My sweet hubby...

...read my blog yesterday and...

 ... brought home a treat to celebrate our name day! 

(I say "our" name day because Charles is also a middle name that multiple male family members share!)

Isn't he sweet?

So was the treat!

This company's slogan is "So yummy you'll wish it didn't have a hole in it!" 

Oh. yeah!

 

Crazy Busy

As some of you have been able to tell, July has been crazy busy and it's not over yet. I just wanted to pop in and say that I will be taking a blog break in August as I get our school year organized and my kitchen cleaned and restocked. I see I am in excellent company. Unfortunately, I don't have a handsome little toddler to blame the kitchen mess on, only myself! :(

I can't say that I will be completely silent, because whenever I've said that before something always comes up that just has to be recorded and shared, but it will be noticeably quieter around here. Hopefully just a few weeks will do it.

See you soon!

Oh, and as a reminder, St. Anne's feast day is coming up tomorrow... there's a coloring page for that! We will be celebrating Sean's birthday and I will be thanking Sts. Anne and Joachim for being such wonderful patrons to my truly amazing husband!

Love is...

...two blueberry peach crisps sent off to an office potluck with Husband and none left at home.

*Don't forget to check out the giveaway post below!
 

If he weren't so darn cute...

Watching the beginning of Emma last night and commenting to Husband as the children readied themselves for bed:

Me: Emma's father (Michael Gambon) was Roger's father in Wives and Daughters, Mr. Holbrook in Cranford and he's now playing Dumbledore in the HP movies. He was also in Amazing Grace with Emma (Romola Garai) who was also in Nicholas Nickleby and Daniel Deronda.  And that guy (Mr. Knightley) was in that version of Mansfield Park that we couldn't show the kids, not to mention The Flying Scotsman.

Sunshine (listening in): Wow!

Husband: Yeah, apparently there are only 8 actors in the world who can speak English with a British accent!

Later, I commented that the set looked really familiar: It's very similar to Return to Cranford.

Husband said: If you look closely you can actually see the other actors in the background. I think I just spied Dame Judi Dench in the shop window there.

I was tempted to throw a pillow at him but told him I would blog it instead! Ha!

Tales of Wayside Wiring

Listen, O Reader, and you shall hear
Of our midnight adventure with this light right here...

There was a miracle performed here last night right smack in the middle of my bathroom.

Seriously.

Since we moved here almost 7 years ago, Husband has been doing most of our home improvement projects and that includes electrical wiring. Not bad for a colorblind man! We have learned a lot along the way. We have learned that the people who built our house were not the brightest bulbs in the box. We have learned that they must have been very clumsy. Why else would you drop whole boxes of nails inside the walls of each bathroom? We learned that one of them wore size ten boots thanks to the shoe print he left on the inside of the closet wall that backs up our bathroom. We have often times encountered situations that make us scratch our heads and say, "Now, why in the world would they have done that?" We usually respond with, "Oh well, I guess we'll just fix it." Last night we learned our lesson.

Now, to our credit, sometimes this situation has worked out just fine...

"Why in the world did they just rip the wall open with a claw hammer and mount the lighting fixture to the drywall instead of installing an electrical box like a civilized human being? Oh well, I guess we'll just fix it." And he did.

But a few weeks ago, we found ourselves saying, "Why in the world would they have two sets of wires connected to this one lighting fixture? Oh well, I guess we'll just fix it." Husband had to pop the staple securing it to the stud (there was plenty of room thanks to the claw hammer sized hole and lack of electrical box), capped off the extra set, tucked them back into the wall and went on his way moving the other set to the new location.

He then spent many, many, many hours sanding the wall smooth, putting up two skim coats of drywall compound, and then finished with a decorative hand troweled texture. They were gorgeous and the *color we picked was like the icing on the cake after I finished painting yesterday.

Last night, Husband wired both new vanity bars (one over each sink), flipped the switch and... one light stayed dark. Hmmmmm? He double checked the connections to make sure they hadn't slipped off and tried again. No go.

Well, after speaking to his not-colorblind brother-in-law who has done all of his own wiring, he had a better picture of the situation. Serial wiring. Not the way they do it in Ohio, but apparently fine in Texas. The fixture over one sink was wired into the fixture over the other. Both were controlled by the same switch, so the extra set of wires now disconnected and lying buried underneath three layers of drywall compound and two coats of Seashore Fog were the ones needed to provide power to this dead lamp.

Whimper...

Husband could think of no other way to get to them besides ripping the wall open again.

Whimper, whimper...

Wise Brother-In-Law suggested heading up to the attic to connect the two with a new set of wires. We should be able to fish out the working wires and connect those to a new set of wires for the dead fixture. Good idea! Except for the staples. Remember the staple Husband popped that kept the wires anchored to the stud. More like them were all over the attic and under the header boards where the working wires were anchored unreachable by human hands. Stuck tight. I guess they don't do that in Ohio either.

Whimper...my beautiful wall....

"Wait," I said. "Why don't you try fishing it out with something like a wire hanger?" Oh shoot. We don't have any wire hangers. Call me Mommy Dearest, but I have this thing about wire hangers. Can't stand them. Never use them. Don't keep them. Except... here is one in the back of the closet. How did that get there? How did it stay hidden there? I really couldn't say but here it was needed and here it was.

We twisted it into shape and Husband inserted it through the hole. Did I really think this would work? No. I thought it might give us time to think of another solution, any solution besides ripping a hole in our beautiful wall.

"Who should we pray to? Is there a patron saint of electricians? How about fishermen?" We were fishing for the wire after all. Husband suggested St. Anthony and St. Jude. How about we throw Padre Pio in there for good measure? I used to keep a statue of him on the vanity that backed up to that very wall. I started praying. Husband went fishing. He scraped the hanger across the backside of the wall a couple of times and said that he could hear the wire moving around in there. Remember the staple he removed before capping them off? Good move on his part. He twisted the hanger and tried to grab it, pulling it up towards the hole. Suddenly, a green cap appeared just inside of the opening. He grabbed it and after a significant amount of pulling and twisting, it was on our side of the wall! He quickly rescued the two other caps and stood back in disbelief.

A few minutes later... I was speechless. Husband was amazed. The light was on. And the wall was perfectly intact.


After we each threw the switch and watched both lights come on about twenty times, we joked about St. Anthony, St. Jude and St. Pio all hanging out in our attic. They were probably scratching their heads remarking, "Now why in the world would these crazy kids do that? Oh well, I guess we'll just fix it."


*The color is a soft blue grey but for some reason is looking weird in the pictures.

My Prince

Husband (after being served a simple piece of Garlic Chicken and steamed broccoli for dinner):

I miss your cooking when you're sick!

Isn't he charming? Truly. That tiny little sentiment touched my heart. It was his sweet way of telling me he appreciates what I do. Even though it might be the same dish I have been preparing every other week for years now, it means a lot to him. As wives and moms, we might be tempted to see our daily menu planning as just one part of the same old boring routine. Try to look at it from the eyes of those on the other side of the serving spoon. A sense of their perspective might be enough to inspire you to climb out of the kitchen doldrums. (So could a 2 week break due to bronchitis, but I wouldn't recommend that!)

Last night Husband sat down to Rosemary Chicken, Butternut Squash Mashed Potatoes and hot rolls. Tonight, Turkey Burgers and homemade Sweet Potato Fries! My way of saying "thanks" for letting a girl know she's treasured!

Daddy Time

My husband has always enjoyed bath time. (Yes, I wrote that sentence just to make him blush!) The kids' bath time, that is. He has been Chief Baby Washer since the time The Professor was in diapers. (I wrote that just to make The Professor blush!) Well, now that we have three who can take care of cleaning themselves that only leaves Husband with one to supervise. BigBoy came out of the bathroom last night singing the new ditty Daddy made up for him (probably to distract him from his evil nemesis "Shampoo"):

I had three monkeys for lunch...
I had three monkeys for lunch...
I had three monkeys for lunch...

And we all had banana milkshakes!

He delighted in the queasy looks on the faces of his older siblings while singing the first three lines and then chuckled out the punchline to their relief and amusement. So today, my morning has been filled with answering questions like:

What kind of milkshake would dogs like? (Milk bone milkshakes, of course!)

Can we sing about cats since BigBoy loves cats and doesn't like us to say bad things about cats? (Sure, as long as you all have tuna fish milkshakes.)

Elephants like peanuts, right? (Yes, but peanut butter works better with the rhythm of the song.)

Thank you, God, for the gift of Daddies!

Divine Providence

Ever have one of those moments when you find yourself doing something while you wonder "why am I doing this" only to have the reason made perfectly clear to you later? That would have been me the other night. The boys were off to fencing for the evening, so the girls and I decided to head to the book store for some browsing and some hot chocolate. As we were driving to the store located in the ritzy neighborhood, I remember asking myself... why are you driving all the way over there? There was another store closer to the house but in the opposite direction with hot chocolate just as tasty. I really couldn't think of a good reason to be heading down the path I was and yet, here I was, on that road.

The girls and I decided to do our browsing first and after they chose a few items to peruse, we sat down. When I stood up, it felt like God had turned the knob all the way up on the gravity machine. Something was dragging me back down. Scary. I fought through it long enough to get all of us out of the store and my husband on the cell phone. He has had experience with these symptoms and thought I was probably on the verge of fainting so he told me to put my head between my knees and hang on; he would be there as soon as he could get the boys in the car. It took him about 10 minutes by my watch. Ten minutes to drive 1 mile mostly because of uncooperative traffic lights. The fencing club was that close. He came like a knight in a shining automobile with Gatorade already in hand (courtesy of my fencer who didn't get to finish his lesson). And even though she will never know this, I have tremendous thanks in my heart for the woman in the white SUV who watched me from her car until she saw him arrive.

Later that night, Shortcake felt bad. She thought that going to the bookstore was what made me sick and that we should have just stayed home. I told her about my doubts on the way there; that I thought we should have gone to the other store. I also shared with her that it was only in looking back on the situation that we could see God's plan. He guided us to the place closest to Daddy who was the only one who could take care of the situation in a simple way. Sure, an ambulance could have done the trick too, but I don't consider that a simple solution!

The story continues....

So, as much as I hate to go to the doctor, I had to concede that maybe it was time to give her a call. They were able to work me in yesterday afternoon. Feeling too scared to drive myself, Husband piled everyone in the van and drove us all down there. He dropped me off and then bravely took on the challenge of entertaining four kids all by himself. As we pulled up, we noticed some people standing across the street and down a little ways from the building I was heading to. We read their signs and saw that they were 40 Days for Lifers. So after he fueled the kiddos with a little ice cream, they went and prayed and held signs with them. The kids loved it! There were smiles and waves (frowns and revving engines, too) but the kids thought it was a blast. I could tell that Husband was also feeling energized and animated as he told me about their experience. They had planned on just saying "hello" but were handed signs and even took over by themselves until the next group arrived. We have been participating during this campaign by offering little sacrifices and prayers here at home, but hadn't expected to be able to participate in this way. What a blessing. I wish I could have been there with them.

When I look back on everything that has happened the past few days, it is easy to see God's hand. A hand that guided me closer to my husband both physically and spiritually. Thank you, Lord for your goodness and for bringing good out of what could have been a very difficult situation.



P.S. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that there will probably be no coloring pages for this week or the next. I had one half-done for St. John Capistrano and if I get around to finishing it I will post it even though his feast day has passed. Next week we have Book Club, out of town guests, an All Saints Party, Shortcake's First Holy Communion and a family Sacrament Celebration for Shortcake and The Professor, Sunshine and their cousins who were Confirmed. I know. If you don't hear from me for a while, just say a prayer that the nice men in the white coats don't get stuck in traffic! Bye!

Friday Fun

You Are 72% A Child of the 80s

Not only did you experience the 80s... you are practically an expert. You should be totally stoked!

Are You a Child of an 80s?

Now, you wanna have some more fun? OK. Go to Wikipedia and type into the search bar "19__ in music". I chose 1988 since I was a freshman in high school that year. Scroll down to the section called "Top Hits". Then go to YouTube and search for some of those songs to see if you remember them. If you are like me, you might have to wait for the refrain before something clicks. Fun huh? OK, maybe you already knew this trick or maybe you are that kind of person who can remember every song played at all of your 8th grade dances. So let's make it a little more fun. Turn it into a date night!

Husband and I sat finding songs we remembered or songs that had special significance and played them for each other last night. We had so much fun! We are only 3 years apart in age, but we had no idea that our musical experiences had been so different. When you stop and think about it, there can be so many outside factors that determine what music makes up the soundtrack of your past. A younger uncle who can't let go of the 70's classic rock from his youth, what region of the country you lived in, what music your parents listened to, or forbid you to listen to but didn't realize that your older cousin had in huge supply? I'm just sayin'!

It wasn't a planned date night, but a great impromptu one. A little take-out or a special meal and some candles might be in order for tonight. It is a great way to share some faded memories with your special someone and listening to some of these "oldies" can help those of us feeling our age enjoy the diversions of our youth without the acne or the hairspray! Have a great weekend!

Father's Day Gift Idea

Excuse me for just a minute.

Husband, if you are reading this...STOP!!! You already saw my sewing machine on in the spare room and came home unexpectedly at lunch today. You are making it very hard to keep a secret. So, please... do us a favor and go check your fantasy baseball. OK? Thanks sweetie!



Bye!



Go on now.



Have fun!



Sorry about that. I really do trust him not to peek. He is such a good sport.

So, Father's Day is this Sunday and I had an idea to share. I will warn you that this is totally an idea for the craftily minded. Yes, I'm making phrases up. Husband, doing his best to contribute to our Local Cooling Crisis (as opposed to the supposed Global Warming Crisis), fired up the grill for the summer season which meant dusting off those trusty tools that no self-respecting Grill Master would be without. The set he has was a gift from his mom and dad many years ago and came in a beautiful canvas pouch that rolled up and was secured with a strap. I am not sure what happened to that pouch, but the tools have long been lying unsheathed and I wanted to do something about that. We love it when Husband grills. He serves up yummy food and keeps us from having to turn on the oven during these scorching months.

So while thinking about these crayon pouches I was struck with the inspiration for this...
It is made out of heavy canvas and has a protective flap at the top to keep the spears and pitchforks protected. Totally necessary with these tools and a totally perfect place for the children to leave their mark...

My Honey-do

I call this picture "Hazards of Cleaning out the Attic". So what are your husbands doing on Sunday nights now that football season is over?

Creativi-tea!

Dawn's husband is a genius! (Scroll down in her post to see his tea drawer idea.) I will let her decide whether or not she informs him of that or decides to keep him humble. Here is a peek at my tea drawer and it has been such a beautiful thing! Not having to climb on a step stool to reach the tea shelf means that I have been enjoying more tea instead of coffee lately (which is probably a good thing because even decaf coffee has some caffeine in it which is not good for those of us prone to panic attacks). I've even noticed the kids asking for tea more frequently, hence the two boxes of peppermint tea which is a favorite with 3 out of the 4 children in this house. Aslan Tea comes in second. It is actually called Madagascar Vanilla Red but the lion on the cover reminded them of Narnia, so... whoops... looks like I am out if it right now. I guess I better get some more. Um, Mr. Sun and Candlelight, please don't tell my husband about the second part of that great idea unless it is also with a wink and a smile! Thanks!

Shameless Bragging

(just to make Husband blush!)

I forgot to mention earlier that the best thing about going away for a visit was coming home to my sweetie and the beautiful chocolate chip cookies he made...... I freely admit... he has all the cookie making talent I lack. I think it is from all the experience he gained eating homemade cookies as a child!

Also... (as I did mention) freshly painted bathroom doors with new handles that actually lock and catch when they close! Yeah!!! Aren't they lovely?AND... freshly laundered deep purple bathmats plus the added bonus of some dingy, old, white kitchen towels now in a new, lovely shade of violet! Thank you sweetie! You bring so much color to my life!