Snow Days

Quotable Quotes

... from Anastasia!

Anastasia: "Monter!"
Bella: "That's not a monster, Anastasia. That's your brother!"
Anastasia: "Brodder Monter!"




lost in pronunciation - (*crying)

Anastasia: "Hey Joey, no dying!"

~Yeah, I couldn't agree more.

Quick Takes

1.

Patrick will be gone ALL WEEKEND. All. Weekend. Once a year (or so) a group of men we have known since college go away for a much needed guys' weekend. These men have all grown up to be solid, Catholic Dads and one solid Catholic Priest. I could not ask for a better group of men with whom my husband to be friends and spend a long weekend. However, for me who is used to having a LOT of help with the kids, the emphasis is on long.

2.

I hope to go into survival mode. Plaster a big smile on my face and sing for 10 hours a day. Alert the funny farm, I'll be filling my spot Tuesday. In reality, I'm not sure how it's going to go. I really am used to him helping a lot, and I haven't regained my confidence with the 3 kids yet.

3.

For the first time ever, I am actually ready to resume Ordinary Time. The Church has given us a beautiful rhythm to our lives ordered with the Liturgical calendar. Before kids I never really gave it much thought; it was there, it was good, but it had very little to do with how I live my day. Now that I am in a constant struggle to bring order and rhythm to my days I really appreciate the beauty it offers for our lives. We knew when to start preparing for Christmas, because there is a whole season of Advent. Now we know when to start settling down from the wonderful happy upheaval that is Christmas and ease ourselves into a normal routine.

4.

Joey has another head cold. Yuck. The poor little guy is a Snuffly Sniffly Mess who isn't sleeping well. The worst part of it all is that he has his MRI scheduled for next week! Last time they couldn't do it because he was so congested (he has to be sedated under general anesthesia, so he can't have upper respiratory problems). Please pray for my Joey, that he gets over this very quickly and that a silly head cold does not interfere with procedures again.

5.

Speaking of my Amazing Joey he is growing like a champ! At 18lbs 14 ozs he's HUGE for a cardiac kid, and he is a super-smiler. He's progressing and developing so nicely, and I really need to write a real post updating asap.

6.

Patrick and I actually had a date-night this week! My parents stayed with the kids, and the girls even went to a puppet show! They were almost as thrilled as we were to have us out of the house! We went to dinner at our favorite steakhouse, thanks to a gift card from a thoughtful friend. We way overate and it was wonderful down to the last lick of BBQ sauce and sweet potato. After a leisurely dinner we went to see Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader at the theater! We really loved having an evening out!

7.

Did I mention I'm nervous about the next 4 days? I am offering up a lot of my anxiety and the suffering of the weekend for the women who's husbands are deployed. I am such a wimp.

Many thanks to Jen @ Conversion Diary for hosting!

Christmas Eats

In Brasil, as with many cultures, the Big Christmas Feast is on Christmas Eve. My sister-in-law carried on that tradition and we were very happy to be included!

Everything was absolutely delicious. One thing that she reminded us was that the weather is hot and humid in Brazil; Christmas is in summer. So we ate a tropical meal with the beauty of a gentle snowfall outside the window.

The side dishes were unlike anything I had ever eaten before, and I am now addicted. I am torn between wanting the recipe and being afraid to ruin it! We had Turkey served with fruit, rice mixed with veggies, this grain/starch dish that is impossible to describe other than delicious, and Brazilian potato salad (it has apples in it!).

She also prepared our Christmas Day lunch, which is "bread cake" to be eaten with leftover turkey. Layers of white bread, with a different filling between each. Creamy spinach, carrot puree, chicken salad, cream cheese, and raspberry or strawberry jam. It was also delicious, both to the eyes and mouth!

I do not know how I've lived life without the knowledge of how to make Dulce de Leche with a pressure-cooker and a can of condensed milk. Armed with that knowledge, I could conquer the world! Or at least make this delicious cake.











Although I don't remember exactly when, I know I thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful cherry pie, courtesy of my mother-in-law.

Merry Christmas!

In the spirit of celebrating all 12 days of Christmas... or perhaps just because I am so far behind that this is the first chance I have to write... here I am wishing yall a Merry Christmas!


We had a truly wonderful and blessed Christmas. With our families on 2 different coasts, Patrick and I are used to alternating holidays; however, this year we were blessed with circumstances that allowed us to share the celebration! Patrick's brother and sister-in-law moved to Morgantown, WV - just 2.5 hours away! Well, maybe a little more when you are pulling an "empty box" over the mountains on your inaugural snowy drive in the minivan. But it wasn't too bad, the kids did sleep for at least 30 minutes or so.

We spent 2 days there, enjoying their hospitality immensely. Patrick's mom was there, also, which meant baking cookies and reading books with Gram. Life was perfect for my very happy little girls. My sister-in-law is Brazilian, and a wonderful cook. We ate well, we laughed a lot, we had a marvelous time.

Santa surprised us by bringing our presents there on Christmas morning! Good thing we had that extra empty box. *cough* Lesson learned: if the box says "screwdriver needed" then one should not wait until after the kids go to bed to get started. Santa was very tired, but very happy on Christmas morning!















When naptime arrived we departed, stealing Gram away with us. We drove the 3 hours straight to my parents' house, where we continued the celebration with another big family dinner.















Merry Christmas, Yall! Wishing you Christ's Peace and Joy!