DG's Birthday and Cakes

Today was DG's 6th Birthday. Yes, yes I know there are only three candles. After staying up till 1 AM to make the cake, at 2:30 today when I went to get the candles out of the cabinet. I realized we only had three candles and pink at that. I felt horrible. He said, "Just light them twice."

I have tried my hand at decorating cakes. This is the worst one yet. It is in the shape of a book. Before I could even decorate it the entire top stuck in the pan and would only come out in pieces.

When I went to ice it, I said a prayer to St. Zita, added a nice amount of milk to the icing recipe and it came out amazingly well. Then to the decorating. I did the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, as DG has an affinity for Narnia. It was all free hand and looked like he decorated it.

But as a child often points out... "Mom this is the neatest cake yet." I reminded him of the dragon cake that took about 3 hours to assemble and decorate.

To which he says, "Oh right, this is right under the dragon cake."

Why do I try so hard????

PG talks

PG is beginning to realize what we have been telling him for the last three months is actually true. If he would tell us what he wants he might actually get it.
He is starting to say words. The first was Daddy. He usually screams that from his crib whenever we put him down. He says, "Mom". He will either pick up one of RA's purses and put it on his shoulder or his play keys and walk to the front door and say, "bye!" My personal favorite which might beat "Daddy" as the word? whenever you ask him a question he can't say the answer to or doesn't know like, "where is your sippy cup?" He will look you straight in the eye, shrug his shoulders and say, "Ummmm!" :)

Amazing Grace at a Funeral

Today we went to an amazing funeral of an amazing man, Lucious Newsom. I have linked a story about the funeral below. The funeral brought up so many good conversations and ideas. One that struck me was that I have always struggled, as a Catholic, when you go to a funeral and they say, "We know the deceased is heaven (a better place...) but with Lucious it was hard to think otherwise. As the priest who gave the homily today said (one of the 21 - that I counted), when he was thinking about which gospel they could read at the Mass all seemed to apply (When I was hungry, you gave me to eat..., go and sell all you have and give to the poor, whoever denies himself takes up his cross and follows me, those who leave mother and father, husband or wife, brother, sister will inherit 100 fold, the good Samaritan, the father in the prodigal son who forgives the man who shoots up his house and on and on and on). And I think, we should all strive when we are laid to rest to know with absolute certainty but humble submission to the will of God, that we are going to be with the Lord because we always have been.
http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=8885190#

Art Class

Today DG had to match pictures by the same artist. When asked why he grouped these four together, he said, "Because they were all 'cracky'". I wish my kids came up with the English language. It would be so much more fun!!!!!

First Day of School

These smiling faces jumped out of bed to go to Mass yesterday on the Feast of St. Helen and the first day of Totus Tuus School. DG began 1st Grade using Mother of Divine Grace Cirriculum. RA is using Five in A Row and Slow and Steady - Get Me Ready. Their first day consisted of: DG - Math, 30 minutes of reading (not all at once), Handwriting, Religion, Poetry, Literature and Music RA - Being Read the First day of Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel and discussing how still drawings can depict movement, making an Aa puppet, color by number, and dot-to-dot.