Jot It Down!

Jot it down! That is one of my mother's favorite lines, and my grandfather's before her. All that I am going to say now is that it would do me well to say that often enough to myself.

Please read the rest over at Suscipio.

Catholic Women's Almanac, No. 12

Moments of Gratitude
~ I had a bad bout with allergic rhinitis last week, and was breathing through my mouth for a couple of days. I think it was a convergence of allergens from deep-cleaning some parts of  the house, weather extremes, and maybe just a bit of stress. Doing much better now.  
~ We have a new pet cat that chose to be alone since she got here, making herself almost invisible under the shoe cabinet. We let her be, to give her time to get used to the new humans around her. One morning we could not find her anywhere. We just lost a beloved pet dog, so the possibility of losing another pet so soon was disheartening. Well, guess what. Only Son found her behind the washing machine. Thank you, Saint Francis and Saint Anthony!

Serious.

Praying ~ For families preparing for the next school year ~ For myself, as teacher-mom to Second and Youngest Daughters ~ For the professors and teachers of Eldest Daughter and Only Son, who attend the university and "regular" high school, respectively ~ For my children, as they start the next school year in late May/ June ~ For families affected by weather extremes ~ For old people who have no one to spend their days with ~ For those who have nobody to pray for them

Reading Still trying to keep up with the Suscipio 2013 themes :-) ~ Hallowed Be This House by Thomas Howard ~ The Virtues of Mary by Saint Alphonsus Liguori

Wandering Around the Web ~ I am rediscovering Mercator. So many articles to read on topics that we don't always want to talk about, and would rather sweep under the rug. For sure, faith has to be the sole parameter by which a believer reckons topics, such as sweatshops, same-sex marriages, and rampage killing. This must be where the Holy Spirit does overtime work. 
~ I am also getting reacquainted with my once go-to site for math speed drills Free Math Worksheets. The site is so much easier to navigate now, and yes, as the site name says, it is still free. Just before Saxon 5/4 and after Saxon 8/7, which carry daily Facts Practice exercises, I look around for speed drills, and math-drills.com doesn't fail me. 
~ Finally, I did a Pinterest search on "freezer meals", and was overwhelmed by the sheer number of pins! If you don't hear from me in a week's time, I hope you won't find me still hunched over Pinterest.        
Around the House ~ We are almost done classifying and reshelving our books. We (primarily I) also managed to say goodbye to about a good number of books appropriate for the lower grades. Second Daughter wants to donate them to a new school library in a rather remote area in the provinces. She joined a rural service team that helped paint the school. I had thought of keeping the books for my grandchildren (!), but I finally decided that it would be selfish to hang on to the books when many schoolchildren can benefit from them NOW.

Captured

Mislabeled? Wrong container?

   Enjoy your week! Read other ladies' almanacs here!

"It is Love Just the Same..."

Some mothers are kissing mothers, 

and some are scolding mothers,

but it is love just the same,

and most mothers

kiss and scold together.

~ Pearl S. Buck



Happy, happy Mother's Day!
May we all get to that delicate balance in mothering :-)

Holy Mary,
Mother of good counsel,
Pray for us.    

Word Problem Workout Sheet

I was going over our school papers and "stuff", and chanced on our word problem workout sheet. 

I used the form to introduce Only Son and Youngest Daughter to the sometimes confusing, sometimes exciting world of math word problems.

This is how it looks like:

The whole worksheet

The left side of the worksheet

The right side of the worksheet 

Not the clearest of photos, 'sorry about that.

These are the steps that I included in the workout sheet:


A. Given

    *
    *
    *
    *

B. Required/ What is asked for

C. Solution

    ~ Word sentence/ Equation

    ~ Computation

D. Final answer  


It may seem to take up so much space for just one problem, but I think it is helpful in teaching the child the steps to think through a word problem in an uncluttered manner. After he has acquired the discipline, he will be needing much less white space.

Just thought I'd share something that worked for us :-)

Quiet Time

In the early years of our homeschooling, this overwhelmed teacher-mom needed to take daily siesta to restore her strength and energy. My children, however, fought, kicked, and screamed when asked to take afternoon naps, so my own naps were anything but restorative.

Please read the rest over at Suscipio.

Moments of Grace, #5 : Turn of the Week Happiness

~~ Because they are just too many to leave undocumented. ~~

~ Going food shopping at the first hour when the store is clean, airy, cool, smellin' good, and I have most aisles to myself. And having Husband with me, too!

~ Remembering to bring reusable shopping bags, in the interest of the environment :-)

~ Chancing on fresh and brightly colored spinach, and realizing that I haven't served spinach in a long time.

~ Our daughter coming home from PE class and announcing that she ran the required distance just under the imposed time limit.

~ Another daughter calling twice a day to say hi while she is on vacation with cousins.

~ Feeling light-hearted and looking forward to the weekend even if we didn't really make any plans for it.

Read about other Moments of Grace over at Suscipio.
Have a grace-filled and restful weekend :-)

{pretty, happy, funny, real}: Decluttering Finds, 2nd Edition

~ Capturing the Context of Contentment in Everyday Life ~

Every Thursday at Like Mother, Like Daughter

A decluttering find of late is a memory card with some precious photos. I share some with you :-)

{pretty}

The Sea.
An everywhere of silver, With ropes of sand To keep it from effacing The track called land. -  Emily Dickinson           

{happy}

When you go ride,

Let me go run, 

You in the sun,

Me at your side...

...Let me do this,

Let me do that --

Where you are at,

That is my bliss.

- from Bliss by Eleanor Farjeon

Remembering Larky, Youngest Daughter's pet.

{funny}

 

What are you able to build with your blocks? Castles and palaces, temples and docks. Rain may keep raining, and others go roam, But I can be happy and building at home.
~ from Block City by Robert Louis Stevenson

  

{real}

 

It is a truth universally acknowledged,  that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. ~ Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Second Daughter didn't really like the book,  but conceded that literature is part of a real education.
 
Read more prettys, happys, funnys, and reals here.
 

Pre-Pentecost Ponderings

Our own personal journeys as Christians are not always easy;

they meet with difficulties and trials.

To follow the Lord, to let His Spirit transform 

the shadowy parts of our lives,

our ungodly ways of acting, 

and cleanse us of our sins,

is to set out on a path with many obstacles,

both in the world around us, in the heart.

- Pope Francis, in his message to confirmands, April 28, 2013, Saint Peter's Square

Remembering Why

When we make life-changing commitments, it always helps to remember our reasons for doing so. There will be days when our commitments will be sorely tested and unless we can pluck out from the tops of our heads why we are into these commitments, we just might find ourselves being swayed and distracted.

One of the reasons why Husband and I homeschooled our children was that we felt that society was fast-tracking our youth to adulthood.

Many cooks will tell you that excellent food is the product of long hours of slow, unhurried cooking. If we can be choosy about the way our food is cooked, should we not be as particular with the way our children are raised?

Wherever does it say that just because they are 16, it is time for the junior-senior prom and they can go ahead and dance with people that they don't know at all? Why should they finish college and find a job as close to the legal age as possible just so they can move out of the old folks' home and "do their thing"?

Why are our children being forced to blind conformity, to behave in a certain way because the herd does so?  Why should they wear deliberately undersized and skimpy clothes just because those are billboard fare? Why should they call bands that produce everything else but music, "cool"?

Our children are not cattle. They are people with souls.

Why could children not stay a while and be children longer and be nurtured some more? The home is the most natural learning environment. No human beings could possibly love a child more than his parents. A mother can recognize the cry of her child a mile away. In like manner, parental instinct, Divinely guided, can direct parents to their children's strengths, weaknesses, and needs. And family love will make sure, as no other can, that those needs will be met.

And when our children's sense of self have naturally emerged and they are surer of themselves, they can go forth and and be truly responsible and productive members of society.

Society did not give birth to my children. Husband and I did. We will raise them ourselves, thank you.

Moments of Grace #4: My Soul is Like My Laundry Hamper

~~ Because they are just too many to leave undocumented. ~~

As I sit down and write this, the washing machine hums quietly and contentedly as if it knows that it is on its last load for the day. For two days, actually. Yesterday, it ran nonstop from mid-morning to well after supper.

The laundry situation did not have to reach crisis proportions. It started with a quarter-filled hamper that didn't look intimidating or urgent at all. I can do that tomorrow, said I. When tomorrow came, I said the same thing. I said the same thing for x consecutive days until I had no choice but to deal with the situation because we were running out of clothes to wear.

I should have bothered washing. That way, I could have ended each day with an empty/ nearly empty hamper, which is much easier to deal with than an overflowing hamper with some clothes already strewn about on the floor.

My soul is pretty much like my laundry hamper. The quarter-filled hamper is the soul with venial sins. I don't have to go to Confession now; I only have venial sins to confess. Then the venial sins pile up and with them, the laxity of the will. Before I know it, there is a mortal sin (or two) that needs to be atoned for, confessed, and and do rectifying for. Sounds easy, but it is not because my will has gone lax from piled up venial sins.

So I seek the Sacrament of Confession -- perhaps grudgingly and reluctantly at first, but hopefully, happily and frequently thereafter -- because I know that that is the only way I can make it right with my God. I need the Sacrament to give me hope and determination to begin again and again and yet again, and the perseverance to plod on in the midst of temptations in the world and the dry moments of my soul.

Thank you for this realization, Lord. Thank you for this moment of grace.

Read about other Moments of Grace over at Suscipio.
Have a grace-filled and restful weekend :-)