Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Happy St. Nicholas Day!  We started to prepare for this feast yesterday with our St. Nicholas cookies.  Thank you Catholic Cuisine for sharing this very cute recipe.  Here is how they turned out.

My oldest daughter woke up ready to take a look at her pair of shoes she left by the door last night.  My youngest daughter was just really excited to receive an orange.

We started off our day with Mass and have been celebrating all day.  I hope you are all enjoying this advent season.  Remember to keep Christ in Christmas!  ¡Hasta luego! 

Mother Teresa's Anyway Poem

Mother Teresa's Anyway Poem

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

7 Quick Takes Friday

--- 1 ---

I will like to start of with great news.  My little baby girl is now crawling! She is 9 months old and gets herself around the house.  Now I just have to keep the floors immaculate.

--- 2 ---

My husband started off with a bad cold this week and it looks like my oldest daughter is now heading that way.  This cold calls for my mama's recipe, caldo de camaron (shrimp soup).  My husband loves it and my daughter likes shrimp.  It is delicious and great for fighting a cold.  I will post the recipe on a later date.

--- 3 ---

I went to my sewing class this week.  I was the only student but it was the best class ever.  It was a one on one class and my instructor showed me all her tricks.  Here is my project (pillow).  Not bad for a beginner.

--- 4 ---

My mother let me borrow her sewing machine so I can practice but I eventually have to get my own. Her sewing machine is an older Singer but I do not like it.  I have been asking a few people and searching the internet for the best sewing machine in my budget.  I think I want to go with a Viking.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

--- 5 ---

I have had the worst migraine this week.  My husband thinks it is because of the heat or a sinus infection, either way, I am ready for this migraine to be over.  I think I need to finally go see a doctor about these headaches.  Maybe it is something I am eating or doing to myself and do not even realize it.    

--- 6 ---

This past Sunday at Mass they handed out a LIGHTHOUSE Catholic Media CD-THE YEAR OF FAITH and Father suggested we listed to a new CD each week during the Year of Faith to help us learn and deepen our faith.  What a great idea!  I really like Lighthouse Catholic Media CDs.  They always have new CDs with great speakers at an affordable cost.  If your parish does not provide Lighthouse Catholic Media CDs, you should tell them about it.  It is a great ministry.
  

--- 7 ---

I really did not want to start off with the election but I guess I will end with it.  All I can say is God sometimes does not answer our prayer how we would expect him to.  He know what is better for us and our nation.  Our job is to stay faithful.  As Blessed Mother Teresa once said,“God doesn’t ask that we succeed in everything, but that we are faithful." We must remain humble and continue to pray.

Have a great weekend everyone!  Thank you for stopping by.  

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes Friday

--- 1 ---

Today was one of those days when I was in the mood to clean.  I do not have this felling usually.  I clean our home because it needs to get done.  But today I was in the zone.  I was determined to get the house clean.  My baby girl had a nice long nap which helped me greatly.  My oldest was helping me until she saw my shoes and decided she was going to try them all on.  I continued and the house is now nice and clean.  For now.

--- 2 ---

This past weekend we went to a pumpkin farm.  My oldest daughter road on a pony for the first time.

--- 3 ---

We did not go trick or treating on Halloween since we went last week.  Plus it was cold.  But my oldest daughter had fun giving out candy.  She would keep looking out the window to see if more children were coming and once she saw someone she would grab the bowl of candy and run to the door.  She is adorable.  We also carved a pumpkin and my oldest was able to paint one too.  

--- 4 ---

I tried a new recipe for beef stew which is cooked with red wine.  It was delicious!  My husband loved it.  I found the recipe at the foodnetwork.com

--- 5 ---

On the feast of all Saints Day we were trying to decided on a patron saint for our family but we did not make our mind.  So we decided to pray on it.  Any suggestions?

--- 6 ---

I went to vote yesterday.  It was easy and painless.  Done.

--- 7 ---

I came across a video of Scott Hahn speaking about the Year of Faith.  Take a look.  

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Our responsibility as Catholics--Election 2012

I am Lisette and I approve this message.

Please listen to this excellent homily from Msgr. Daniel J. Deutsch regarding our responsibility as Catholics in this coming election.

http://www.holycross-batavia.org/music/homilies/2012-10-28-dd.mp3

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol 1)

---1---

I have been wanting to join the fun with Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary with her 7 Quick Takes Friday.  So here it is, my first 7 quick takes.  

---2---

This past weekend my husband and I finally went on our much deserved date night.  Lately our date nights are at home once our girls are sleeping but this weekend we dressed up and went out for dinner.  The food was delicious and the company was amazing.  Love my husband.

---3---

Speaking of my husband, I have joined Hallie at Moxie Wife in her 30 day marriage challenge.  It is not too late to join.  She reminds everyone of the daily challenge on her Facebook page so make you like her page.  Thank you Hallie!

---4---

This past weekend we also went to the zoo for the Halloween events.  The zoo is one of my oldest daughter's favorite places to go.  This time we were able to enjoy the dolphin show.   

---5---

Yesterday, we joined a few moms and their children from our parish MOMs group for Trick or Treat in our town's down town area.  The weather was great and my daughters had a great time.

---6---

I forgot to mention that this past summer I went to a couple of sewing classes.  Sewing is my new love. I really enjoy sewing and it is amazing all the tutorials that are available through the internet.  Here is my first sewing project which is a pillow case for my oldest daughter.  She loves cupcakes.  I cannot show any current project ideas because they are Christmas presents.  Are you ready for Christmas?

---7---

A couple of weeks ago I signed up for two more sewing classes since Joan Fabrics was having a buy one class get the second one free.  How could I pass it up.  But I did not realize that one of the classes I signed up for is on election day.  Genius!  So now I have to go vote early.

Have a great weekend!

The Year of Faith---renew your relationship with Christ

The Year of Faith starts today!  What is the Year of Faith?  My friend Grace does a great job explaining the year of faith at Our Catholic Life.  One thing is for sure, the year of faith is definitely a chance to renew our relationship with Christ and his Church.    

  

I wanted to share some resources that can help us all to renew our relationship with Christ in the year of faith.  

1. Obviously, The Year of Faith-Vatican Website has tons of information and resources.  They even include a list of event for the year of faith.
2. Sign up for the Faith in Action at catholicyearoffaith.com.  The website includes great authors; Danielle Bean, Jeff Cavins, Teresa Tomeo and many more.  Make sure you check it out.  
3. The Daughters of St. Paul have a website called JClub which has great resources for families with young children.  You can also sign up for a monthly newsletter for the year of faith.
4. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has great resources for the year of faith for everyone.
5. I also came across this article about Plenary Indulgences for the year of faith.  

I hope these resources are helpful.  If you have any additional resources for the year of faith, please share.  

I would like to end this post with the words of Pope Benedict XVI in regards to praying the Rosary during the Year of Faith. 

"As we too spiritually unite ourselves to that choral invocation, I would like to invite everyone to cherish the Rosary during the forthcoming Year of Faith. With the Rosary, in fact, we allow ourselves to be guided by Mary, the model of faith, in meditating upon the mysteries of Christ, and day after day we are helped to assimilate the Gospel so that it can shape our lives. Therefore, in the wake of my predecessors, and in particular Blessed John Paul II who ten years ago gave us his Apostolic Letter 'Rosarium Virginis Mariae', I invite people to pray the Rosary individually, in the family and in the community, placing themselves in the school of Mary who leads us to Christ, the living centre of our faith".

 — from Vatican Information Service. 

Test of Fire: Election 2012

The deadline to register to vote I believe is this Saturday, October 6th.  Please make sure you are registered to vote and spread the word.  I came across this video from Catholics Called to Witness.  Check it out.  

God's beauty everywhere

Today we were at the park and I just had to share God's beauty.  Enjoy!

Happy Feast Day of the Holy Guardian Angels!

Angel of God, my guardian dear,

to whom God's love commits me here,

ever this day be at my side,

to light and guard, to rule and guide.

Amen.

Ángel de la guarda, dulce compañía, no me desampares ni de noche ni de día. No me dejes solo que me perdería. Ni vivir, ni morir en pecado mortal. Jesús en la vida, Jesús en la muerte, Jesús para siempre. Amén.

I'm not a morning person--no more--last post

My three week morning challenge has come to an end or has it.  I think going to bed on time and waking up early in the morning will always be a challenge for me.  I think working on more self discipline and trying to bring order in our home is an investment worth working for, not only for myself but for my family.   

One thing I can can say about my challenge is this, we all have our challenges, different circumstances and hectic schedules but one thing we all must try to do is take time to pray.  And I mean to really take time to pray.  One on one with God.  It really makes a difference to start the day off right with prayer.  Many of us cannot imagine not brushing our teeth in the morning or going out without taking a shower first, yet we (and yes I include myself) sometimes cut corners with our prayer time.  I have to say waking up early to pray in the best, as Matthew Kelly would say, "game changer" I have done for my family and myself.  If I could tell the difference in just three weeks, imagine with time. Invest time in your prayer life. 

Thank you all for your support and prayers.  It really did help me stay accountable by blogging about my challenge.       

I'm not a morning person--no more--day 19

                                                                                                                                      
I went to sleep late last night (10:30pm) but I woke up on time and I did my WORKOUT ROUTINE!
¡Si Señor!  You are reading correctly my friends, I woke up, prayed, did my workout routine and showered.  I finally did all three together.  My plan is to do the same tomorrow.

I will not be able to post the next two days but I will give you an update on Monday which is my last day of my 3 weeks challenge to wake up early.  Why three weeks?  Well, they say if you can do something for 2-3 weeks in a row, it becomes like a new habit.  Hopefully, with the grace of God, I will be able to continue on.

Have a great and safe weekend everyone!

Election Novena 2012

I want to share with you all the Election Novena 2012 with Relevant Radio which starts today and ends on election day, November 6th.  As a nation, let us unite in prayer for this coming election.  Please sign up.

I'm not a morning person--no more--day 17 & 18

The last two morning I did wake up on time (5:30am) but I did not workout because I had a few things to do.  I did go for a walk yesterday with my daughters.  I realized that a workout does not necessarily have to be what I picture a workout should be which is hit the gym and workout.  There are many opportunities throughout the day where I can workout.  For example: going up and down the stairs, do squats, push ups or use the stand still bike we have in our basement.  Yes, we have a stand still bike in our basement.  My husband set it up for me so I can start using it again since I like spinning.  I just need to get to it.

I also notice that I like to take my time to pray.  I take about 30 minutes.  I pray and read so I am not sure if this too long.  I just really enjoy those 30 minutes for prayer and reflection.

How much time do you spend praying in the morning?

¡Hasta mañana!

I'm not a morning person--no more--day 16

Hello my friends.  I went to be bed late (9:58pm) and I woke up LATE!  I am not sure what happened but I woke up scared at 6:15am.  My baby girl never woke up last night for her feeding.  I was able to sleep 8 hours.  Nice.  I did have time to pray.  Nice.  But no time for a workout.  No bueno.

I am not sure if I should workout first, shower and pray verses pray, workout and shower.  Either way I think I need to wake up earlier.  My husband want to coordinate a schedule so we can both have time in the morning to pray, workout and shower.  I hope so because I need help with my workout routine.  The plus side is that we still have nice weather to go for walks.  Something is something.

Tomorrow we are celebrating a birthday so I will not be able to blog but I will give you all an update on Thursday.  ¡Buenas noches!

I'm not a morning person--no more--days 13-15

I gave myself a little break this weekend and woke up at 6:30am.  Today I woke up late.  Last night my oldest daughter woke up at 4:00am and we were up for about an hour.  She has a cold and was having trouble breathing.  But once she was back to sleep our dog started to bark.  So I went downstairs to see what was wrong.  Nothing.  I went back to bed and as I was falling back to sleep my alarm goes off.  I thought I hit the snooze but I did not and woke up scared at 6:00am.  I did have time to pray but not to work out because my baby girl woke up at 6:30am.

I am feeling defeated with this morning workout routine.  It is hard with little ones.  I will try again tomorrow morning.  The important thing is that I make time to pray in the morning.  

I came across this picture today.  I had the morning blues today.

If we begin each morning with prayer, it anchors us in God for the rest of the day. We remain vigilant, and we will end the day in the same way.  -http://www.daughtersofstpaul.com/  

The Daughters of St. Paul know what they are taking about.  ¡Buenas noches!

I'm not a morning person--no more--day 12

Last night was ladies (MOMs group) night out.  I did go to bed late but I did wake up on time and so did my oldest daughter.  She did go back to sleep which gave me time to pray.  But I am so tired.  Now my body does not like going to bed so late.
I will not post the next two days.  But I will give you an update on Monday.  Hopefully I will wake up on time for my new workout schedule.
¡Buenas noches!    

I'm not a morning person--no more--day 11

Last night I did go to sleep late (11:05pm) and woke up late this morning (6:15am).

I have been thinking about this working out deal and I really do need to get started.  I do go for a walk (about 1 mile) with my girls but I would like to add more of a challenging workout.  Plus winter is coming and walking with my girls is not going to work.  I know if I have a challenging workout I will have more energy through out the day.  My plan is to start my workout routine on Monday.
  
Yes, these are my sneakers.  No, they are not new.  They look new because I do not use them often. They have so much potential.

If you are struggling like me to get started with your workout routine, moneysavingmom.com has some great tips to get you motivated.  

¡Buenas noches! 

I'm not a morning person--no more--day 10

First things first, Happy Feast Day of Blessed Mother Teresa!  "Do small things with great love."

Relevant Radio Photo

This post will be a short one.  I did not get to bed on time (10:03pm) last night but I did wake up on time.  Today has been a very busy day and tonight I will be going to adoration which means I will be going to sleep at a later time.  

Thank you all for your support and prayers.  ¡Hasta mañana!   

I'm not a morning person--no more--days 7-9

One week down.  Two more to go.

I did give myself a break this past weekend and woke up at 6am.  My husband was a great support this past week with my new early wake up routine.  He also tried to wake up early.  Key word here, tried.  But today he surprised me.  He woke up before I did, at 5:30am!  He is not an early bird but he wants to wake up early to pray and workout too.    

I have not decided which day I will start my workout routine.  I am hoping to start working out at least three times a week.  I know I am out of shape and I am dreading the pain.

To end this post I thought I would share some pictures I took today.  We went to a musical event at the park.  Here are a couple of pictures.  Enjoy!
    

"In the era of technology our life risks becoming always more anonymous and merely a function of the production process.  In this way, man becomes incapable of enjoying the beauties of the Creator and to see in them the reflection of the face of God."   -Pope John Paul II

I'm not a morning person--no more--day 6

I decided last night that I would give myself a little break and woke up a little later this morning.  I will not be posting in the next two days.  But I will have an update on Tuesday.  Have a great weekend everyone!

    

I'm not a morning person--no more--day 5

I forgot to mentioned that I changed my wake up time from 5:15am to 5:30am.  I want to shoot for 8 hours of sleep.  Today I did wake up on time.  I noticed that waking up early in the morning is not that bad.  I think the hardest part for me is going to bed on time.  It takes discipline.  Real discipline, to say, hasta mañana (until tomorrow).  I have been a late night person as long as I could remember so it is tough getting to bed at a decent time.  I think what keeps me going is my time for prayer in the morning.  It is so special.  I don't have the words to describe it at the moment but I am sure if you already wake up early to pray you know what I mean.

I think having a special place (a nook) you go to pray in the morning gives you the motivation to get up.  I have a special place I like to pray and read.  My little nook.      

Do you have a special place you like to pray in your house?  Please share.

¡Buenas Noches! 

I'm not a morning person--no more--day 4

I woke up a little late this morning--5:45am.  I'm not sure what happened but I did not hear my alarm.  I have a new phone and I am still getting use to it.  So when I woke up I went straight to the shower.  I did not take any chances.  Thankfully I did have a few minutes to pray and we were out the door on time for bible study.

During my morning prayer I like to read a book by Lisa M. Hendey, A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms.  You learn about a Saint each week, it includes a bible verse for each day, activities you can do with your children, family prayer and something to ponder.  I recommend this book.  

I have been thinking of what I want to accomplish in my morning routine which is: time to pray, workout (no P90X but something to get my heart pumping), shower and if possible through in a load of laundry.  It will take time to figure out how to accomplish it all but these are my goals.  

I am a big planner.  Planning things out helps me accomplish my goals.  I have learned (the hard way), that if you want to manage your house smoothly, you need to plan.  Money Saving Mom has great resources to help you get organize.  She has free downloads you can print out to help you get started.

I have to tell you, I really like getting up early before my family.  It feels great to start the day with prayer and be set for the day when my family awakes.  Love it!  Love it!  Love it!  ok one more time LOVE IT!

If you have any great tips or resources you use to manage your house smoothly, please share.  Thank you.

¡Buena Noches!

I'm not a morning person--no more--day 3

My friends, it was a rough night for my little one.  She usually goes down by 7pm and sleeps through the night but last night she kept waking up every 20 min or so.  The last time she woke up was at 10:40pm so I went to bed at 11pm.  Since it was late, I decided to change my wake up time to 6am.  I am glad I changed the time on my alarm clock because she woke up again at 3am.  When I woke up at 6am, two minutes later, she was up.  My night and morning did not goes as plan but I did pray the rosary with my baby girl.

Every madre knows that there are nights like the one I had last night.  You have to be flexible with little ones.  So if this happens to you, do not get discouraged.  Attend to your little one.  God knows we are trying.  Just make sure you to take sometime to pray.

Tomorrow morning I have a bible study leaders meeting so we have to be out early.  ¡Buenas Noches! 

"I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me."   -Philippians 4:13

I'm not a morning person--no more--day 2

I almost made it to bed on time, 9:40 pm, which is progress.  I did wake up on time.  My oldest daughter woke up at 5 am with a bloody noose, poor thing, it happens to her once in a while.  So waking up was not a problem.  My oldest daughter went back to bed and they both woke up at 6:40 am; which gave me almost 1.5 hrs to myself.  I prayed, had a cup of coffee, prepared for the day, check my email etc.  It was great!  It was quite.  The stillness of the morning is a great time for payer.  I recommend it.

One thing that did cross my mind was that I need to make a plan or a schedule of what I want to do to make the most out of my mornings.  I will be thinking about my goals and let you know at a later post.

What do you do to make the most out of your morning routine?  Please share.  Thank you.

¡Buenas Noches!

I'm not a morning person--no more--day 1

Are you wondering if I woke up on time?  First let me tell you about my night.  I did not get to bed on time.  I lost track while blogging.  I went to bed at 9:58 pm.  I woke up at 3:38 am with a splitting headache.  I took some medicine but it did not kick in until about 40 minutes later and I went back to sleep.  My youngest daughter (7 months old) woke up to nurse at 5:09 am.  My alarm was set for 5:15 am.  So I did not have any trouble waking up but my baby girl did not fall back to sleep.  I tried to put her back down twice but she just wanted to be in her mama's arm.  She usually goes back to sleep for about another two hours but not this morning.  As I was trying to rock her back to sleep, I started to think how my night went and what a came up with was that,  you know who is trying to discourage me not to wake up early to pray.  So, I started to pray as I rocked my baby girl.  Once she woke up from my arms, we both went downstairs and prayed the Rosary.  I played my Rosary CD which I like to do when I pray the Rosary with my girls in case I get distracted with one of them.

My night or morning did turn out as I hoped it would but it definitely has given me the determinations to keep on going.  I did not get the chance to take a shower before my girls woke up but waking up early to pray sure did give me the grace and energy I needed for the day.  Praise God!  If you know who is trying to discourage me, well, that tells me this new morning routine is what I need to strength my relationship with God.  

One thing I did learn, put an alarm to remind yourself of your bedtime.  

A couple of wonderful mothers are going to join me on this challenge.  We are going to send each other messages to make sure we wake up.  Please keep us in your prayers.  ¡Buenas Noches!    

I'm not a morning person----no more

I always have admired the madres who wake up early in the morning (before their children wake up) to pray, workout and get ready for the day.  In the last couple of months I have been asking some of my friends (who are mamas) that wake up early what is their secret to get up and going at 5am.  What I discover is that the morning is their own personal time.  I have always been a late night person.  Once our girls are sleeping, my time beings.  I am usually catching up on what I did not finish for the day and once I am done, I begin to wine down for the day which is fine, but I do not workout in my evening routine.  I am just too tired to workout and working out is important for our health.  Another thing that I realized when talking to my friends is that I will not be loosing any time for me if I go to bed early, I will just be changing the time of the day.  So I decided I am going to get to bed earlier to wake up early.  Once I accomplished waking up early, I will add a workout routine in the morning.

As I've been contemplating how to start my morning routine, a couple days ago I was on my Facebook page and came across a post from Money Saving Mom, Making most out of your mornings: Stop saying, "I'm not a morning person".  I click to read on and I was like, OMGosh, it is a sign.  I need to make an effort to wake up early.  I know I will feel great and ready to face the day.  I am going to follow the Money Saving Mom challenge and blog about.  The challenge is to wake up early for 3 weeks.  You must set a time you will go to bed, 5 must things you must do each evening and set a time you will wake up.  I am planning to go to bed by 9:30pm and wake up at 5:15am.  Here are my 5 must thing I must do each evening; which some I already do.

Five evening must-do's:

1. Clean up kitchen  
2. Make lunches
3. 15 min house clean up
4. To-do list for the next day
5. Blog about the challenge

I will start tomorrow morning bright and early at 5:15am.  If you would like to join me, please let me know.  We can support each other.  Any tips will be appreciated.  Tomorrow I will let you know how it went with day one.

Side note.  Please remember that what you read or see here is just a glimpse of my life.  I have my own struggles just like everyone else.  If you could please say a little prayer for my family and I as we strive to grow in grace and holiness.  Thank you.  God bless.

Buenas noches!

Making Baby Food

I made baby food!  It was fun and not as bad as I thought.  I made baby food for my oldest daughter but  I would just puree the vegetable I made for the day or I gave her prepared organic baby food but now with two, not everything goes as plan so I decided to make baby food in larger quantities.  My guide was the book, Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron.  It really is a great book because she break it down for you from what you will need to how long to freeze the baby food.  The best part of making your own baby food is the nutrients.  There are no preservatives nor is it water down or processed.  Plus you know it is clean and organic.

Today I prepared (in one hour) carrots, sweet potatoes and avocado.  It really is easy to prepare.  You steam your vegetables, puree and freeze.  Make sure it is organic.  The money you will save on making your own baby food outweigh the cost of going organic.  So here we go.

I washed, peeled, and steamed the carrots for about 15 min.

Next I put the carrots through the food processor.  You can also use a blender.  If the puree is too thick you can use some of the water in which you steamed the vegetable.  This picture is of the sweet potatoes.  I forgot to take a picture of the carrots.  

Once you are done, you place the puree in ice cube trays or a baby food tray.  I found my trays online, mumiandbudi.com.  I like these trays because it has a lid which means you can leave the baby food in the tray.  If you use an ice cube tray, you must remove the baby food the following day and place them in freezer ziploc bags.

You do not have to steam the avocado.  You just puree a ripe avocado and freeze it.  And in just one hour I made baby food for over a month.  

I thought I would share my baby food experience for those who might think making baby food is hard.  Not hard at all.  Next, I will be making cereal.    

I am back!

I am back!!!  I had a precious baby girl.  She is perfect.  Adjusting from one to two is not as bad as I thought it would be.  Our precious little one is a great baby.  She really is.  She lets her mama sleep which I think makes everything much easier.  It is amazing what you can achieve with sleep.  On the other hand I am busy with our family business.  You wear many hats in a family business.  Yes, I am a stay at home mama which is busy enough but I also work at our family business as an administrator, marketing, book keeping and the list goes on.  But I am thankful to be busy.  Praise God our family is doing well and so is our business.  

I wanted to start blogging again.  I am always thinking of ideas to write about but do not take the time to write.  Plus, a few of my friends mentioned to me to not give up the blog.  It is like free therapy.  So here we go again.  I hope you follow along.