Another snowfall. Big, fat white flakes drifting to the ground. This is the most snow we have had in years, and I am trying to appreciate it. It is a good time for baking bread, drinking cocoa, listening to books on tape and knitting.
I'm not much for Mardi Gras now as an adult. I look at it as a last day in which to draw a deep breath in preparation for Lent. In Munich it was Fasching Dienstag, and I loved it as a teen. Germans are normally a very reserved lot, so during Fasching, when anything goes, they really cut loose and let it all hang out--for better or worse!
Since we tend to do pretty much the same things for Lent each year, I'm going to offer some things from last year's posts here.
First of all, we will all be looking at this Lenten Worksheet today during our Religion studies. It really does help to put down on paper what we intend to do.
Very popular last year (many hits on my blog) were these Stations of the Cross for kids to color. We did them for a few years, but now the kids prefer the Stations of the Cross cards which I laminated a couple of years ago. We put them up throughout the house and on Fridays we process through the house using this book and singing the Stabat Mater.
This evening I will review this list of practices--corporal and spiritual--for the season of Lent. I shall do this while devouring the last of the M&Ms, cookies, ice cream and whatever else looks good. It will be like Mardi Gras for my mouth...it is only fitting that Lent should begin with a massive stomach ache, right?
I am also looking at the Netflix queue and bumping up all the religious-themed dvds and those which are related to school subjects. We will be saving those "purely entertainment" movies for Sundays.
Last but not least, and something I ought to have done a couple of weeks ago, is a Lenten menu plan. Simpler foods, several meatless ones each week (difficult--most of my kids are real carnivores!), with something a little more festive for feast days and Sundays. So I need to go to some recipe sites and to my cookbooks and come up with a plan.
Hope your Lent is meaningful to you, and that it bears beautiful fruit for Easter!
For Gemma's rash you might want to try Eucerin lotion. It is very creamy and does not have perfumes or other additives which can provoke irritation. She may be someone with very dry skin made worse by the dry heat in winter. Eucerin is available in grcery and drug stores but is expensive. Also, if you can stand it! - let her sit on cloth with plastic underneath and no diaper to "air dry" for a day. This can help also. My second and third daughters both had very sensitive skin and these suggestions helped them. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMom of 6
Thank you for the ideas. Holy Heroes is a nice option, too. They e-mail us throughout Lent with ideas for the children. I am very ready this year for Lent to begin. I feel my life needs a good purging and a refocus on Christ. Peace
ReplyDeleteI am liking your comment symmetry here-first a mom of 6--then 7--now ME with 8 LOL! I was going to suggest Gemma going bare-buns for awhile too-to toughen her skin and get it good and dry and healthy-then you can slowly try new things to find what is the irritant--If it is Excema going on-a thin coating of the steroid cream from the Dr can go MILES toward clearing it up-then the Eucerine can keep flare-ups at bay!
ReplyDeleteStupid question time-why entertainment on Sunday? I thought when you first said except for Sunday you meant and NO videos at all on Sundays. Is my Baptist showing again?
I just printed our your lenten list. I kept a copy from last year in my seasonal binder.
ReplyDeleteMade me think of you.
With rashes, moisture IS the problem, right? My worst rashes were always solved with powder, drying, medicated powder like Caldescene or medicated baby Gold bond. I hosed their hineys with a spray of water and patted dry when they were too sore to wipe. Good luck.
Yep, Dandelionmom, your Baptist IS showing! As a Catholic, I save my penances and fastings for the weekdays, but on the Lord's day I kick back and try to relax and have a little (harmless) fun. In fact, Lent runs more than 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday because the Sundays don't count as days of fast and penance. So we will have dessert and videos and computer games on Sundays only.
ReplyDeleteAnd I guess I may have to crank up the heat in here and let Gemma go half naked to get that cleared up. I just don't want to run to the Dr. where there is worse to be caught there. I wonder if anyone knows if a 1% OTC hydrocortisone cream would work...
Allison, I don't know how much of her rash is diaper rash and how much is eczema, which is why this is such a pain. She has a rash in her diaper area, and then spots on her neck and thighs which feel dry and scaly. She scratches like crazy, so it seems to be more itchy than painful...
ReplyDeleteI actually think it bugs me more than it does her...
My 2 littlest had eczema on their faces and wrists and behind their knees. For them, and often with others I am told, it IS a precursor to allergies and asthma.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is on a lotion called something like triaminiclone. Good luck!
My 2 with excema weren't touched by OTC stuff-but the Dr stuff was magically quick--which is why now I regret trying so many things before going in. Your Dr might call something in for you too-mine will if he knows I know what I am talking about when I ask.. LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info! We try to maintain a worshipful spirit all of Sunday and be mindful of HIM the rest of the week. Weird how very close ideals work themselves so differently.
wishing you a blessed lent, nadja. hope you can find the cause of that nasty rash. poor little gemma.
ReplyDeletemy oldest was allergic to metals. from snaps to overalls. it made dressing the baby really hard.
i can't wait to check out some of your links.
althoug i am trying to approach lent slow and easy.
that winds the race, right?
:)