Last Day for Stations

If you haven't had the chance to go to Stations this Lent, try to take some time today to walk the Way of the Cross just as Jesus did. 

Here's a way to do it right at your computer: EWTN Stations of the Cross.

Mr. Mom

Can I just take a minute to express my gratitude and love to my handsome hubby?

Yes?  Ok, thank you!

The schools around here have April vacation week this week, so Phil and the kids have been at home while I have been stuck at work.  Grrrrr, not that I'm bitter or anything ;)

Everyday, Phil has taken the kids to swimming lessons, run errands, cooked amazing dinners, kept the house clean, and kids happy and entertained.  He is even teaching Eamon (4) to read, teaching Andrew (6) to ride a bike without training wheels, and helping train John-Paul (8) to run a 5K race with him in June (J-P ran two miles the other day!).  Oh, and did I mention that he brought Maggie in for a haircut, two boys to the dentist, and will be taking J-P for his physical tomorrow.

On top of all of this, he has also been weeding and mulching the yard during nap times and writing a paper for his grad class.  And he rubs my tired pregnancy feet every night.  Seriously!  This man is a PRINCE...no, a SAINT!  That's why my mom calls him St. Philip :) 

I thank God everyday for a partner like him, and I am so proud of the husband and father he is.  He is a great role model to his little boys and shows Maggie what kind of man she should be looking for!  He gives his best all.day.long and asks for nothing in return.  I only hope we can show that we love him nearly as much as he loves us.

Philip, I love you more than anything else in this world ~ thank you!

Ridiculous

I'm in a bad mood today.

 

Someone called me and Phil "awful parents" yesterday.

And she said we were "abusive to our children".

Want to know why?

Because I told her that we didn't lie to our kids about the Easter Bunny.

We celebrate the story of the Resurrection (ahem...the real meaning of Easter) and we gather with family to feast!  We also give our children baskets with candy and small gifts, and do an Easter Egg Hunt (or two) with their cousins. 

So, I'm not sure what exactly our kids are missing out on.  But in her mind, we are just awful parents because we don't say that the Easter Bunny comes hopping through our house, hiding eggs (why does a bunny have eggs, anyway?) and leaving gift baskets.  When our kids ask about the Easter Bunny, we just tell them it's a story...we don't make a big deal out of it at all.  We do the same with Santa, and our kids still talk about him like he's real.

Yup, we're "abusive" all right.

Imagination Movers on Tour!

The kids are on vacation this week.  That means they are around us all.day.long (how do you homeschooling moms do it?).  Although we try to be out of the house as much as possible (playgrounds, parks, running errands, walks, etc) we do have some downtime at home.  And the kids always ask to watch a video.  Since we don't get any "cool" channels with our basic cable plan, we rely on DVD's to let them watch some current shows they otherwise wouldn't be able to see.  Of course, we're VERY picky with what they watch, we only let them have one show per day and it has to hold their attention and not drive Phil or I crazy. 

A couple years ago, my sister Holly mentioned that her kids loved a group called The Imagination Movers.  She said they were a fun bunch of guys who solved problems and could actually sing and play instruments.  More importantly, she promised that they wouldn't make us want to poke our eyes and ears out with power tools. 

Well, I was skeptical because we had just completed the Wiggles era around here, and I didn't know how much more "singing guys" I could handle.  Lucky for us all, The Imagination Movers are WAAAAAYYYY better than the Wiggles (sorry Wiggles fans!).  All of our kids from age 8 down to 3 are still interested in watching the DVD we have, even though they've seen the same episodes numerous times.  They are that good! 

I found out from Katie's blog that The Imagination Movers were going on tour, and at the end of this week, The Imagination Movers are coming to Boston!!  So on Sat., Apr. 23, 2011 at 11:30 AM we will be at the Orpheum Theater listening to songs like this:

Catchy, right?  We haven't even told the kids yet, because they would be too excited!!  I can't wait to see their faces when they realize why we're driving to Boston.  Priceless!  Thank you Imagination Movers for providing wholesome entertainment for kids and their parents.

What I Wish I Was Doing Today

http://www.boston.com/newsprojects/marathon2010/map.html

I guess I'm doing a "different" kind of marathon this year.  One that takes 9 months to finish :)

The Dreaded Name Game

We just can't think of the perfect boy's name for this baby.  While we are convinced it's a boy, we do have the perfect girl's name picked out...just in case.  But coming up with another boy's name is proving so difficult.  It's not that we don't like any names, it's that we like too many.  Yet there hasn't been one name in particular that jumps out at us "Ah, yes, that is the name of our little boy!" 

There's been a commercial on the radio (I can't even think of what product they are endorsing) where the parents are deciding on a name for their son...but he's already heading off to college.  The punch line is something like "Some things can't wait".  I am afraid we might end up like those parents!  Not really, but I don't want my son in the hospital with a name tag that just says Baby Boy Martin.  I want to have his name ready.

I like Irish names and Phil likes saints names, and I prefer slightly unusual while he tends towards more common names.  We have a list of boys names we can not use based on our last name: Dean and Martin.  Then we have some names we really like but don't fit for various reasons: Maximilian (too many M's), Benedict (we already have one son named after a Pope), Christian (with Phil teaching theology and having one son already named Eamon "Amen", we thought it would be too much), and Jonathan (you can't have a John-Paul and a Jonathan in the same family, right?). 

Then there's the three names we love that can be used for either boys or girls, and we don't want to do that to our son (I'd rather give a unisex name to a girl than a boy): Casey, Cory, Taylor. And I have a list of more unique names that Phil isn't quite sold on yet: Brennan, Blaise, Rowan, Kieran, Kane (my mom's maiden name), and Nolan.  And we can't use the following names of our nephews or brothers: Sean, Brian, Robert, Gavin, Liam, Brogan, Patrick, Ryan, Thomas, or William. 

We have been discussing names so much around here that I am sick of it.  And then Phil had an inspiration from the Holy Spirit.  "Let's pray about it", he said.  Duh!  So we are praying that we will know what this baby's name will be.  I'm hoping it's one of those prayers that gets answered by an angel coming down, waking me up, and telling me exactly what we should name him.  Hey, worked for Mary right? :)