7 Quick Takes on mostly Prom...

1. Nearly a year ago I totally abandoned writing this blog. I didn't have much spare time and I was sharing an old, slow desktop with five kids. I started to keep another one, but it just wasn't "speaking to me", if you know what I mean, so, one day I just deleted the whole doggone thing.  I have been looking for the right time to start blogging again and perhaps it has arrived.  

2. OK, WHY has the time arrive, you might be asking yourself (depending on whether or not anyone is actually reading this). The time seems right because we just made the decision to move back to New Jersey.  We have had a crazy-busy couple of years in Arkansas, and now that our lives are about to change again, I want to write. 

3. Last Saturday was our big boys' Senior Prom.  I'm really not at all sentimental about Prom, and since Rob and I chaperoned the big wing-ding until nearly midnight, I am even less warm and fuzzy than I might have been if I could have just gushed  about how handsome they looked, cooed over their dates' dresses, snapped a few photos, and sent them on their way.   Having issued my disclaimer, however, a good time was had by all and I am very pleased that the guys got to attend Prom with these two very fun and very good girls:

John and Meranda

Vince and Annie

4. Speaking of Prom, if you have a high school student and you are not homeschooling, living in the tundra or Amish, you have certainly heard about the issue of  grinding at school dances and how many schools, both public and private, are attempting to address it.   My genius husband implemented an excellent solution at last Friday's assembly: "Gentlemen, when the grinding starts, so does the country music."  Message received.  

5. Last Friday our little St. Joseph's took home two 1st place medals and a two-man team 2nd place from the regional NASA Destination Space Science Fair! From  field of 1700 kids, our little crew of 12 showed them how its done! 

Bernie didn't win anything, but she was pleased with the performance of the marble roller coaster that she and her Dad enjoyed many hours of father-daughter time building:

6. The weather has been mighty strange for Arkansas in May.  It was about 45 degrees and rainy all day;  three days ago it was 92.  When Fr.Wolfgang Schlumpf first arrived here in the River Valley to found the priory that became Subiaco Abbey, he wrote home to St. Meinrad's in Indiana complaining  that they had "no climate here, only weather".  Now I can see just what he meant!

7. One last thought about Proms... It is 2AM and we just returned from toting our son up to NWA so that he could escort a friend to her Senior Prom.  One more tux rental, one more corsage, 60 bucks for dinner out, 50 bucks in gas and an entire evening driving back and forth.  Yes, all my warm fuzziness is completely gone now. 


For more Quick Takes from even better bloggers than me, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com. 

A Last Day of April Daybook

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... a pair of bluebirds at the feeder. 

I am thinking... about what to do this week in art classes.  I have to come up with something the kids can take home for Mother's Day.  Aaarrgh! Craft stress!

I am thankful... for Pinterest. What did teachers do before Pinterest?  We must have been terribly dull! 

In the kitchen... Pappardelle di San Giuseppe.  I missed celebrating St. Joseph's feast day in March because we were in Orlando on Spring Break. I'm planning  on doing a traditional breadcrumb based recipe for Wednesday like you can find here at Catholic Cuisine or here at The Food Network .

I am wearing... a red peasant top and army green shorts. We have Arkansas Instant Summer today.
 
I am creating... sacrifice beads with the 3rd and 4th graders.  

I am going... to see Rock of Ages in Fort Smith tomorrow night with my friends Kimberlee and Kerri! Woo hoo!

I am hoping... to get my nails done this week.  Yeah, I know, really deep, but hey, its the little things in life.

I am looking forward to... Adoration this week. I really, really am. 

I am learning... to pray for my enemies.  I am a reluctant student. 

Around the house... kind of a mess, actually.

A favorite quote for today... The Irish do not want anyone to wish them well; they want everyone to wish their enemies ill.  --Harold Nicolson 

One of my favorite things... this pencil sharpener:

This has become St. Joseph School favorite pencil sharpener. If you are a teacher, artist, homeschool mom or mother of a number of pencil-using kids, put your noisy, electric monstrosity in the trash and get yourself one of these beauties: silent, sharp, portable, fast, durable.  I'm really not shilling for Carl Office Products , but if they want to lay some swag on me for the free advertising, that would be just fine!

A few plans for the rest of the week:     softball scrimmage, first baseball games of the season, Arkansas Naturals game on Sunday.  Sounds like spring!

A peek into my day... probably won't get much of this  back in New Jersey!

Thanks, as always to The Simple Woman's Daybook.  I am happy to be back!

Happy Birthday Blessed Mother Mary!

Pray for us O Holy Mother of God,

That we might be made worthy of the Promises of Christ!

Five Question Friday

1. Thunder storms- love them or hate them?

Love them! Need a few around here, actually... 

2. Do your kids get back to school clothes?

I kind of have to.  They wear uniforms and by the end of the school year they are pretty trashed and small to boot.

3. Do you golf? Do you watch it?

Neither. 

4. Showers or baths? 

Showers as a general rule.  Baths are a kind of vacation luxury.  I like staying places where there are Jacuzzi tubs!

5. What's the strangest meal you ever ate?

The all-wing fest at Buffalo Wild Wings is kind of strange when you think about it.  20 wings and about two quarts of sweet tea? Pretty tasty, though. 

Thanks to Five Crooked Halos for hosting the fun!

Five Question Friday

1. What advice would you give a couple getting married? 
Don' t underestimate the power of generosity.  Put yourself and your agenda on the back burner and think of each other first.  When you are irritated or angry give that much more.  God will give you the grace and He will bless your generosity!
2. If you could tell your 16 year old self ONE thing, what would it be?
Dont' take the Triginometry class!  You don't need it and you are just trying to keep up with your friends out of vanity. It won't end well!!(Also, get rid of those  pink and white pinstripe skinny jeans. Seriously)
3. What do you do to keep cool in the summer? (AC, windows, fans, swimming, etc.)
AC, swimming pool, and enormous quantities of iced tea.
4. What did you (or your wife) crave most while pregnant?
Ice.  For instance snowballs: the shaved ice with flavors that are sold at stands all over Maryland. Also crushed ice in 7-Up or ginger ale.  One pregnancy I had an urge to eat snow. Odd.
5. Who is your favorite TV mom? Why? 

I guess I don't watch enough TV because I just can't think of one!  

Thanks to Five Crooked Halos  for hosting this easy way for me to start blogging again!

A May Daybook

JUST FOR TODAY

Outside my window...the sound of the boys on the tennis courts

I am thinking... about our summer plans 


I am hoping... we will visit the East Coast with the kids this summer

I am thankful...for my daughters's softball team: thanks girls for welcoming the "new kid"!

In the kitchen...Linguine with bread crumbs and swiss chard

I am wearing...yoga pants and a Yankees t-shirt

I am creating...crocheted potholders and dish cloths

I am going... to the pool with the kids this weekend 

I am wondering... when the day lilies I ordered online will arrive


I am reading...The Normal Christian Worker by Watchman Nee

I am looking forward to...the end of the school year: May 25th!

I am learning... little by little how to be a better teacher

I am praying for... my older daughter as she finishes Finals Week

A favorite quote for today... Unbeing dead isn't being alive.― e. e. Cummings


One of my favorite things... my vegetable garden.

A few plans for the rest of the week...Activities Banquet, plant the eggplant, Mother's Day


A Peek inside my day...my gardenias are in bloom. 

Thank you Peggy for 

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

A June Daybook

Just for today... The Simple Woman's Daybook


Outside my window... Instant summer!... and the dog enjoying a sunny spot in the driveway.

I am going...to take two of the kids for their learners' permits tomorrow.  

I am thinking... obsessively lately about the sale of the house.  I still have a couple of things I would like to do in the yard before our next open house on Sunday.

I am thankful for...  for our beautiful home of the last nine years...and hey, it has never looked better!

From the kitchen...  lemon bundt cake, grilled pork chops

I am wearing... Jean shorts, black V-neck t-shirt. and pink flip-flops

I am creating...  still the forest green Afghan for Rob.  Done by the end of the summer?? Here's hoping.

From the learning rooms... Summer reading list decisions

I am reading... Dune 

A few plans for the rest of the week... baseball, softball, clean out the garage, and KEEP THAT HOUSE CLEAN!                                           

One of my favorite things... Watermelon season!
And a picture thought... our favorite watermelon eating spot.