Move Aside Von Trapp Family!

Feast of Saint Ebbe the Younger and Companions

I have been wanting to post this, and since I should be straightening up my studio, I thought now is as good of a time as any!

I feel as if I have found a buried treasure - right in my backyard! There is a local Catholic homeschooling family that is extremely talented. I have known them for quite sometime, and have seen their talent grow & develop. Apparently I have been living in some cave not to have realised how incredibly talented they are, even producing CDs! Von Trapp family move aside - there is a new family in town - introducing.......

Chamber Music

I wish I knew how to post a music clip so that you could hear their wonderful talent. If you go to their website, they have a track of music on just about every page.

They are not only talented, a God given gift their mother says in an interview with Theresa Thomas:Everyday Catholic, but they are the epitome of a holy, Catholic, homeschooling family - well-behaved, well-educated, and more importantly, living their faith to the fullest! One only needs to go to their website, and click on their About Chamber Music page to see what I mean. The oldest will soon be attending university, so this may mean the end of their apostolate (and I do consider it an apostolate because they bring so much joy to so many). I hope God provides a way that we can continue to benefit from their talent.

EZ-Bake Oven For Your Computer!

Feast of Saint Francis of Paola

Queen Lucy got an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas, as yet, unused (she just got the gift due to a conflict in schedules between us & the gift giver). A friend had warned me it was recalled. I was looking online to see if I could find the recall info when I came across an interesting item - ThinkGeek's PC EZ-Bake Oven. From their website:

Tiny Cakes = Big Fun!
One of our primary missions here at ThinkGeek is discovering ways to live happy and productive lives while expending a minimum of energy. Who wants to waste time and effort getting up to grab a snack from the fridge or walking to the bathroom? Thankfully, there are already gadgets that take care of those tedious chores for you.
Our newest contribution to the "No effort, No problem" craze is also a throwback to one of the toys we loved as kids. Who can forget the joy of mixing up a tiny cake mix and cooking it with the warm glow of a light bulb? We didn't seem to care that it was only about 3 bites worth - it was damn tasty, and homemade with our own grubby little hands.
Now the computer savvy among us can relive the fun of having your very own personal mini-oven with the PC Ez-Bake oven! It fits in a 5 1/4" drive bay and plugs right into your power supply with the included Molex connector. Also included is "PC Ez-Cook", the open-source oven controller software with hundreds of easy and creative recipes for your PC Ez-Bake oven, and even a fuzzy-logic cooking control system to precisely measure the doneness of your cake, cookie, or cheese souffle. The PC Ez-Bake oven can even be used to cook your Pop Tarts, Bagel Bites, or any tiny or flat food. YUM!

If that is not enough to convince you to park one of these puppies into your drive bay, they also offer a Caffeinated Meatloaf (comes dehydrated) Mix, and "Special office friendly recipes including "Duck Sauce Packet Tart", "Vending Machine Casserole", and "Non-Dairy Creamer Creme Brulee" " Emeril Lagasse, watch out!

Motu Proprio - Can it be true????

Feast of Saint Catherine of Palma

From Roman Catholic Blog

Rorate Caeli reports that in an interview for the cover story (pages 56-60) of Le Figaro Magazine (weekly magazine of the French national daily Le Figaro), published today (not yet available on the newspaper's website), Cardinal Bertone has confirmed that the impending motu proprio allowing for the wider use of the Missal published in 1962 by Pope John XXIII, with its own calendar will be published.

Here's the story: Breaking news: Bertone confirms motu proprio

Here's the quote:

Is a Decree widening the possibility of celebrating the Latin Mass according to the rite from before Vatican II (the so-called Mass of Saint Pius V) still expected?

[Secretary of State] Cardinal Bertone: The merit of the conciliar liturgical reform is intact. But both [for reasons of] not losing the great liturgical heritage left by Saint Pius V and for granting the wish of those faithful who desire to attend Masses according to this rite, within the framework of the Missal published in 1962 by Pope John XXIII, with its own calendar, there is no valid reason not to grant to every priest in the world* the right to celebrate according to this form. The authorization of the Supreme Pontiff would evidently preserve the validity of the rite of Paul VI. The publication of the motu proprio which specifies this authorisation will take place, but it will be the pope himself who will explain his motivations and the framework of his decision. The Sovereign Pontiff will personally explain his vision for the use of the ancient Missal to the Christian people, and particularly to the Bishops.

The USCCB has also confirmed that the motu proprio is expected soon: Tridentine Mass: Pope looks for bridge to tradition

For those who think the "traddies" are taking over the world (we wish!), check out Amy Welborn's Motu Proprio Tip Sheet.

Palm Sunday

Feast of Blessed Ludovico Pavoni

Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. I think this is one of my children's favorite Masses because they get a palm. (And maybe one the mothers like the least - only because we are constantly trying to get our dear children to leave the palms alone during Mass, and not wave them in the air at Father.) It puzzled me why this long skinny leaf would entrance them so. Then it occurred to me, children have an innate sense of what is good. Palms are sacramentals. I think they realised this before they were taught this. Perhaps this year we will actually weave them.

Palm Weaving

Feast of Saint Acacius

Since Palm Sunday is tomorrow, I thought I would post some links to some wonderful sites about Palm Weaving.
http://www2.jsonline.com/lifestyle/people/apr00/palm041600.asp
http://www.geocities.com/salvarolac/craft01.html
http://www.italiansrus.com/palms/palmpatterns.htm
(Thank you Donna for the links.)

Here is some information on Palm Branches being used as a sacramental.

You, too, can become a Minister/Reverend/Pastor!

Feast of Saint Leonard Murialdo

As I was perusing eBay for a traditional baptismal certificate, I came across an auction that leaves me almost speechless! (A hard thing to do, my mother would say.)

I will mention here some highlights:
“We believe women have the same right to be ordained as men.” WOO HOO!
“Obtain an honorary Doctorate and be entitled to use the title Doctor or Dr. before your name and the honorific of Ph.D after your name!” - Will this get me more respect from my children?
“Earn the respect automatically accorded to members of the clergy.” – Does this include the clergy discount?
“Lead, (even create your own!), religious ceremonies and rites as a legally ordained member of the clergy.” – My first ceremony will include the use of chocolate!

This is all made possible by Archbishop, R. Lueders Ph.D. D.D. of Saint Cecilia Ministries. They also offer a “Master of Wicca Studies Degree”. Saint Cecilia must be “rolling in her grave”.

American Girl Place - Elitist?

Feast of Saint Saturus


(This story has become great fodder for the blogs and elsewhere - like the Consumerist. Read original post here.)

Sigh.... just another sign of our materialistic society.

I am a mother of a girl who is not interested in AG, or any doll for that matter (she is a huge animal lover). She does have a couple of “fake” dolls that she will occasionally play with when she is with her cousin (who is an AG fan, but not anymore!)

If only AG dolls are serviced, then they need to clearly state that in their advertising – “-bring your favorite AMERICAN GIRL doll.” They also need to train their little worker bees on proper etiquette. I hold AG responsible for this – they hired the “stylist”. Perhaps they didn’t know how rude she could be, no matter, AG needs to take responsibility.

That is another problem with our society – no one wants to take responsibility anymore. Everyone wants to pass the buck.

Recently, my son wanted a Nintendo DS. I cannot afford it, but I would not have bought him one anyway. There is a valuable lesson to be learned in a child paying for something him/herself. My son saved up his money over birthdays & Christmases (he would have had it sooner, but he also has to help pay for the care for his cat, and McDonalds or pizza if he wants it.) He didn’t want the PSP – he saw it was quite a bit more expensive, and he was pleased with the DS. He finally got it. And you know what? He is taking excellent care of it! By doing this, he impressed the adults around him, who are used to seeing teens expect things to be given to them.

My daughter wanted a new bike (doggone it but she outgrew her old one). She sold her old bike, and also saved her money. She looked around, carefully avoiding the Bratz bikes, nor was she interested in the fanciest. Like her brother, she wanted to get the most for her money, while still paying the least. She just bought her bike, and boy is she proud! Prior to this, she didn’t have a very good appreciation of the value of money. Now she sure does!

I make a lot of sacrifices in order to stay home and homeschool my children – sacrifices I gladly make. My children do not have a lot of toys, but the ones they do have, they appreciate & play with frequently. Nothing collects dust around here. Except for my cleaning supplies from lack of use, but that is a whole other post for another day.