Merry Christmas

Rejoice for He is Born!



A very joyous and blessed Christmas to you and your family from the Blasdell Zoo.





A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework ~~St. Francis of Rome

Christmas Eve Traditions

Our family has a few Christmas Eve traditions. During the day we bake a few last minute cookies. Then we have the envitable last minute wrapping of one or two or three presents. Dinner is leftovers or a fend for yourself type of night to clean out the fridge for the Christmas feast. Everyone takes early baths and then we hunker down with some popcorn and watch the Polar Express. I think this is one of our favorite scenes:




Today went to the mall for the first time in years. Wasn't too bad since we went early. Here is what we did:



Everyone have a blessed and Merry Christmas



A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework ~~St. Francis of Rome

Mega-Family Blogs

Thanks to Milehimama over at Mama Says I found out about Mega-Family Blogs site. This is a site where large families (7 and up children) can gather and learn from one another. I applied and was accepted. I shocked the moderator when she saw that I had two sets of triplets. What can I say, we get that reaction a lot. :)

If you are interested in the large family lifestyle, come on over for a visit.



A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework ~~St. Francis of Rome

Changes a coming....

This as definately been a mixed up week. Monday and Tuesday were snow days, meaning the children were off from school. Everyone one was betting Wednesday would be too. But nope, the idiots at the Board of Education decided to have a 2 hour delay on the last day before Christmas break. Why? What learning was done? I doubt very little. Oh the fourth grade classes HAD to take thier math test today. Gee I wonder what the scores will be?

Given my disenchantment with the public school system and the whole special education process we have a big change happening. We are bringing Patrick home! Since all the fourth grade was doing today was a math test, I kept him home. I dropped off the required paperwork. So as of today Patrick is a home school student. While they others were off, we were starting to work. I must say that so far it has been easy. We have three days under our belt, so I am sure it will get tougher.

So today we dropped the bombshell on the school and Patrick said good bye to all of his teachers and friends without a tear. I am so thankful for that. So now we join the ranks of a homeschooling family, not quite how I would like it (I would love for all my children to be home) but it is a start!





A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework ~~St. Francis of Rome

Menu Plan for Christmas Week

Monday
Crockpot Chicken A la King
Rice
Broccoli

Tuesday
Meatballs and Gravy
Egg Noodles
Green Beans

Wednesday
Clean out the Fridge/
Fend for yourself

Thursday
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Fruit Slices
Salad

Christmas Day
Ham
Candied Yams
Green Bean Casserole
Mashed Potatoes

Saturday
Ham & Scalloped Potatoes
Green Beans

Sunday
Meatloaf
Alfredo Noodles
Asparagus/Green Beans


Have a very Blessed Christmas Week!




A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework ~~St. Francis of Rome

Snowy Sunday

The snow has stopped, leaving us 23 inches to deal with. The great dig out begins. The children can't wait to get out to play in it, which will be after lunch. Our neighbor has snow blower and has been helping to dig everyone out. It has really been a blessing with Richard unable to shovel snow.

Here are the pictures.

A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework ~~St. Francis of Rome

Snowy Saturday

After the wacky week, we now have a snowy Saturday. While it is beautiful, all I can think about is what a mess! The children are very much enjoying looking at it, but since we are in a blizzard warning right now I am not allowing them outside to play. There is heavy snow and wind. Not the usual type of snow storm in December for Maryland. Here are some pictures.































A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework ~~St. Francis of Rome

Wacky Week

This week is definately falls under the Wacky category. It is the last full week before Christmas for the schools. So everyone is trying to get everything done.

At the elementary school I am running the Holiday Gift Shop. Needless to say with this economy, not much is selling. Since we don't run this as a fund raiser, it is not a big deal to the school. I wonder how schools that use it for a fundraiser are doing. I am glad I shortened it to only 3 days, so it is over tomorrow.

Today after the holiday shop, Richard and I headed the annual Christmas Meal at the Knight of Columbus meeting. There was a great turnout and everyone had a wonderful time of holiday fellowship.

Mandy's High School Program is having it's Holiday Party tomorrow after school. Thursday her French Club is having it's party. Then Douglas's Scout troop is having it's party. Friday, Patrick's Cub Scout Pack has it's party. See the wackiness here.

Tomorrow we are heading to Richard's surgeon for his first post-op appointment. We will get to see how he is healing and get an estimate on when he can return to work and "full duty."

Added to all of this wackiness on late Friday morning I need to pick up Liz for her Semester break (and get back in time for Patrick's Party).



A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework ~~St. Francis of Rome

Spamming Comments

Just a heads up. I have been getting spam comments. I have enabled comment moderation for posts older than 5 days, plus I have added the verifications step. If it continues I will go to full comment moderation.

Don't you just love it. A few bad apples, spoil it for everyone else.



A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework ~~St. Francis of Rome

Menu Planning Monday

Monday
Holiday Shop at School
Clean out the Fridge Day
Leftovers

Tuesday
Holiday Shop at School
Chicken & Dumplings
Spinach

Wednesday
Holiday Shop at School
Dinner at School
School Meeting

Thursday
Pork Chops
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans

Friday
Pick up Liz from School
Crock Pot Roast
Potatoes
Carrots
Left Over Green Beans for DH

Saturday
Tacos
Chips & Salsa

Sunday
Meatloaf
Sweet Potatoes
Brussel Sprouts

A married woman must often leave God at the altar in order to find Him in her housework ~~St. Francis of Rome