Monday Musings--25 April 2011

Right now...it is 10:30 a.m., and I am sitting at the dining room table watching another storm come in and suffering an awful head cold which I picked up from Bret.  He is about over it now, so hopefully I will have the same speedy recovery and feel much better tomorrow.  Una has it, too...

This weekend...had its ups and downs.  On Good Friday we colored eggs, which was fun.  The kids did a wonderful job, and I am already looking forward to seeing what lovely things they do to the eggs next year.
Saturday I baked a cheesecake, cut Sebastian's hair, did laundry, ironed a mountain of clothes, bathed Gemma and Dominic, trimmed everyone's finger and toenails and prepared the Easter baskets.  Gemma got a little bit of candy and a felted egg with a little bunny inside; the boys got wooden slide-top boxes to paint up for themselves, some watercolor paper and pencils and watercolor paint sets.  Gabe also got a sketchbook, as he had been begging for one.  Una, since she already has watercolors, got a wooden artist's model, a very fine drawing pen, bag of millefiori beads and a tiny glass vial of fairy dust.  And they all got too much candy as well (it is always too much!)

Easter Mass was very lovely, and we stayed for the obligatory Easter Egg Hunt afterward, more for the opportunity to chat with friends than for the candy.  The weather obliged by not raining for the time of the hunt, although it had rained that morning and we had an enormous storm on the way home.  The rain came down in sheets.  This is the stormiest spring I have ever experienced.  At home we change clothes and I began working on dinner, while Bret made homemade cookies and cream ice cream.  Dinner was a large standing rib roast (oh, the benefits of raising beef--we can be financially strapped and still eat like royalty!), Yorkshire puddings, Brussels sprouts and green beans, with a choice of cheesecake or ice cream for dessert--for everyone but Dominic, who ate candy all day and polished off his chocolate bunny after dinner in one sitting.  We watched All Creatures Great and Small and went to bed.

Some plans for this week:  trying to get things ready for Gabriel's first Holy Communion next Sunday!  We are taking it day by day, as the weather reports change two or three times a day right now.  We want to have a party, but we also want nice weather for it, as there will be more than 40 people over!  So I am fixing a rain date for the party, just in case...I will clean the house and cook up the pulled pork in any case, as the pork freezes well.  Otherwise, we have off from school this week and I am sure the kids will want to watch a few videos, play a bit on the computer and spend some time using their art supplies.

If I find some time for myself, I would like to...paint a few things for the Etsy shop and work on Gemma's cardigan.

Special prayer intentions for this week:  Mainly I am praying for Gabriel to have a heart well-prepared to receive the sacrament.  I am praying for good weather Sunday, for none of the kids to get this cold (however idealistic that thought is), and for peace of mind.

Something that makes me smile:  This gang.  They make me very, very happy.

If you feel the urge to do your own Monday Musings, grab the header image and use it in good health.  Then leave me a comment so that I can find your post.  Have a blessed Easter week!