Bedtime with E-Bear

A good friend and a good book,

what more could a little boy ask for at bedtime?  

These are sweet days, my friends.  

Happy Election Day!

Happy Election Day!

May God bless America.

Now go vote!

Election Prayer

At long last, tomorrow is election day.  Go vote!
I'll likely be at the polling station with three kids in tow, but it will be worth it.
On the eve of the election, here is the prayer I have prayed in preparation to vote.
May our country be blessed with good, worthy leaders through the votes of its citizens!

Election Prayer

(Adapted from the Election Novena at Pray More Novenas)

O God,

I ask for the eyes to see others as your sons and daughters. I ask for help in forming my conscience according to your Gospel so that I may both vote and act for the common good.

Give me the courage to stand up for the weakest members of society. The poor, the weak, the unborn. Give me the courage to re-examine my political loyalties and to be first a faithful follower of Jesus before I follow others.

Remind me that my only true hope is in Jesus and that political power can never replace the will of God and the mission of the Church.

For my own vote, help me to cast it in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. Help me to do it reverently and with a well-formed conscience.

For these elections, Oh God, please bless us with the best leaders possible at all levels of government.

Amen.

Grocery Bag

Happy November!  It is time to tackle another week.  Here is our meal plan for dinner.

Day One

Split chickpea curry from Anupy Singla

with basmati rice and steamed peas

Here is one of our favorite lentil curries, even better because it uses the slow cooker!

Photo and recipe at NPR.org

Day Two

Sweet potato balsamic onion and sopressa pizza from Food & Wine Magazine

with romaine and apple salad

A yummy looking pizza using all the best fall flavors.

Photo and recipe from Food & Wine

Day Three

Easy Paella from Everyday Food Magazine

with broccoli slaw craisin salad and homemade bread

Photo and recipe from Martha Stewart

Day Four

Sloppy Joes from The Pioneer Woman

with carrot sticks and sweet potato fries

This is my go-to sloppy joe recipe.

Photo and recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Day Five

Curried red lentil soup from Whole Living Magazine

with homemade rolls and apple slices

Photo and recipe from Whole Living

 Blessings on your kitchen!

Hard at work

Our lawn looks great,

thanks to these energetic bears.

How much do you think I owe them?

Happy November!

These Hallowed Days

Happy Halloween and a blessed All Saints' Day!

These days have been wild, in the best possible ways.

We have had a wonderful time taking in both holidays.  E-Bear and G-Bear have worn their Halloween costumes for most of the week, and anticipation has been mounting for days.  Yesterday, G-Bear was able to wear her Rapunzel dress to school, complete with ribbons and flowers in her braided hair.  Not to be outdone, the boys wore costumes all day as we ran errands.  We were a sight walking home together after picking up G-Bear.

We continued our tradition of meeting at MoMo & Papa's house for trick-or-treating.  As Papa said last night, "not much has changed about Halloween over the past 30 years in this neighborhood," and that is a good thing. The treaters are plentiful, the decorations festive, and the houses close enough together for even the littlest tikes to join in the fun.

This was definitely our boldest treating year yet.  We made it up and down two whole blocks!  G-Bear and E-Bear ran their hearts out (they didn't wear coats and never once complained about the cold).  G-Bear would squeal in delight to E-Bear,

"E-Bear, isn't trick-o-treating fun??!"

Buddy Bear was so excited to get a few treats that he clutched his little paper bag to his chest as T carried him around the block.  He was so eager and willing to toddle up to the door and hold out his bag for a treat.  He was so careful to sign a big 'thank-you' before turning to leave.  We didn't quite get him in the traditional 1 year old pumpkin suit for pictures.  I thought he made a pretty cute "X-Ray" in his skeleton pjs!

Buddy Bear was so excited to show off his treat bag.

G-Bear counted 89 pieces of candy when we got home.  Heavens, what will we do with all of it?  

As always, MoMo and Papa's pumpkin was the largest on the block.  It's smile was just as inviting and joyful as ever (perhaps why they always get so many treaters?).

"The bright Jack-o-lantern with it's friendly, big grin reminds us God's love is a light from within."

~From P is for Pumpkin: God's Harvest Alphabet by Kathy-Jo Wargin

~~

We may have been up late, but we were up early this morning with more to celebrate:  

Happy All Saints' Day!

This morning, Buddy Bear and I watched as G-Bear processed with her fellow Kinders as the 'March of Saints' in her All Saints' Day all-school Mass.  Each Kinder wore a saint hat with their name on it.  It was a beautiful  reminder that God calls all of us to join in the march of faith toward sainthood.  I teared up just watching them!

Tonight we hosted MoMo and Papa for an All Saints' Day dinner party!  We decorated the dining room with pictures of the saints, and everyone got their own "saintly" name card.  My favorite decorations were the Mandy Groce "Armor of God" paper dolls, made by E-Bear and G-Bear.   We made them a few weeks ago as part of our Year of Faith craft & learning time, but they were perfect decorations for our table tonight.  We need to put on the Armor of God in our daily walk of faith toward sainthood!

 

For dessert we had apple spice cake with whipped cream and sprinkles.  Everyone got a piece with their own candle, and we sang "This Little Light of Mine" before blowing them out.  Delicious!

Our table was full for All Saints' Day.

Tonight was truly a celebration.  We are so grateful for these joyful moments together.

Blessings to you on these All Saints' and All Souls' Days.

Halloween (or any holiday) Treat Sorting

Happy Halloween!

E-Bear had a great time making treat bags for his preschool Halloween party yesterday.  Our concept was nothing super original, but it was simple enough that he could do it almost entirely himself.  It was a great sorting activity, and it gave him a huge sense of accomplishment.  He was so proud to bring in his bag of treats to share with his friends today! 

Sitting with him as he worked on his task, I realized that this concept can be adapted for almost any holiday or treat-inspiring activity.  We will surely to do this again.  

Materials

(Equal numbers of:)

Mini paper muffin baking cups

4-5 types of mini candies in different shapes or colors

plastic wrap or plastic baggies

stickers

First, I helped E-Bear set out the correct number of muffin cups for the number of treats we needed.  

Next, we counted out equal numbers of the four candies we would be using and placed them in a big pile.  

We used:

candy pumpkins

candy corn in two colors, chocolate and original

miniature tootsie rolls

Then, it was time to sort!  E-Bear put one of each type of candy in each muffin cup until he had used up all the candy.  He did a great job!

Once the muffin cups were filled, E-Bear put each cup into a bag.  I helped him fold over the top and he put on the sticker.  Mission accomplished!

We were careful to save a few candies to enjoy together in celebration.  Our favorites were the candy pumpkins!

Happy treating!

New life in a new house

 Welcome to our new home!
We'd like to give you a tour of our space.  We are so grateful for it.

We'll greet you in the living room when you arrive.  With our new IKEA lights, it is quite cozy!
The french doors open into the playroom,

which is where you are likely to find the bears.
There is lots of learning and playing to be done in here!

If it is time for a meal, or arts & crafts, we'll lead you to the dining room, right off of the living room.

Here, the bears are often hard at work.

The sliding glass door lead from the dining room to the porch.  From there, you can see our backyard, freshly raked by G-Bear and E-Bear.  The cars are tucked in the garage, leading to the alley.  What a treat to have the cars undercover!

Come back in, and you can leave your shoes on the mat by the backdoor.  Then, come into the kitchen.

I love the south-facing windows that look out into the backyard.  

I can watch the kids playing outside while I cook.  

Behold, our breakfast nook, lunch spot, work desk, playdough center and otherwise all-purpose kitchen counter.  Many nights, we just squeeze together on the stools and eat dinner here too!  The bathroom location is also quite handy.

Time for a look upstairs.

G-Bear said she didn't like the stairs at first.  Too much "up and down for me, Mom," she said.

I think they are lovely.

We'll show you the bathroom where you can freshen up,

and then we'll move down the hallway.

You'll find our room first.  I love the color of the walls, so soothing.  We use the walk in closet as our nursery, which Buddy Bear considers palatial (compared to his bathroom bedroom in our apartment!).

Down the hall is the guest room.  There's not much to look at.  The bed doesn't yet have mattress, and you can see that I am still comparing a duvet cover to see if it matches the walls.  Nana, I promise it will be up, running and super cozy in time for a visit from you!

The bears will be excited to show you the new bunk beds in their room.  They also have a nice reading spot, thanks to the lantern light and rug from our trip to Ikea.  It suits Spiderman quite well, don't you think?

Last but not least, we can take you downstairs to show you the basement, or "Kid's Club," as the bears like to call it.  They assure us that adults are allowed, as long as they are friends.  It's the perfect place to let out some steam!

Thanks for visiting.  We hope to see you soon!  

The Doctor is IN

Remember this guy?

T's first day of residency.

Today, T has been at his new job for two weeks.  Hallelujah!  Sometimes we have to pinch ourselves.  We are so thankful to be entering this post-residency phase of life.

Belated, here is our front step photo from his first day.  I told him he looked very trustworthy, definitely someone to whom I would recommend patients. :)  

As our kids grow up and have their own first day jitters, it will be fun to pull out these pictures, and others like them, and remind our bears in real terms that "we can relate!  We've been there!"

So far, the beginner jitters have been manageable, as T has a great work environment and supportive co-workers.  I have a feeling he'll be hitting his stride sooner than he thinks.

As we round the two week mark, we remember to give a big "Thank You!" to all of our family, loved ones, supporters and educators who have helped our family get to this point.  Thanks to the love and support of so many, T is off to a great start!

Grocery Bag

This is a big week!  With Halloween, All Saints Day and All Souls Days all in one week, there will be plenty of excitement in our evenings.  We need a good menu plan to keep up.  Here are my dinner ideas for the week.

Day One

Hamburger stroganoff from Cooking Light Magazine

with egg noodles and a green salad

This is a quick and delicious weeknight dinner, perfect for colder weather

Photo and recipe from MyRecipes.com

Day Two

Lazy Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup from Food.com

with homemade rolls

A great slow cooker chicken soup.

Photo and recipe from Food.com

Day Three

Chicken with potatoes, peas and coconut curry sauce from Fine Cooking Magazine

with basmati rice and apple slices

This will be our new recipe for our week.

Photo and recipe from Fine Cooking

Day Four

Parmesan chicken with mushrooms and brussels sprouts from Everyday Food Magazine

with homemade bread

Photo and recipe from MarthaStewart.com

Day Five

Red lentil dal by Madhur Jaffrey

with basmati rice, roasted cauliflower, and pears

This is one of my favorite, easy Indian dishes.  The kids love it too (without the chilies).

Recipe by Madhur Jaffrey
Photo by Living in the Kitchen with Puppies

Blessings on your kitchen this week!