Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Shrove Tuesday: Feast Before You Fast


Today is the last day before we begin our 40 day journey into Lent. Ash Wednesday is tomorrow but before you begin your Lenten walk, make sure to feast on Shrove Tuesday, also known as Fat Tuesday. This day is meant to be the day for you to purge your home of the ingredients you should attempt to stay away from during the Lenten season such as butter, milk, sugar and eggs. You know... the tasty ingredients that make our foods full flavored. It is for this reason that pancakes are super popular on Shrove Tuesday and is sometimes referred to as Pancake Day! I know we have an annual Pancake dinner every Fat Tuesday. I also learned that there is another reason that pancakes are so popular on the day before Lent. They represent the four pillars of the Christian faith. Eggs symbolize creation, flour is the mainstay of the human diet, salt represents wholesomeness and milk is a symbol for purity.


In our home we spend this day enjoying our delicious pancakes and normally a king cake. I was unable to get a king cake this year so we settled on a beautiful cake decorated in a similar fashion. We also prepare for Lent by discussing the things that we will be fasting from during the upcoming 40 days.

I have to admit I am somewhat behind on having I need ready for Lent but I should have everything completed by tomorrow. Check out my post about the Lenten Season to get ideas on how to celebrate this amazing season of Lent with your families.I will be sharing more tomorrow on Ash Wednesday as well.

Do you have traditions for Shrove Tuesday? If so, I would love to hear all about them! What about Lenten activities too?


I hope you and your families were able to feast before fasting begins tomorrow. Honestly, Lent is one of my favorite times of the year. A time to embrace a positive change in faith, love and life. Get ready for an amazing journey and be ready to accept your Lenten adventure. I can't wait to see what is in store for us all.

Prayer for Shrove Tuesday:

Lord, give us grace to inaugurate with holy fasting the defenses of Christian warfare, so that we who are to fight against spiritual wickedness, may be helped and strengthened by self-denial.
Amen

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

#WorthRevisit: The Lenten Season

With the start of the Lenten Season right around the corner, I felt it would be great to share my plans from last year. Truth be told, I haven't even begun starting my Lenten preparations for this year besides starting a book club for A Walk in Her Sandals. I would love to hear what you have planned for yourself and your families. Lent is one of those seasons I always look forward too and I always feel renewed in my faith. Here is my #WorthRevisit with Reconciled for You and Theology is a Verb.

The Lenten Season


The Lenten Season is in full swing and I have already managed to get behind on some of the activities I was attempting to incorporate this year. In a way, this is what Lent is really about... simplifying our insanely crazy lives from all the distractions and learning to focus on what is really important. There are so many different ways to emphasize this special season of praying, fasting and alms giving. I love this season pf preparation because even though I often struggle to make changes, I am highly motivated and when I fail, I am able to refocus and try again with discouragement.

Lenten Promises: This was something new I added to our usual Lenten traditions. Everyone in the family wrote out their Lenten promises and displayed them on the mantel. We have two boys in need of writing practice and this gave us a great way to do it! I am still brainstorming but I think I could incorporate these Lenten Promise papers into our Family Command Center... just a thought.

Lenten tree: My boys love this tradition and we have done an "OK" job of keeping up with our daily evening of reading the scripture included on the ornament and hanging it on our Lenten Tree on the mantel place. We've had a couple nights were we had to double up on ornaments to catch up but I have all intentions of completing this on a nightly basis moving forward. If you click the link, you will have access to the same ornaments my family has used the past few years. On a side note: I am hoping that I can reprint these ornaments on card stock and laminate them so we can reuse them instead of me printing the ornaments each year and cutting them as we go. Or maybe transfer them onto wood...

40 Bags in 40 Days: This is my first year doing this and it is great! It is an awesome way to spring clean and reorganize your whole house.  It is a great way to jump start your alms giving as well. I even gave the kids each a bag to go through their toys.

Stations of the Cross: I created a display on a purple foam poster board with the printable Stations of the Cross I found at Family and Feast in Feria. This is still an art project *under construction* but it is displayed on our mantel and is coming together.

Sacrifice Beans: This is actually sad for me to admit but I still haven't bought any beans for my kids Sacrifice Beans... this is one of the areas I am lacking right now because my to-do list is overflowing. Throughout the day the boys do extra chores, prayers and acts of kindness so that they can add "sacrifice" beans to their jar that will turn into jelly beans on Easter Sunday!

Bury the Alleluia: We have an "ALLELUIA" banner that I made several years ago that we normally put inside a gift bag that says DO NOT OPEN UNTIL EASTER... however, this year it is folded under the plate that is holding our crown of thorns. No mater how you do it, the kids always love displaying the banner on Easter until the Easter season is complete.

Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure: This is my absolute FAVORITE activity to do with the children. To begin with the program is FREE, They have so many resources to accompany the program as well. You can purchase the activity books (which are cheaper than printing multiple copies of printables everyday) and audio CDs you can take on the go.

Resurrection Garden: There are many different variations of this craft but I am hoping to purchase the necessities to do this craft from the Dollar Tree and create some gardens with the boys this weekend!

Monday, February 20, 2017

Menu Plan Monday: President's Day Edition


I have been unable to participate in the past few weeks of Menu Plan Mondays due to some medical issues but I am ready to get organized and back into the rhythm of things. I was told by a physician that if I lost the weight I have gained from not working out as much, may alleviate some of the pressure on my back and hopefully help with the shooting pains, tingling and numbness problems from my Spina Bifida. I am excited to get healthier and hopefully register for some upcoming races. We have been having some BEAUTIFUL weather here and abnormally warm. It has been heavenly! Well here is our Menu for Menu Plan Monday

Monday: President's Day and Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto
Leftover Pizza

Tuesday: Feast of Saint Peter Damian
Turkey Burgers

Wednesday: Chair of Saint Peter
Dinner at Chick-Fil-A (Cub Scout Outing)

Thursday:
Chicken Fried Rice

Friday:
Soup and Salad

Saturday:
Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs

Sunday:
Chili and Cornbread

Sunday, February 19, 2017

Rocking Motherhood Challenge

Motherhood is crazy roller-coaster that is unique and amazing everyday, even with its moments of anxiety from the crazy momentum and scary turns that you never saw coming. I consider motherhood the biggest blessing to ever been given to me. I look back at my life and cringe with some of the crazy and nonsensical things I have done. Becoming a mom was the the absolute best thing that has ever happened to me. I have two beautiful little boys that know how to make the me the happiest woman on Earth but can also push me to the edge of insanity with a moments notice. Although there are times when I honestly have no clue what I am doing, I know that I am rocking motherhood in my own special little way. I have embraced the roller coaster ride and am excited to see what lies around the bend.

I was tagged by Hannah over at Lovely Little Lives to participate in the 10 Ways I'm Rocking Motherhood Challenge. Thank you Hannah for giving me the opportunity to look at motherhood through a positive perspective. You can check out her post in the link above and you can continue reading to see how I am rocking motherhood below:



I am a fighter.

 

Through my past ten years as a mommy I have had to battle many demons that I never imagined. I fought my way out of an abusive marriage. It took four long years but we all survived. I have fought with back pain for longer than I can remember. I fight depression and anxiety everyday. No matter what happens, I will continue to fight. My God is larger than anything that can come against me and my family and I want my children to know this from my example. I also want them to know that I am always in their corner just waiting for when they need me.

I am Patient. 


Little man is almost ten years old now, extremely intelligent and likes to act older than his age. Goalie is developmentally delayed and struggles with emotions, socializing and education. They are opposites in so many ways and sometimes it is hard to parent children that are so different. God has blessed me with a great deal of patience (most days) and I think that it helps me to be a better mom and wife. 



I cook home-made dinners almost every night. 


I really enjoy having a hot dinner ready for my family because it is one way that I like to show I care. It is also fun to make new recipes and have my boys help me cook. Creating healthy habits is important and the family time that comes with a hot dinner together doesn't get much better. There are some nights that I would rather pick up some takeout but it would create a completely different atmosphere in my home. These dinners are anticipated and loved by the entire family. 


I will NEVER allow my boys to quit. 


Dedication is an important character trait that I hope my children grasp with both hands. We discuss every extracurricular activity and sport prior to us registering or joining because there is always the understanding that we will be making a commitment that will not be broken. Cub Scouts, Soccer, Football, Boys on the Run and 100 Mile Club. These are all activities that my kids participate and they know they are expected to be a reliable team player. They will show up to practices and games and they will always be good sports, whether they win or lose. I am proud to say that they both have received awards for being a "Christ-like" player.


I am crafty. 


I have thrown together turkey shifts and ugly sweaters. I have crafted saint costumes from curtains, pillow cases and eyeliner. I am proud to say that last minute projects are one of those things I happen to excel.Taking the time and effort to make crafts and personalized items makes my boys feel special and I love to do it. I enjoy doing arts and crafts with the boys, in fact, we have coloring nights all the time! We pick out a movie, make some snacks and pull out all the crayons, colored pencils, markers and paper. We push play and it's a coloring-fest for the next few hours.


I am organized, at least I try to be organized. 


I utilize a planner, Cozi and bullet journal. With all the craziness that life throws at us schedule wise, I make it happen. Everyone knows the plan for the day each day and upcoming plans for the week. 


I am teaching them to be good Catholics.


This is the most important thing that I can do for my children. Dressing them in their Sunday Best every Sunday for Mass, teaching them the Commandments, Beatitudes, Acts of Mercy and following the Golden Rule. These are things that I am teaching them in their everyday life through examples and correcting them when they stray off the path of righteousness. 

I am a volunteer.


I volunteer to help at school functions, at our church, Cub Scouts and the kids' extracurricular activities. I want my children to have me by their sides and able to be a full participant in their achievements. This can sometimes be difficult since I work but I try my best and offer up the difficult times up to God.


Tag- You're it!

I am challenging these bloggers to join me in the #RockingMotherhood Challenge! Check them out!

Alicia from Sweeping Up Joy

Ginny from Not So Formulaic


Allison from Reconciled to You

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Catholic Style: Planner and Bullet Journal


Have you jumped into the Bullet Journal craze yet? If not, I think you should consider giving it a try. I am a mommy that is responsible for a lot of planning in my household and I am sure many of you can relate whether you are a mom, dad, student or just a busy person.

This post may contain affiliate links that I receive a small commission. It does not change the price for you but it is a small blessing to my family. All opinions are my own.

I am responsible myself for keeping track of my work schedule, which varies since I work in a restaurant, my doctor appointments (I was born with Spina Bifida so they have been pretty frequent lately and can include physical therapy and pain management) and scheduling myself time for myself to enjoy my workouts, hobbies and volunteer commitments. My children are your normal crazy kids that want to be involved in everything: altar serving, football, soccer, Cub Scouts and extra curricular school activities. To make things even more exciting, my youngest son is developmentally delayed and has weekly speech, occupational, behavioral and group therapies. In addition to the craziness I just described, I am also responsible for planning our family meals and running errands because my husband works 60+ hours a week and commutes 90 minutes each way to work. We are also a Catholic family, so that means we set aside time for prayers, devotions, Mass and the Sacraments. Now I am sure that you are probably reading this and thinking that I must be completely crazy to juggle the schedule that I just described but nowadays it is the norm to be extremely busy and feel stretched thin at times

Now, I am not going to convince you that the Bullet Journal is the answer to every families needs but it has certainly made a HUGE difference in mine! Not only has it become essential to my planning routine but it is relaxing and can be a great tool to increase your faith! If you are a little weary, don't be! I will be sharing some of my page layouts and explaining why I have decided to include them in my Bullet Journal. If you are convinced to try this system out, do not feel obligated to include every page layout in your system. The beauty of the bullet journal is that it is something that can be personalized to your unique needs.

I have always been a lover of organization and I have always utilized a planner even before including a Bullet Journal as a supplemental planning tool. To make my system a little easier to understand you first need to know how my planner is put together so I am going to divide this into two sections to make it easier to refer to as a template for your own planning needs.

Schedule Planner:



Some things to consider in your planner and how you need it to be utilized to be the most beneficial to you and your purposes:

1: How do you keep track of your schedule and the schedules of those you are responsible?
2. How detailed do you need your planner?
3. Do you use multiple planners? Print and/or electronic? Both?

I use a planner that has times written down each day and color code the events that are written in the planner. I also make sure to write the corresponding times even though there is spaces between the times to make sure I do not make myself late to something on accident. I do not normally include end times though because as a hospitality worker I know that NOTHING ends on time. You can only estimate which would add additional  planning so start times work best for me.


CoziI also stated that I have recently started utilizing a bullet journal but I also use an online planner called Cozi to have reminders sent to me daily as well. Cozi is a great family app that allows your entire family to access the family schedule through a shared family password. The amazing thing is anyone can add, delete or update an event and you can send a notification so everyone that is attending will be made aware. You also have the option to set reminders before events occur just in case you need to have a warning before you move on through your schedule. There is a place to record your grocery list, find recipes and so much more. I highly suggest checking it out, especially since the basic package is FREE and can be downloaded on to your smart phone! 

Here is my color code system:

Me- Pink
Husband- Light Blue
Kids- Dark Blue
School Event- Orange
Important/ Need to Remember- Red
Church- Liturgical Season Color (Advent/ Lent- Purple, Ordinary Time- Green, etc)
Bill Due Dates- Light Green
Black/Brown: Menu

As I mentioned earlier, I do keep track of Liturgical Calendar events in my planner. It helps me plan our menu and family activities. It is the first thing I write each month when I am getting organized for each new month.

As you can see from this exert from my planner that there is room for me to write "scheduled" events but not much room for writing to-do lists, errands or other important things such as book lists, blog ideas, exercise routines water intake and so much more. What about ways to hold yourself accountable to your prayers? attending Mass? Adoration? Devotions? Fellowship? That is where the Bullet Journal comes in to play.

Bullet Journal:

A Bullet Journal has no defined order. No necessary inclusions. It is completely your creation used in any way that you deem important. For me, creating healthy habits is vitally important.


Habit Tracker: A Habit Tracker is one of my favorite ways to increase my good habit making decisions and have a physical copy of things that I can visually look at, to see my strengths and weaknesses. You could also utilize this to help with Natural Family Planning as well. This habit tracker is a monthly one that I really did like but I decided that things I am unable to do everyday, such as, Confession, Adoration and attending Mass should be included on my weekly spreads since it is something I tend to do weekly versus daily. Praying the Rosary and other daily prayers could easily be included in a Monthly Habit Tracker like the one above.


Reading Challenge: Reading is one of my hobbies and an essential aspect of growing my faith. Included in my Reading Challenge for this year is A Walk in Her Sandals and Rediscover Jesus. Many of the books that I have been pulled to read are devotionals or are inspirational. This Reading Challenge layout is suppose to look like a library and I am coloring in each book as I finish reading them. You could modify this layout to contain the devotionals and bible studies you would like to complete throughout the year.

Rosary Tracker: I'll admit that this tracker I actually found online and just printed it small enough to fit on the inside cover of my bujo. If you follow the link it will take you to a PDF that you could also utilize in the same fashion or you could go ahead and draw a similar copy if you prefer. With this being the 100 year celebration of Fatima, there is no better time to get on your daily family rosaries.


Weekly Layout: My weekly layouts are used to create to-do lists and keep track of when I attend my Sacraments. I keep things simple and try to utilize the same color code I mentioned is in my regular planner so my organization flows more easily but sometimes I have to jot down an errand or idea with whatever writing utensil is readily available.

Adoration Intentions: It is so easy to create a list of intentions to bring with you to Adoration and to know you have a location to jot down a friend or family members special prayer requests. If you ever see my posts asking for your requests, you can guarantee I write them out so that they are with me. I also revisit these requests each time I attend the Sacrament of Adoration. This layout is similar to the ones I've already shared but because several of the intentions I have written on my list are personal for myself and several others I decided not to share.

Obviously, the layouts that can be included in a Bullet Journal are infinite. Anything you dream up can be included in your unique journal. I would also like to point out that my Bullet Journal pages are not works of art. I have seen some absolutely beautiful pages on Pinterest and in Bullet Journal Groups I participate. If you are not artsy, do not allow that to push you away from trying out this great organizational tool. The purpose of these tools is to make yourself more accountable and organized. I would love to see some of the beautiful Catholic style layouts you design in your bullet journals and feel free to share how you use your planners. Are there designs you would like to to create? Just ask and I'll do my best to help find or create something that can help you.

God Bless!

Thursday, February 2, 2017

#WorthRevisit: Saint Brigid of Ireland

I'm a little late but I really wanted to share a post from the archives about Saint Brigid of Ireland! Her feast day was yesterday but I think it is acceptable to recognize her throughout the month of February.  I am still playing vatch up from not having a working computer and planning our Lenten season ! Here is my #WorthRevisit with Theology is a Verb and Reconciled to You:

The Feast of Saint Brigid of Ireland


Today is the Feast of Saint Brigid! Yesterday was the Feast of John Bosco too but we were unable to do more than a coloring page and read a few stories in his honor. 

As a side note, I would really like to watch Saint John Bosco: Mission to Love and Don Bosco! I have heard amazing things about these movies but have not been lucky to find somewhere to rent them. 

On the Eve of Saint Brigid (Saint John Bosco's Feast Day) there is a tradition in Ireland to tie a piece of cloth and leave a piece of oaten bread in the shape of a cross outside for Saint Brigid. The story says that Brigid will bless the cloth (becoming Brigid's Mantle) and her red eared cow will enjoy the bread during their journey. I really wanted to start this special tradition but had to work with the materials I had available for the cloth outside I used leftover red ribbon. I tied it to the mailbox. We also did not have the ingredients to make oaten bread so I used one of the extra not iced cupcakes from our Baptism Anniversary and drew a cross on top and placed it on the porch. 

In the morning, Little Man checked the front yard after I woke up to check and see if Saint Brigid had come with her cow. It was so cute, Squishy ran after him and said "WOW! Mommy, where'd it go?!" The cupcake was gone and the ribbon had been untied and placed in our mailbox. I was surprised myself but I know this will have to become a regular custom on the Eve of Saint Brigid. Next year I'd like to bake some oaten bread!

Today we also went Goofy golfing with some great friends! Squishy did such a good job following the rules and taking turns! After two rounds of golf we ended our visit with Root beer floats and headed home to make our Saint Brigid Crosses and color our coloring pages.

At some point, I would like to make Saint Brigid's crosses to pass out at a Nursing home or at the Hospital too. Saint Brigid had such love for the poor and elderly and I think would make the boys smile to see how an act of kindness can help someone, even someone they don't know. This year was my first time trying to make a Saint Brigid Cross and it was much simpler than I thought. At the top is a picture of the cross I made for my house and the one below is a picture of the one Little Man made. The pipe cleaners we used made the construction a little easier but Squishy did not have the patience to build one and fell asleep on the couch for his afternoon nap while Little Man and I worked. While we were crafting, I found the cutest youtube video with a retelling of Brigid's Cloak. I tried to find a copy at our local library but they did not have a copy so I will be purchasing it soon.

After we completed our crosses we blessed them with holy water and prayed Saint Brigid's Blessing. I still have not had the time to go grocery shopping since the bad weather so I will have to try some of the traditional Irish recipes I found another time. 



May Brigid bless the house wherein you dwell
Bless every fireside every wall and door
Bless every heart that beats beneath its roof
Bless every hand that toils to bring it joy
Bless every foot that walks its portals through
May Brigid bless the house that shelters you.
Amen.

Saint Brigid, pray for us!
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