Dave (the other one)

So, today started off as one of those days.  Not surprising I guess since I wore the kids out yesterday and they're not morning people under the best of circumstances.  I don't understand that because I am a morning person.  Oh well, I  just let them be sleepy while smiling and reminding myself, "you choose your response".  

Since it's Tuesday, it was adoration day and I got us all ready and out the door to go to church.  Mia and Grace were still squabbling in the back seat.  When we got to church, I found out that Sophie had smuggled Harriet along and wanted to bring her in with us.  We don't let the kids snack or have any kinds of toys or books in church other than Mass books so I said "no--Harriet will have to stay in the car."  Well, Sophie went into melt-down mode.  I let Mia and Grace go into the chapel and told Sophie she'd have to get totally quiet before we went in.  About five seconds later, Mia came out complaining that Grace had told her the rosary she'd picked was ugly--a major crime in sensitive Mia's book.  Sophie still wasn't quiet.  Then Mia and Grace pinched each other and I decided it was time to call it quits for the day and go home.  At this news, Sophie went boneless and really started crying because she wanted to go to adoration.  Mia and Grace stomped grouchily to the car.  There were other homeschooling families and older parishioners outside of the chapel who witnessed all of this.  I am blessed in that I rarely feel embarrassed by my kids' behavior.  I live by a phrase I once read on a sugar packet-- of all things--"never explain--your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe it anyway". 

Back at home, I put them all in bed (my solution to kid tantrums) and went downstairs for a couple of quiet, kid-free hours.  I had a lot of work to do so I got started on that and did something I almost never do these days--listened to The Dave Matthews Band on volume-- loud.  I don't put them on when the kids are around partly because some of the songs aren't appropriate for them (although Madeleine has been a fan for a long time and I always think of her when I see Boyd Tinsley with his "crazy violin") and partly because they are little sponges when it comes to music and there are better things for them to be singing.

For me, Dave is not just about the music.  I love the music.  It's unique and the lyrics are both poetic and philosophical.  A lot of the reason I love Dave though is the history we have with him.  Chris and I listened to the DMB way back when no one knew who they were.  We were supposed to see them at Benchwarmers, a small bar in Lawrence, KS, in 1994 but a band member's illness caused them to cancel.  That would've been a great show.  I was at UVA when they were playing every Tuesday at Trax.  I heard of them but never saw them because I wasn't into the bar scene--I kick myself for that now.

When we go to their concerts these days, it's like visiting old friends.  I like to watch Stefan Lessard--maybe because he looks a little like Gregory House--He's just so...cool.  Some of the songs I always want to hear:  "Crush", "Old Dirt Hill", "Grey Street", "Grace is Gone", "Where are you Going?", "One Sweet World" & "Ants Marching". 

Chris and I don't agree with Dave's politics but he doesn't make that an issue like some bands we've liked (TDC).  He restricts his comments to expressing gratitude to the fans and the weather.  In a show last August in Houston, Dave was sweating buckets on stage.  He said to the crowd, "You know, most places, when the sun goes down, it gets a little cooler out, it's nice.  Not in Texas.  In Texas, the sun goes down and it just keeps on getting hotter!  But you got beautiful people down here, man you are some beautiful looking people" (he was looking right at me when he said that :).

The most I heard Dave talk was at a benefit concert for the Dali Lama in Seattle last year.  He was on an interview panel that went on before the show.  He was like a little boy--shy and awkward.  He made a couple of jokes about his domestic life and later, during the concert, we got to see him rocking his twins, Stella and Grace (great taste in names), while listening to Tim Reynolds.

Chris and I have tickets to the DMB's show May 1st and are crossing our fingers that the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion will be operational by then.  (It's been closed since the hurricane).  We'll go, get a "little taste of the good life" and "stay, stay, stay for awhile" (And I'll probably buy yet another concert shirt!)

**Final note:  When the kids got up from their naps, they were like new little girls and Mia and Grace were best friends again.  As Shakespeare said, sleep is nature's sweet nurse!

Houston Rodeo Part 1

A barrel of monkeys

This morning, Mia, Grace, Sophie, Ella and I went to the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show.  We went as part of a homeschool field trip to tour the Agventure building but we arrived early to see the other attractions.  I was fortunate to have my in-laws, Jack and Barbara, along for company and to help with the kids.  We had so much fun!  We started the day at "Fun on the Farm" where the kids learned about farming from the beginning, planting, to the end, products in the grocery store.  After that, we watched the crazy animal races.  There were goats, ducks, pigs, sheep and maybe more that I missed racing for their respective teams.  Mia got to be our team section leader once and our animal won so she won a prize.  It is a pooping cow keychain which we will be giving away.  I told Mia I'd buy her a toy more appropriate for a princess.  The girls' favorite part of the day was the petting zoo.  Poor Sophie had fallen asleep by then but Mia and Grace braved the aggressive goats and petted and fed quite a few animals.  We ended our day with a ride down Goliath Slide.  Mia and Grace each rode twice and won once.  Everyone slept on the way home except the driver and my sidekick Barbara.  When we got home and told Daddy of our escapades, he suggested we buy tickets through Shell and go back at night to watch the Rodeo, see the concert and have more fun.  So we'll be back.  Stay tuned.

Who knew?  I think I may appreciate my next omelet a bit more!

Gathering

Milking the cow.  From what I've heard, it's not quite this easy.

Where's a sorting hat when you need one?

Sweet Mia Bia

Watching the crazy animal races

Ella got to ride a pony

Queen bee

We saw a longhorn

Not nearly as cute as this longhorn

The petting zoo was a hit

I don't usually buy them matching things but I couldn't resist this shirt I saw at the rodeo.  

It says, "I found my prince.  His name is Daddy." 

The Transfiguration

The Transfiguration

This Sunday's gospel was the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-13).  I have always loved that story for two reasons.  First, I like to imagine what it would have been like to be Peter, James or John.  They had seen Jesus as a teacher and a healer but always also as a human being.  On the mountaintop, they saw Him as God.  What would that have been like?  

In the Old Testament, Moses went to the mountain to be with God and when he came down, his face was so radiant that he had to hide it from the people.  In Greek mythology, there was a god (I can't remember which) who was in a relationship with a woman who asked him many times to let her see him in his godly form.  When he finally gave in to her, she was incinerated on the spot (I'll never forget my 11th grade English teacher, Sister Elizabeth, talking about this. She looked over her notes at us and said, "I guess you could say she made an ash of herself").  

The apostles' hearts must have been burning in their chests when they saw Jesus.  It must have been a taste of what heaven will be like.  I've had some experiences in my life that are a bit like that.  I call them "mountaintop" experiences.  They are times when, for an instant, my soul is at rest in the Lord in the way I imagine it will be in heaven.  Most of the time though, my walk with God is about faith without feelings.  I know intellectually what I need to do to obey and serve Him and I struggle to do it.  I try to appreciate the gift I am given every time I go to Mass and receive Jesus--human and divine--in the eucharist.  It is not always an emotional experience but every time I take communion, I am as close to Jesus as I will ever be this side of the grave.

The second reason I love the story of the transfiguration is that Peter responds in his typically human way.  He wants to build tents and stay awhile with Jesus, Moses and Elijah.  I can totally relate to that.  I want to be happy and satisfied as much as the next person.  The suffering of the cross turns me off as much as it did the apostles when Jesus had to tell Peter, "get behind me Satan".  We're in the season to embrace that suffering though.  This is our opportunity to walk the way of Calvary with our Lord.  If we are brave enough, we can even ask for more hardship and unite it to Jesus' cross.  I long to love Him enough to do that.

Run Madeleine

The female half of the SMM track team + a small tag-along

When Madeleine decided two weeks into softball season to toss her glove and run track instead, Chris and I were happy for a couple of reasons.  First, softball was a four day after school, two games a week sport that dominated our spring schedule.   Track on the other hand practices during PE class and competes on five Saturdays throughout the spring.  And, being runners ourselves, Chris and I enjoy seeing her develop her talent in this area.

Yesterday was her first track meet.  Chris and I decided not to try to take all of the kids and I was elected to drive the 45 minutes to the meet.  I decided to take Grace along with me because she had a bit of a rough week last week and I thought she could use some one-on-one time.  She also has been asking me to take her Build-a-Bear friend Ringo in to get her ear fixed and choose a new sound button, so I thought we could make a stop at the mall on the way home.

We arrived at the meet at 10:30 and Madeleine's first event was supposed to be at 11:15.  It ended up starting at 1:15 and she didn't finish her last event until after 5:30.  One long day.  It was wonderful though.  When she ran her first event, the 4 x 100 meter relay, I thought I was going to cry.  She did so well, and I was incredibly proud of her.  She also ran the 800 and the 400.  She hung back at the start of both races and proceeded to move up in the pack finishing in the top three and four (there were about 12 girls in each race).  It was the first time she'd run either race and I am excited to watch how she improves as she learns race strategy and continues to train.

Grace and I had a great time together.  I'd brought her Bob books and we worked on her reading.  I read to her from another book and then she played in the field next to the track long enough for me to get some work done on my class.  One of her games was to pretend she was racing.  She sprinted up and down the field about 30 times.  In all, she may have run as much as her big sister!

"Can we go home now?"  "Just another six hours, G"

On the field with Coach Walsh

Mr. Walsh is jack-of-all-trades when it comes to coaching. 

I think he coaches every sport at the school. 

He was Madeleine's softball coach last year.

Starting the third leg of the 4 x 100 relay.  

Madeleine put them in a good position to finish first in their heat.

Two Doyle dolls

The beginning of the 800.  Madeleine is in the rear.

Starting to move up at the end of the first 400

Finishing strong.  I have a picture of her with this same face of determination 

at the Liberty kids run when she was about six.

Me and my Gracie

I took this video after Grace had done this about 25 times.  She starts off saying "honk" which is hard to hear.  I thought this was cute but it may be one of those had-to-have-been-there or had- to-be-her-mom things!  

TEAMS again

The guests are gone.  The kids are gone.  We have the house to ourselves!

We hosted our TEAMS meeting last night.  We missed the last meeting because we had out of town guests so it was great to catch up with everyone.  We are reading a book called Heaven in our Hands by Benedict J. Groeschel C.F.R.  It's about the beatitudes so in the "business" part of the meeting, we are discussing how we live the beatitudes in our every day lives.  The book is good.  The only challenging part is the fact that it does not have discussion questions so the couple in charge of leading the discussion has to write those--that's us next month.

I made a seafood lasagna as our main dish.  I used a new recipe so it was an experiment.  It will now be a staple in our house though.  It was delicious.  Here it is for you:

Seafood-Spinach Lasagna

(a bit time intensive but well worth it)

9 uncooked lasagna noodles (about 1/2 box)

1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

10 oz bay scallops (about 1 cup) cut into bite size pieces

1 can (6 oz) cooked crabmeat (about 1 cup)

6 oz cooked deveined peeled medium shrimp, tail and shells removed  (about 1 cup)

1 large onion chopped (1 cup)

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I used garlic salt)

1 container (8oz)cream cheese with chives and onion

1 container (10 oz) refrigerated Alfredo pasta sauce

1/3 cup dry white wine or chicken broth

1 container (16 oz) ricotta cheese

3 cups shredded Italian cheese blend (12 oz)  (I used all mozarella)

1 box (9 oz) Green Giant frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves  

1 egg slightly beaten

Heat oven to 350 F.  Spray 13 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Cook and drain noodles as directed on package using minimum cook time.

Meanwhile, in 10 inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Add scallops; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly until firm and opaque.  With slotted spoon, remove to medium boil.  Add crabmeat and shrimp, cover and refrigerate.  In same skillet, cook onion and garlic 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened.  Reduce heat to low; stir in cream cheese until softened.  Beat in Alfredo sauce and wine with wire whisk.  Remove from heat.

In medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, 2 cups of the cheese blend, the spinach, basil and egg.  Set aside.

Spead 1/2 cup of the cream cheese sauce in baking dish.  Top with 3 noodles.  Spread half the ricotta mixture (about 1 1/2 cups) and 1/3 of the seafood mixture (about 1 cup) over the noodles; spread with 2/3 cup of the cream cheese sauce.  Top with 3 noodles, remaining ricotta mixture, half the remaining seafood mixture and 2/3 cup of the cream cheese sauce.  Top with remaining noodles, seafood and cream cheese sauce.

Cover with foil.  Bake 40 minutes; uncover and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese blend.  Bake uncovered about 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.  let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

(I tripled the recipe for the group-- there were 10 of us and there was a bit left over.  It filled one large casserole dish but I was very generous in filling each layer.)

Enchanted

Without a doubt, the 2008 movie of the year in Casa Doyle was Enchanted.  I took the girls and their beloved cousin Rachel to see the film on the big screen in November of 2007 and we all loved it.  I thought the transition between animation and real life was creative and the story was a typical fairy tale.  I was a bit surprised at the choice of actors because they seemed (and I hate to admit this) a bit old for the target audience.  Patrick Dempsey is a great choice for my generation but for Mia and Grace...anyway, Mia got the movie in her Easter basket and we have watched it many times since with the exception of Sophie who is scared of the giant at the beginning and the dragon at the end.  She knows the story as well as the other girls though.  

Not too long ago, Mia, Grace and Sophie started asking me for apples.  I was happy to give them fruit for a snack but wanted to cut the apples so they could share.  They insisted on having their own though and when the apples came back to me half-eaten, I decided to cut around the parts they'd bitten so we could eat the rest (mostly Chris would eat the rest--I affectionately call him our goat).  It wasn't long before I discovered why they needed their own apples.  They were playing Enchanted and they each wanted to take a turn as Giselle by biting into a perfect apple and then wilting to the floor.  The reason I found out about their game is that they started playing it at the top of the stairs and I had half-eaten apples rolling down the steps-- just like in the movie.  A noisy game.  I think it's cute and very entertaining so I let them play.  I have just started buying smaller apples!

A dainty bite and...

Giselle is down

A quick recovery so she can watch her apple roll down the steps

With Grace, the apple is more thrown than dropped

Poor princess...where's Patrick Dempsey when you need him?

"Cinder" Ella

She found the sponges

It must be the name.  One of Ella's favorite things to do is clean.  The first time I noticed this interest of hers was one afternoon when I was trying to scrub something off our Saltillo tile (an exercise in futility but that's a topic for another day).  I went to throw away whatever it was and came back to Ella continuing where I left off with the sponge.  She does the same thing if one of the kids leaves a paper towel after cleaning up spilled milk or juice.  Ella will go for it and use it to scrub the floor or the bench.  She's also started pushing a small basket around, gathering up whatever's on the floor.  The last time she did it, she collected pajama bottoms that Sophie had left in the laundry room along with all the little toys she had found.  

I am encouraging her in her efforts and am envisioning a good little mama's helper in a couple of years.

Look Mom!

 Gotta' clean the floor