Oren's Third Birthday

Happy Birthday Oren!

Mena and cousin Alice

His new sword!

This was a "Firebomb" that kept going off during the fireworks. It was crazy! You could fee the heat all the way out in the crowd from it.

The whole gang-minus Dom who took the picture.

My nephew Oren turned three years old last weekend. I can't believe it. He is such a doll. Mena will be three in just 3 short months and this was a stark reminder! Wow, how time flies. Oren received some great gifts and the food was great. We also went to the parade and the fireworks all together and he thought they were happening because of his "Big Day!" Too cute!

Iowa Vacation (take 2)

Our time at Palo Beach with my sister Ann, husband Aaron and their three kids. It was a beautiful day to be out in the sun!

This is the family at the Pickle Days Parade by Ann and Aaron's house. We got a ton of candy because we got there a few minutes late and had our own spot. Worked out fantastic!

I have so many pictures and wonderful memories from this weekend. I will try to write this is several posts. We were gone for ten days visiting my family in Iowa, the end of which was our family reunion in Starved Rock, IL. So much fun was had by all! These are some pictures of the events that took place in the previous post I wrote last week. Stay tuned for even more pictures!

AMANDA

Iowa Vacation

We are having so much fun in Iowa visiting my family and friends. We arrived on Friday evening and had a nice visit with my mom. My Dad wasn't home due to his work schedule. Saturday was jam packed full of fun. My husband did the Honor Guard for the Pilgram Virgin Statue that morning with my Dad. The FULL rosary was said and I am so proud of my Daddy for doing this. He is a roll model to us all. When they got back, Dom, I and Mena went to Palo Beach (man made) with my sister Ann, her husband Aaron, and their three darling kiddos. We played in the sand and got in the water a little but it was pretty cold. Fun times had by all. Then we went back to their house to celebrate their oldest turning three! I can't believe how darling Oren is. We ate pizza, wen't to a parade in a nearby town, had cake and icecream back at their house, then left again to go see the fireworks. It was great! The parade and fireworks were for the towns "Pickle Days" so at the end of the parade people handed out free pickles. Too funny!We were in the perfect place on the parade route. At the very end and there was no one in our immediate vicinity so the kids got all the candy for themselves! Worked out great. The kids were a little scard of the fireworks due to the volume of the BOOMS, but they eventually calmed down and loved the display. After fireworks, we came home and went to sleep. That was one full day! Sunday we went to 12 Mass sense we were all tired and wanted to sleep in. We saw Ann and Family at Mass at St. Pius and then had lunch with them back at the house. We babysat while they went shoping and then Played a game of Risk with my Dad, brother, and Dominic. I had to put Mena to bed so my mom took her place. It was so much fun and I think a rematchneeds to take place since I didn't get to play the full game and lost. Oh well!
Monday we wen't to Mass at the hospital and then ate there for lunch. It was a nice little meal. They even had French Silk Pie. UMMM!!! I LOVE ME SOME PIE! We came home and relaxed for a little while. That has been our week so far and we are having a blast. Stay tuned for more updates and I promise pics will be posted soon. We have our reunion this weekend and I can't wait for that. We are haveing a family softball tourney and there will be about 4 teams. Pray that I am not an embarrassment. I haven't played softball in forever!

What have you been up to lately?

Say Cheese!

Doesn't she just look adorable?

Still not pregnant!

This is really getting hard to handle. We have been trying for two years now and this is my third month on Clomid. If it doesn't work this month I need to go to an infertility specialist. I wish my OB-GYN would have been a little clearer with me about the next step, but I am hoping that someone will increase my Clomid dose. I was on something similar to Clomid (Tomaxifen) before which helped me to conceive our beautiful daughter, and I don't understand why we are not using this again.
I hope and pray to conceive a child soon. If anyone has been through this I would love to talk. I know God has a plan. It is in His more than capable hands. Although, in my weakness, I doubt. Please pray for me to grow in trust and patience.

Flashback Friday!

This is from last summer. Mena with her Godmother Clare and her uncle Simon. So cute!

Rearrangements...

I love rearranging furniture. It always makes me feel great and like I have a fresh new area to live in. Change can be very good! I found this awesome, beautiful, and awesomely priced child sized desk on craiglist and had to have it. I had been looking everywhere for one. God came through once again and this landed in my lap for $25! Anyway, It is perfect for little Mena to play her computer games on. She just loves is. I sit with her and control the mouse while she points to what she wants. It will take a little while for her little hands to get the concept and feeling down of mouse control! I don't mind. So, we brought this computer up from downstairs and moved Dom's chair over so he could have a little reading nook. Perfect place for him! The coffee table you see in the picture saw it's last day on Wednesday night. The top piece of glass shattered and completely freaked the heck out of me. Dom fell and could have seriously got hurt. Praise the Lord that he only ended up with one tiny poke in the palm of his hand. He was fine, Mena was fine (very scared ), and I was fine too (very shaken ). I will never doubt the power of our Guardian Angels for I know with out a doubt that they were watching out for my husband! So anyway, That table is gone and I don't miss it at all. I was almost wanting to get rid of it, I didn't think this is how it would leave us, but oh well!

Mena loves her new area and I am loving how it opens up the room! We may put some book shelves where the coffee table was but I haven't decided for sure yet. One thing is for sure though. I need more shelves somewhere. On to rearranging and cleaning out the basement. Hopefully we all come back up alive!

Montessori info

I have been asked by several people to write about where I find my Montessori ideas and materials. I really just spent lots of time searching the World Wide Web and found these great websites. Some have free materials that you can print and make your own, some are blogs, and some are websites that sell Montessori materials. Have fun looking at these links, and do what I did, just follow every link on each page and you will find a plethora of knowledge at your fingertips! Enjoy!
1. http://www.montessoriservices.com/store/ This is a Montessori store. I love it because I look at all the materials they suggest and then go to garage sales and such and know what to look for! Ikea is a great place to shop also.
2. http://forums.atozteacherstuff.com/showthread.php?t=5379 Scroll down on this site and you will find many links to various site with manipulative's to make.
3. http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/Free-Downloads_ep_35-1.html Another Montessori store. This site also has many free Downloads that I just love. They even tell you how to use them.
4. http://www.love2learn.net/ Awesome Catholic Homeschooling website with a ton of info and good suggestions.
5. The Playschool6 Yahoo group is awesome! It is down for the next few days but it is so worth the wait. It is a group for Catholic Montessori Homeschoolers. They are so nice and friendly and have wonderful ideas. They don't mind if you pick their brain either!
6. I have mentioned in a previous post that I found this great mother whom I met at the Michigan Catholic Homeschooling Conference that makes wonderful Catholic Montessori materials and sells them. Definitely check out her site at www.Jodyshands-onlearning.com

Well, that should get you started. Have fun and I hope you find what you are looking for. I am so excited to home school Mena and love to find others that are in the same boat.

Montessori Mena 3

I know many of you have asked about the Montessori materials I am using and where I find things online. I will write a post about that shortly. I have a big list of websites that I love!

Sport'n my new kicks!

I found these practicly new shoes at a mom 2 mom sale on Saturday. I got them for $2 and they look almost new! What a steal!