Mr. Pinch Gets Hers!

Last week Mr. Pinch sat around all mopey dopey because she failed to name all 44 Presidents of these United States and therefore received no ice cream. Well a certain parental figure (me) felt sorry for her as she struggled to learn them this last week and gave her a pass on the first names...and um...the "written" test. We did an oral test and last names only. I am so weak!

Here's the final cut..she's got shifty eyes, this one!

The Test

This week was all about President's. I gave the kids a challenge to memorize all 44 Presidents, in order. They tested yesterday and 3 out of 4 got a 100%! I am completely amazed. I shouldn't be, they seem to memorize commercials, songs, movies, in minutes, but I was.

Mr. Pinch struggled. She got 15 out of 44. Not bad, I gave her one more week to learn the rest and we'll retest. She was very disappointed. Tears and all, but she held off on any sort of tantrum. Just silent tears. Ugh..it's heartbreaking.

I took the other 3 for ice cream. I let them pick their own pint. (In reality, that's probably why she was crying. No ice cream.)

So, off I go to work, come home and find out that all three of them were sneaking Mr. Pinch spoonfuls of ice cream. :) There are two ways to look at this development..the other 3 really felt generous and sad for Mr. Pinch, or she has them wrapped around her little tiny pinkie! I think it's a combo. ;)

Dad laid down the law and stopped the ice cream distribution. He's right in that she needs to earn her reward just as the others did. They have all said they will work with her this week to make sure she gets a 100% on Friday. I am not sure that she would be as generous as they are.

On another note, my oldest says he can't wait to grow up and get his own place. Translation: My brother is bothering me and I want to get away from him.
We had a good laugh when I told him once he gets on his own, he'll be calling me. "Um..how's it going mom? All good here..yeah..um..so, what's my brother doing?"
He swears that won't happen. He swears with a knowing smile on his face.

It's been a good week. I thank the Good Lord for all He has allowed for us. Every day with these kids is a blessing and I am very thankful for them.

So..do you know all 44 Presidents? In order?

Is It Really Jesus?

Great videos on the reception of The Holy Eucharist

Keep Praying For Our Soldiers!

This story is awesome!

US Marine Walks Away From Shot to The Helmet in Afghanistan

3 hours down the drain...

Hubby and I went to preview Avatar(3D) yesterday afternoon. We paid the $26 bucks, got our cool 3D glasses and were immediately awed by the 3D previews! After 3 previews we were used to the 3D, so when the movie began it wasn't a big deal. In fact, I hardly noticed the 3D"ness". After reading all of the fabulous reviews I was expecting to be left breathless by the flight scenes and the fluorescent fauna. Um...not so much.

What I was left breathless (and disgusted) by was the flagrant use of "GD"-it throughout the movie. Actually, all of the cursing in this film was completely out of place. It sounded very contrived, as if the actors were making a point to use foul language where there would normally be no use for it.

The lead male character (Jake Sully? what's with the name?) was depicted as a broken, bereaved man with a great brain. Given the opportunity to reinvigorate himself through his Avatar. Instead he becomes a mushy, please "love" me kind of character. Like Sally Field says "they love me, they really love me". Give me a break. The capture of the bird at the end of the movie was not a masculine, fight scene as it should have been, but an attempt to make him the smart guy. "I can't believe no one ever thought of this!" Yeah..I can't believe it's not butter. Give me a male lead in an "action" movie with some real chutzpah!

I left the theater exhausted. At 161 minutes, it was a long, horrible experience into the world of Pandorum. However, I also left wondering why this movie was given a PG 13 rating and not R.

Why is it okay to say GD-it over and over (Thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain, commandment number 2)? But the f word will get you an R rating?

I know lots of people who raved about this movie. The special effects are great! It's mind blowing! I mean people actually contemplated suicide because they could not live in this "world" of Pandorum! To me, that's mind blowing.

I won't let the kids watch this one. Taking the Lord's name in vain is not a joke to me, I can't excuse it away because of special effects. The upper nudity of the women was a bit much and the "mating scene" was unnecessary to the movie. Perhaps I am old fashioned to worry about my boys seeing naked women, but I wouldn't buy them playboy so I won't subject them to Avatar either.

Hubby liked the special effects and animation but was put off by the anti-Marine message. I agree. Although the portrayal of the "Marines" in this move was very stereotypical, it was a degradation to one of our countries fighting forces in a time when we should all be supporting each and every service that keeps us free. Hands off the military Hollywood! They make it so you can produce crap like Avatar.

Save yourself the money and skip this 3 hour disaster.

Military Pilgrimage to Lourdes

The Military Council of Catholic Women were recently represented by our World Wide President, Lisa Miklos, during a taping of EWTN Live. The topic for discussion was the upcoming military pilgrimage to Lourdes in May. This is a great opportunity for all military members and their families for spiritual and (by the grace of God) physical healing. You can view the show here

EWTN Live Military Pilgrimage to Lourdes
click on the EWTN Live video feed to watch the show.

I encourage all of you out there who are military or know military families to be the eyes and ears for those who may benefit from such a pilgrimage.

Our Lady of Lourdes North American Volunteers assist those with medical needs on their pilgrimage. If you would like to volunteer or learn more about helping someone go on this pilgrimage go here:
Lourdes Volunteers

You can view a brochure detailing how this organization helps here:
Serving At Lourdes

Happy Valentine's Day

Flowers for all my online friends..Have a wonderful Valentine's day!

Hubby and I, ready for the dance last night!

Our Very Own Winter Wonderland

The kids were overjoyed at the sight of the snow..it's wet, it's thick and it's still here this morning! Go figure.

This is at about 4 pm. It's just beginning to stick...(click the pic to see better)


At about 7:30..it's stuck


my poor trees....


The front yard this morning at 6:55 am..


This is not a lot of snow compared what the NE received this past week, but for this area it's enough to put the brakes on everything.

Aunt Pittypat says

"Snow in Gawgia!! How'd it evah get in?!?!?!"

Snail Mail

Do you correspond with anyone you know strictly through the mail? Not e-mail, the good ol' post office? Today there are so many ways with which we can correspond.
Email
Blogs
Facebook
Myspace
Skype
Twitter
and the list goes on and on.

I wondered, does anyone use only the mail anymore? So I decided I would give it a try. It is not easy! My good friend Sarah-Kala and I were once daily e-mailer's. We would speak on the phone at least 3-4 times a week. I know how much she likes to receive "regular" mail, so I began sending her little notes in the mail. Then letters. After writing a letter, I thought "I can't just pick up the phone and call because I'll just say all the things I just wrote in the letter and then what's the point?"
So I waited. Stop! Wait a minute Mr. Postman! Is there a letter in your bag for me? I sat down with my coffee and the dark pink envelope. The handwritten letter was on pink paper, very nice. I recognized right away the distinct penmanship of my friend. It is part of her personality and I could "hear" her voice as she relayed the recent events in her life. I immediately got out a note card to respond.

It takes about a week or two for a letter to move from the east coast to Hawaii.

I suppose the question is, in this new, fast paced, get-an-answer-right-away world, is keeping in touch through "snail" mail actually keeping "out of touch"? Is the world moving too fast for poor Mr. Postman to keep up?

Mr. President! Go Back To Class!

It's Corpsman (COR-Man) not "corpse-man". Not once, or twice. 3..THREE..times he mispronounced it. Ugh. Do we really have to deal with this for another 3 years! Come on!!!!!

Mmmmm..shoe leather...

Obama, in his town hall meeting yesterday, castigated Americans for spending money on frivolous vacations to Vegas instead of saving for college. So, his ol' buddy, ol' pal..Harry Reid, who happens to be a Senator for Nevada..got a little irked.

No problem, Barry sends a letter of apology.

I wonder how many pairs of shoes this guys eats a day.

The Superbowl Ad

Okay..I've been watching the news and listening to the news all weekend. Much talk has centered around the "controversial" Tim Tebow ad.

The ad shows Tim's mom talking about her experience in choosing life and the obvious results of that choice.

Feminist liberal groups like NOW are up in arms, saying the ad is divisive and attacks a woman's right to choose. Whatever, they either can't afford their own ad or they really can't counter this one. What are they gonna do? To make an equally effective ad for their side they'd have to show women or a woman talking about how her choice to abort her child was awesome and she's so much better for it. Um....probably won't go over too well.

The thing that got me going was that all the "pundits" seem to be focusing on the wrong idea. Someone asked why show it during the Superbowl. The Superbowl is primarily a male audience. I say why not? Men make the decisions to abort or not, as well as the woman. Since when did a woman create a life on her own? Why shouldn't men be informed and able to "choose"? If they get to pony up the dough to do the deed than they should be demanding some say in the matter. The best question I heard was why not show it during the oscars? The host said, come on! No one watches the oscars! ;) That at least made me laugh.

One "news" show begins by talking about Tebow's Christianity. How's he's so great for talking about it and living it. Okay, wonderful. But again, you don't have to be Christian to be pro-life. This is not about religion. This is about life. A life. A baby. Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Hindu, whatever..as HUMANS we should all be concerned about the life of an unborn child being snuffed out.

By taking the focus off the baby, the media, even those conservatives who probably don't realize what they are doing, are trivializing the entire issue. Perhaps it's just simply about a life. A child who may not have been here IS here. Because his mother(for whatever reason) chose not to have an abortion and the result is this wonderful human being, who by the way happens to be fabulous at football and not so hard on the eyes.