Hearts for Home.

Gae from Cherished Hearts for Home hosts this weekly meme.

In today’s busy and aggressive society mothers at home are not given much encouragement to be committed to their role in being home.

In my weekly 'Hearts for Home' post I am encouraging myself and others to commit to thinking about what 4-6 things we can do each week to bring our thoughts, prayers and actions to keeping our 'Hearts for Home'.

1) To clean out the home school room. We have a lot of clutter in there at the moment and I have been using our dining room table for working. I really prefer working in the end room since it keeps the dining lounge room tidier.

2) Personal prayer. I have been breaking my morning routine of prayer. I just find it hard to get up in the morning and have been feeling very tired. I need to commit to 30 minutes each night I think. The mornings are not working.

3) Reading with the children: I haven't been doing much with this either. Our home schooling for the last two weeks has been the bare essentials and that is it. I realized the other day that I haven't read to the children at all since Tom's first communion.

4) Time with Steve. We haven't been out on our own for a couple of weeks either. Hopefully we will get out for coffee or tea soon.

True Heart Award.

I have been awarded the True Heart Award from Jillian at home schooling 4 Christ.

Thanks so much Jillian for yet another award.

The true hearts award is:

"Those who receive this award are of the sweetest nature. They are kind, friendly, funny, loving, eager to share their love for Jesus with others, and brave in their efforts to reflect Him to this darkened world. They are the kind of folks you're blessed to know, even if it's only in the bloggy-sphere."

I pass this award onto

Leticia from Cause of our Joy.

Angela from Where Angels Blog.

Paramedic Girl from Salve Regina.

NannaK from Nanna's Cottage.

JoAnn from the Creamer Chronicles.

Judy from A Thankful Women's book of blessings.

Shelly from The Keeper of the Keys.

Erin from Seven Little Australians plus one.

Praise.

Jennifer is the hostess for Praise each week.

1) Praise God for the abundant food we have from our garden.

2) Praise God for the rain that helped it grow.

3) Praise God for my family and all that are close to me.

4) Praise God for social networks and the internet.

5) Praise God for the last week of school.

dinner tonight.

1 fresh cabbage from our garden:

plus carrots, onion, coleslaw dressing, a tin of pineapple if you have it(unfortunately we didn't) and a big pot of pasta with some grated cheese on the side.

equals one yummy tea.

Received in an email.

After creating heaven and earth,
God created Adam and Eve.

And the first thing he said was
' DON'T !'

'Don 't what ? '
Adam replied.

'Don't eat the forbidden fruit.'
God said.

'Forbidden fruit ?
We have forbidden fruit ?
Hey Eve..we have forbidden fruit ! '

' No Way ! '
'Yes way ! '

'Do NOT eat the fruit ! '
Said God.

' W h y ? '

'Because I am your Father and I said so ! '
God replied,
Wondering why He hadn't stopped
Creation after making the elephants

A few minutes later,
God saw His children having an apple break
And He was ticked !
'Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit? '
God asked..

'Uh huh,'
Adam replied.

'Then why did you ? '
Said the Father.

'I don't know,'
Said Eve.
'She started it! '
Adam said.

'Did not ! '
'Did too ! '
'DID NOT ! '

Having had it with the two of them,
God's punishment was that Adam and Eve
Should have children of their own.
Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.

If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children wisdom and they haven't taken it,
Don't be hard on yourself.

If God had trouble raising children,
What makes you think it would be
A piece of cake for you ?

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT !

1. You spend the first two years of their life
Teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend
The next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.

2. Grandchildren are God's reward
For not killing your own children.

3. Mothers of teens now know why
Some animals eat their young.

4. Children seldom misquote you.
In fact,
They usually repeat word for word
What you shouldn't have said

5. The main purpose of holding children's parties
Is to remind yourself that there are children
More awful than your own

6. We childproofed our homes,
But they are still getting in.


ADVICE FOR THE DAY:

Be nice to your kids.
They will choose your
Nursing home one day

AND FINALLY:

IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION
AND YOU GET A HEADACHE,
DO WHAT IT SAYS
ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE:

'TAKE TWO ASPIRIN'
AND 'KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN'!!!!!

Have a great Sunday and I hope you don't feel too tense or have a headache and need to stay away from children.

quick 7.

---1---

Last week of term.

Tom and Amelia have finished their year 2 and 4 maths book. Next week we will just have a few lessons to finish off. I am going to do religion, reading, spelling and literacy each day. We should be able to finish off the days learning in about 90 minutes as long as they just get on with the work. I have found that when they know they only have a couple of things to do they just get on with it.

---2--

Term 3.

I will do a lot of planning in the holidays. Last term I planned all our lessons during the holidays. I wrote lists for resources I would need for each subject and my plans out. It was much easier to follow. I am becoming better at knowing what they are capable of doing and this helped a lot with the planning.

For maths they will start the year 3 and 5 signpost maths books.

---3---

Christopher.

This week Christopher has woken with some very low sugars and been glazy eyed. I have given him less insulin in the mornings and that seems to have stopped the lows but we have had some really high numbers at lunch and tea time. Last night just before tea he was 30.1 (541). We have decided to start him on a half a unit of novorapid everytime his sugar is over 20.

He didn't go down before bed last night but he woke at 5.8 (104) this morning.

---4---

New Monitor.

Remember when I complained that I didn't want to share my computer? Steve's monitor was being fixed and it took over 6 weeks because the guy needed to wait for a part to come from Korea. Steve decided to go out and buy himself a new monitor. The monitor I had was our original monitor that we bought with our very first computer back in 2000. It has been a great monitor. Steve decided it was time for an upgrade. Yesterday we got the monitor back and he put it on my computer. I really like the big screen.

---5---

lazy morning.

It is now 11.15 and Madeline has just sat down to breakfast. We were up late last night and this morning has been very quiet.

---6---

sewing.

I bought a pattern to make myself a winter jacket. Last year my mother bought Brigette some cord fabric which when we showed her, she didn't like. Good I said, I will have it.

This is the pattern I have:

It is kwik sew pattern 3679 and I will start it this weekend.

---7---

Bishop Greg O'Kelly.

Recently Bishop O'Kelly was appointed Bishop of our diocese. This weekend he is in Port Augusta for both masses. Tomorrow there will be a shared lunch at our parish centre for people to meet him. We will go to the mass tonight and then the lunch tomorrow. I am looking forward to speaking with our bishop.

Pop over to Jennifer's for other quick 7.

Therese.

3 other awards.

Thanks so much to Abbey, Jillian and Edel for passing awards onto my blog.

I am truly grateful for all your blogs and glad you like reading mine too.

All three of these awards ask that I say 7 things about myself. So here are my 7.

1)I really feel the cold. My children always think the car is too stuffy because I make it so warm.

2) I put my electric blanket on for at least half a hour before I get into bed. I love a nice toasty warm bed.

3) I have never been outside Australia but I have visited every state in Australia.

4) I am a shy extrovert. I really love being around people but hate going up to them and introducing myself.

5) number games are my favourite. I like playing sudoku, karkuro and doing magic squares.

6) I am an atrocious speller and if it wasn't for spell check I am sure you would see many mistakes on my blog.

7) Friday is my favourite day. Our home school curriculum is different and it is the start of the weekend.

Friday funnies. The stella awards.

If you don't laugh at these you will cry. They show just how inept the western worlds judges have become. Go and check out the Stella awards and Martin Family moments blog.

The stella Awards

Small Successes.

My small successes for the week:

1) We have had some visiting Jesuit Priests in our parish this week. They were giving talks on prayer this week on Monday Tuesday and Wednesday night. Even though I was really tired on Tuesday and Wednesday I still made the effort to go and I was very glad I did.

2) I balanced all our bank accounts today and paid all our bills for the fortnight.

3) Tonight the kitchen was a huge mess. Brigette is usually in charge of cleaning up after dinner but it was just too big a job to expect her to do on her own. I volunteered to help her. The kitchen is now done.

Visit Faith and Family for other small successes.

Honest Scrap Award.

The lovely Nancy from Be Not Afraid has given me the honest scrap award.

Thanks so much Nancy for passing this award onto me.

Now...to keep this award, I must do the following:

1) Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.
2) Share "ten honest things" about myself.
3) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.
4) Tell those 7 people that they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving it :)

so here are the 10 honest things about me:

1) I love being around people.
2) My dream holiday is a cruise to some tropical Island.
3) I like the renovations we are doing for our house but I really wish they were finished.
4) I like living in the country but sometimes I wish we lived closer to family.
5) My favourite set of movies is the X Men movies.
6) The most annoying thing to me is people stopping in no stopping zones.
7) Without a list each day, I don't get anything done.
8) My most hated chore is washing clothes.
9) I am a bit obsessive with bsl for the boys and worry a lot when I don't know what caused highs or lows.
10) My most favourite cuisine is Italian. The best thing I have ever tasted is a lasagna made by an Italian.

Now for 7 blogs to pass this onto:

1) Jennifer from Let the little ones come

2) Lerin from Beautiful Chaos

3) Jillian from Home schooling for Christ

4) Colleen from Martin Family Moments

5) Chez from Chez Ouiz

6) Deb from UKOK

7) Elena from Precious Treasures

One of my favourite songs.

In the 90's I really loved listening to Fleetwood Mac.

This song is one of my favourites that I played over and over.

Right on target.

Blood sugar levels taken tonight at 9.30. They don't get much closer than this and right on target too. For those that work with the American measurement that bsl is 81.

Bathroom pictures.

This is the wall above the bath all filled in. We ran insulation around the whole wall.

The other wall. This is the wall that had the window in. Steve filled in the window and put in a new wall.

This is the wall Steve built to have some privacy while on the toilet.
The two shots below show before the walls and when Steve had pulled the window out.

purple hair.

7 quick takes.

It is a while since I joined in the 7 quick takes. I decided to do it again today.

---1---

Home school.

Only two weeks left of second term. The last couple of weeks seem to drag by and the holidays take forever to come around.

---2---

Bathroom renovation.

Steve is moving along with the renovation. The door has been filled in. Here is a photo taken when the door was removed and the timbers were put in for the wall to go on.


---3---

Holiday plans

The girls want to have a girls outing during the holidays. Steve is planning to paint the bathroom and do the floor tiles.

---4---

Diabetes.

Tom and Christopher both have a check up in Adelaide on the 3rd of July. This is the last day of term so we will finish of school work on Thursday.

---5---

Sewing.

I have been feeling a bit sick of sewing and haven't done very much at all over the last 6 weeks or so. I am going to start doing the continuous curtains for the front windows soon. I also want to sew myself a jacket for winter. I have really been feeling the cold this winter.

---6---

Purple hair.

Sam bought some hair dye and dyed his hair purple. He had a little left over so asked me if he could put a purple streak down the centre of Christopher's hair. I said it was fine so now I have two boys with purple hair. Photos will be coming soon.

---7---

Embryonic Stem Cells.

Go and check out Euripides post on embryonic stem cells. It is very funny.

Master chef Australia.

Since the biggest looser has finished we have been watching a new series called Masterchef Australia.

I enjoy watching it and getting ideas for new recipes. If we miss any of the programs, you can watch them on the official master chef site.

Each week there is a cook off that the contestants have to work with 2 main ingredients and make a dish and then the best recipe is chosen.

A couple of weeks ago, Chris made steak tartare. When he walked up to the judges with it, I thought yuk, raw steak. It was chosen by the judges as the winning dish. Here is the video of Chris preparing it:



So any of my readers going to try making steak tartare? I personally couldn't imagine putting raw meat in my mouth.

Friday Funnies.

The 10 rules of marriage:

Rule # 1
Marriages are made in heaven.
But then again, so is thunder and lightning.

Rule # 2
If a man wants his wife to listen and pay strict attention to every word he says, he must talk in his sleep.

Rule # 3
Marriage is grand -- but divorce is at least a 100 grand!

Rule # 4
In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens.
In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens.
In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.

Rule # 5
When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: Either the car is new or the wife is.

Rule # 6
Marriage is when a man and woman become as one;
The trouble starts when they try to decide which one.

Rule # 7
Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something his wife said . After marriage, he will fall asleep while she is still talking.

Rule # 8
Every man wants a wife who is beautiful, understanding, economical, and a good cook. But the law allows only one wife.

Rule # 9
Marriage and love are purely a matter of chemistry.
That is why one sometimes treats the other like toxic waste.

Rule # 10
A man is incomplete until he is married. After that, he is finished.

H/T to Paramedic Girl

Faith and Family Community.

Today I joined the new community Faith and Family

This is a community similar to facebook but full of Catholic mum's.

There are discussion forums, chat, photos and videos. You can upload both photos and videos yourself to share.

Go and join in the fun.

Therese.

Tagged.

Sharon from Musings of a Catholic mom tagged me for the 8 things meme.

I did This meme a while back but Sharon's has a few more categories so I thought I would add in some extras:


1. 8 things I am looking forward to. (I can only think of 6)

1. - The school holidays. only 2 more weeks of school then we have a two week break.
2. - finishing the bathroom renovation.
3. - starting our family room/home school room renovation.
4. - Spring.
5. - A trip to Adelaide.
6. - September holiday to Quorn with my friend Di and her family.

8 things I did yesterday:

1. - got out of bed.
2. - watched master chef.
3. - cooked ravioli for tea.
4. - went to the shops.
5. - blogged.
6. - played bejeweled quest.
7. - cleaned the house.
8. - chauffeured our children to different places.

8 things I wish I could do.

1. - be more organised.
2. - learn to play piano.
3. - quilting.
4. - crochet.
5. - exercise more.
6. - meet the Pope.
7. - A weekend away with Steve.
8. - travel to meet all my online friends.

8 shows I watch;

- Since the biggest looser isn't on anymore, I watch Master Chef. We watch the news but that is about it.

8 favourite fruits:

1. - blueberries.
2. - bananas.
3. - apples.
4. - rockmelon.
5. - honey dew melon.
6. - avocados.
7. - pineapple.
8. - grapes.

8 places I would like to travel:

1. - meet all my online friends in the USA and Europe.
2. - Lourdes.
3. - Fatima.
4. - The holy land.
5. - Fuji.
6. - New Zealand.
7. - The Vatican.
8. - Singapore.

8 places I have lived:

I have only lived in 5 places.

1. - My parents lived in Magill South Australia when I was born.
2. - I grew up in Rostrevor South Australia.
3. - Steve and I lived in Holden Hill South Australia when we were first married.
4. - We lived in Millicent South Australia for 2 years.
5. - We now live in Port Augusta South Australia. We have been here since the end of 2002.

8 people I tag:

I am not going to tag anyone yet. If you want to do this meme, let me know in the comment box and I will add a link to you.

Jillian is going to do this meme.

Therese

Kids say the darndest things.

This you tube is long but well worth watching. The children are very funny and say the darndest things.