came up with a creative way to allow him to participate without feeling like he was wearing a costume. We thought about the symbols for the three mighty Archangels and came up with this design for a cool T-shirt:

St. Michael's flaming sword, St. Gabriel's horn and a fish for St. Raphael (resembling an Ichthys for a little extra symbolism)

I drew the designs on card stock and cut them out then used a glue stick to help the cut edges stick to the fabric. (Just use a little bit of glue and you will be able to peel the card stock up easily once you're done painting.) I recommend a sponge brush and using a dabbing or pouncing technique like you would with a stencil to get the first layer of paint on. We went for a simple monochromatic metallic gold although I did hand embellish the flames with some gold glitter when it was dry.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share in case you have a shy, big kid who wants to participate in your All Saints Party but just doesn't want to dress up.

Edited to Add:
Here is a website where you can find some symbols associated with saints.

A Costume for St. Josephine

It's that time of year when my kiddos try to stump the Mommy by choosing a saint for All Saints Day that stretches my creativity and my sewing skills. This year, Sunshine asked if she could dress as her Confirmation patron, St. Josephine Bakhita. Have you SEEN a Canossian sister's habit from the early 1900's? Whoa!

Obviously, the most notable aspect of her habit is her veil. OK, so here is the best I could come up with...

I took a scrap piece of black cotton (about a 1/2 a yard) to make the head covering. Using wide width ribbon and tape, I created the look of St. Josephine's veil and then tacked it in place with a needle and thread.Yup. I left the tape there and hand sewed right over it for extra stability.

Then I crossed the ends in the back, and then tied and tucked on top. You could also secure them with a safety pin. Now, St. Josephine's veil wasn't a head wrap and actually fits more like a bonnet, but we are just going for an impression, not reality. If I had more time, I might try to make a bonnet, but not this year. I do have some more ribbon loops to go on the crown of her head which we will attach on the day.

For the necklace you see in her picture, I had some help from a friendly Canossian sister, Sr. Lisa, who answered my question with this interesting information:

The medal she wore around her neck was double-sided, with our Lady of Sorrows on the front side, and the back side depicts the instruments of Jesus' suffering, as drawn by our foundress, St Magdalene of Canossa. These pictures were encased in gold and/or brass frame with glass - and later - plastic window panes. Each Canossian Sister wore this medal (and they would put between the two pictures their private messages to Jesus - so neat!), hung from a black, silk woven cord. 

She even sent me copies of the images to print out for Sunshine! Thank you, Sr. Lisa!

For the rest of her costume, Sunshine is wearing an old black skirt and using a black capelet from our dress-up box. I'll try to post pictures of everyone in full costume later. We don't want to spoil the surprise for the cousins.

We happy few...

...will be diving into this crisp later!

Happy St. Crispin's Day!

If you haven't seen it yet, don't miss the YouTube video of the St. Crispin's Day speech below. I love Kenneth Branagh!

Grab your tissues...

 Sure beats "I'd like to teach the world to sing..."! (Sorry for the earworm.)

HT: Sheila Reports via Barb's combox

St. Crispin's Apple Crisp

I'm over at Catholic Cuisine today with a recipe for an apple crisp for St. Crispin. 

This is a Crispin apple (above) and this is the famous St. Crispin's Day speech performed by the impressive Kenneth Branagh (below):

Happy St. Crispin's Day!

7 Quick Takes About My Mom

~1~

Today is my mom's birthday. She has always been "Mom" to me but the kids call her Grammie.

~2~

This is probably my favorite picture of my mom and me. It was taken leaving the hospital when I was born. Car seats? This is 1974. We didn't need no stinkin' car seats!

~3~

My mom is one of those people who can get along with anybody even grumpy old spinster secretaries who snarl at everyone. If there is even the slightest chink in that wall of antisocial behavior, my mom will find a way in.

~4~

She makes the best strudel! Apple strudel! When I was little, I used to sit at the table and she would "accidentally" drop apple slices or raisins outside the dough and say, "Oh, I can't use those now!" Yeah... she's sneaky like that! ; )

~5~

My mom is the kind of Grammie who really loves playing with her grandchildren. I mean, she gets down on the floor to hide under the blanket with them or lets them dress her up for an afternoon tea. She also loves talking with them especially as they have gotten older about the things that they are interested in and always lets them know how special they each are to her.

~6~

My mom has a giant green thumb and is an honest-to-goodness, authentic farm girl. Proof. She grew up on a real, working farm with pet chickens and goats and turtles and puppies. Lots of puppies. If ever I wonder where Shortcake gets her love of animals from, I don't have to wonder long!

~7~

She is the baby of her family and the only one who could always get my grumpy grandpa to smile. She loved her parents tremendously. Still does, I know. Her devotion to honoring her mother and father is an inspiration. She taught me to treasure them, too and let me spend countless hours in their presence. For that, I am eternally grateful.

Love you, Mom! Happy Birthday!

Botany Benefits

Honey, can you bring home some flowers for the girls to dissect? 

It's a Botany project!

A Little Dude's Quiltie

I loved this color combination and I hope the Little Dude's momma does too. It kind of reminded me of her with her dark complexion and love of things kind of funky and chic. But of course, it's blue... for a boy! Who says that baby boy stuff has to be all primary crayon colors and trucks?

The Teething Bling necklace was a little something fun recommended by Jessica. I haven't used one (yet), but her little Rose sure seemed to like hers. It was a total coincidence that the color matched the blanket since I had ordered it a few months ago. Happy coincidence, to be sure!

And since Miss Margaret was here while I was putting this Quiltie together, she now knows all the secrets of Quiltie making and my haphazard sewing skills. Although, I forgot to swear her to secrecy, darn it! Is it too late now? : )
 

Deep in this Texas Heart

Did you hear who was here?

 But now she's home and life feels a little bit...

Feast of St. Teresa of Avila

From the archives...

Go read Jessica's plans for celebrating tomorrow. Aren't those paper dolls precious? And that bread sounds delightful! Thanks, Jessica!

St. Teresa of Avila

Games for All Saints

Susan asked about other ideas in the combox below.  I took these pictures at our party last year, but never posted them so I thought it might be a good idea to share them now. I've posted about them before, but for those of you new to this blog, here they are again.

These are a couple of games that were inspired by others but have become staples at our All Saints Eve party. In fact, when I was asking the children about ideas for new games this year, they looked at me like I was a little crazy. Then again, they do that a lot. So, here are our favorite All Saints Games, thus far...

I made these "perfume jars" a few years ago with some empty salt and pepper shakers, tissue paper and glue. I place cotton balls on the inside with drops of extract. There will be two of each flavor of extract and to make it easy on myself, I write on the bottoms what extract is inside. The idea is for the children to sniff the "perfume" and match the scents. This can even be a self checking game for older kids who can see how they did by looking on the bottom. For younger kids, just have them match up two of the same if matching all of them seems too challenging. Does this make scents? (Tee hee hee!)

 

 This game involves an old Nerf basketball hoop, sans net, and a few fake roses. I used three red and three white, for no particular reason at all and wrapped the stems of the silk roses with ribbon to make them pretty. You can't see them in this picture because the roses are all in that blue vase. Anyway, The hoop is very lightweight. We usually hang it using a ribbon to that we can raise and lower it for big kids and little kids.  It's pretty self explanatory.

 St. Anthony's Lost and Found is another self explanatory game. This is a box filled with packing peanuts and an assortment of medals and crucifixes inside. The children stick in their hands and try to find a lost item. I recommend having a parent "stir the pot" so to speak otherwise, the medals will eventually all make their way to the bottom.

A new game that the girl cousins came up with last year was called "Posing for Holy Cards". It was basically a game of Freeze Dance. Find the funkiest music you can and dance around like crazy but when the music stops, freeze! I don't have any pictures of that game, but you get the idea. If you are looking for more ideas, check out Jessica's round-up at Shower of Roses especially the post titled Saintly Games and Lacy's collection of other's ideas at Catholic Icing.

Saints Costume Round-up

The Stat Fairy is telling me that it's that time of year again when some moms start hunting for costumes for All Saints parties. Here is a quick round-up of some past posts that might help get those creative juices flowing:

A Costume for St. Dwynwen

Costume Sneak Peek (St. Blaise)

Costume for St. Thomas More

More Costume Ideas from the Combox!

All Saints Costumes Cheap and Easy

Happy All Hallows Eve!