Animale Carnivale

What a great weekend!

The Symphony Orchestra had a free family concert featuring The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens on Saturday! They did this in conjunction with the library, who hosted a series of workshops featuring mask maker and dancer Jamie Peck. DH had to cancel the 30-Hour Famine due to snow, so he was able to stay home with Nicholas and Daniel, and Michael and Katie Grace were hard at work making masks.


And, voila, Zazu and Simba!


The concert was wonderful. It also featured Mendelsohn's A Midsummer's Night Dream (Katie Grace enjoyed listening for the donkey brays!) and a Chopin concerto. I was a little disturbed by the fact that Daniel was really digging the Chopin, LOL!

The masks and dancing was pretty incredible, even if the pictures weren't (no flashes in the concert hall!)




Finally, baby spam!


Some Carnival of the Animals Resources We've Been Enjoying
Ogden Nash's Poems
Coloring Pages
DVD featuring Radar from MASH
Bernstein's Young Person's Concert
Carnival of the Animals: Classical Music for Kids(Book with CD)
Carnival of the Animals: Poems Inspired by Saint-Saens's Music (Book with CD)

This Week's Feasts and Festivals

Liturgical Focus: Lent/Passion of Our Lord

This Week’s Feasts and Festivals:

Friday, February 29: Leap Year Day

Saturday, March 1: St. David’s Day

Sunday, March 2: Mothering Sunday

Dr. Seuss’s Birthday

Special Events:

ALL WEEK: Michael has orchestra

Monday: Chip on retreat all day

Wednesday: Michael’s first orchestra concert

Friday: First day of spring co-op!

Sunday: Trip to the Sugar Shack at the Nature Preserve

Hunkering down for a storm

Today was a bit of a bust. I host La Leche League meetings in my home and, for the first time in months, no one came. I was actually OK with this. The children, who were anticipating a morning off, were not. So I let them watch Felicity: An American Girl. It counts as school. It's history. Right?

For lunch we had church lady macaroni and cheese. Chip had two funerals this week. The church ladies are very sweet about sending extra food along home with him, and they make a mean mac and cheese.

We're almost finished with The Phantom Tollbooth. They have been drawing some great pictures and we made a dodechahedron the other day.

After we read, we had an early quiet time. Everyone was sleepy from the eclipse last night. The little ones tried to stay up to see it, and the clouds just wouldn't move. Finally around ten (after they had gone to bed!) DH and I were able to get a glimpse.

Dh came home a little early today and we made a mad dash to the grocery store. We're supposed to be getting 3-5 inches of snow (at least that's what the prediction was this morning) and this weekend is the 30-Hour Famine at church, so I'm not going to be getting much help. Pray for me! It's been a while since I have had any sort of a break.

Tomorrow it's school as usual, even though we generally try to keep our Fridays clear. But we have to pay the piper for taking today off.

FORGOT TO SAY! If you're on MDC and you homeschool, be sure to vote in my denim jumper poll.

This is a post I had on another blog. I didn't want to lose it, so I'm transferring it here.

I'm going to get all theater geeky on you for a moment.

While we were in NYC, I was curious about just what shows I had seen and in what theater. So, I've been working on this little list ever since. So, without further ado...

Shows I saw on Broadway...
1989: Meet Me in St. Louis* (Gershwin Theater)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meet_Me_in_St._Louis_%28musical%29

http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4251

1989: Les Miserables* (Broadway Theater)

http://www.lesmis.com/index2.htm

http://www.newyorkcitytheatre.com/theaters/broadwaytheater/history.html

1990: Les Miserables* (Imperial Theater)

http://www.lesmis.com/index2.htm

http://www.newyorkcitytheatre.com/theaters/imperialtheater/history.html

1991: Aspects of Love* (Broadhurst Theater)—with Sarah Brightman

http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4559

http://www.playbill.com/reference/theatre_info/2156.html

1991: Black and Blue (Minskoff Theater)

http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4528

http://www.newyorkcitytheatre.com/theaters/minskofftheater/history.html

1991: Once on This Island* (Booth Theater) with La Chanze

http://www.newyorkcitytheatre.com/theaters/booththeater/history.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_On_This_Island

1991: Return to the Forbidden Planet (Variety Arts Theater)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_to_the_Forbidden_Planet

http://www.heartofoffbroadway.org/theater.cfm?theaterid=188

1991: The Secret Garden* (St. James Theater) with Daisy Eagan, Rebecca Luker, Mandy Patinkin

http://www.newyorkcitytheatre.com/theaters/imperialtheater/history.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Garden_%28musical%29

1992: Cats* (Winter Garden Theater)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats_%28musical%29#Production_History

http://www.newyorkcitytheatre.com/theaters/wintergardentheater/history.html

1992: City of Angels* (Virginia Theater, now the August Wilson Theater)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Angels_%28musical%29

http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4261

http://www.newyorkcitytheatre.com/theaters/augustwilsontheater/history.html

1992: Grand Hotel* (Martin Beck Theater, now the Al Hirschfeld Theater)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Hotel_%28musical%29

http://www.jimsdeli.com/landmarks/42-51_w/martin-beck-theater.html

1992: Miss Saigon* (Broadway Theater) with Lea Salonga and Jonathan Price)

1997: 1776 Revival (Gershwin Theater)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1776_%28musical%29#Revival

http://www.newyorkcitytheatre.com/theaters/gershwintheater/history.html

2002: Thoroughly Modern Millie (Marquis Theater) with Sutton Foster

http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=13138

http://www.ibdb.com/venue.asp?ID=1259

2006: Avenue Q* (John Golden Theater)

http://www.avenueq.com/

http://www.johngoldentheater.net/

2006: 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee* (Circle in the Square Theater)

http://www.spellingbeethemusical.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25th_Annual_Putnam_County_Spelling_Bee

http://www.circle-in-the-square.com/

2006: Wicked* (George Gershwin Theater)

http://www.wickedthemusical.com/

2007: Mary Poppins* (New Amsterdam Theater)

http://disney.go.com/theatre/marypoppins/

Shows I Saw with a Touring Company

A Year with Frog and Toad

Big River*

Cabaret

Company*

Five Guys Named Moe*

Grease

Hairspray*

Hello Dolly

The King and I

Kiss Me Kate*

The Lion King*

Nunsense

Porgy and Bess

Ragtime*

Rent*

Showboat

The Sound of Music*

Sweeny Todd*

Shows I Saw with Decent Local Productions

Annie

Anything Goes

Assassins*

Baby*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_%28musical%29

http://www.mtishows.com/show_home.asp?ID=000087

Barnum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnum_%28musical%29

The Boys from Syracuse

Cinderella

Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?

Guys and Dolls*

Into the Woods*

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat*

Little Shop of Horrors

Mame

Man of La Mancha

Once Upon a Mattress*

Pacific Overtures*

You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown*

Shows I Saw With Mediocre Companies

Beauty and the Beast*

Brigadoon

Dames at Sea

Fiddler on the Roof

Godspell

The Wiz

Shows I Was In

42^nd Street (Chorus)

Bye Bye Birdie (May Peterson)

Leader of the Pack (Annie Golden/Ensemble)

The Music Man (Alma Hicks)*

Oklahoma (Chorus)

Shows I Want to See

110 in the Shade

Annie Get Your Gun*

Anyone Can Whistle*

Bells Are Ringing

Best Little Whorehouse in Texas

Big-The Musical

Blood Brothers

Bounce

Brooklyn

Cabin in the Sky

Camelot

Candide

The Capeman

Carrie

Carousel*

Chess*

Chicago*

Children of Eden

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

A Chorus Line

The Civil War

Clue

Crazy for You

Damn Yankees*

The Drowsy Chaperone*

Evening Primrose

Fame

The Fantastiks

Fiddler on the Roof

Follies

Footloose

The Full Monty

The Frogs

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum*

Goblin Market

The Golden Apple

The Goodbye Girl*

Gypsy

Half a Sixpence

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Jane Eyre*

Jekyll and Hyde

A Little Night Music*

Marie Christine

Mary Poppins

Merrily We Roll Along*

Movin’ Out

Nine

Pal Joey*

Parade

Passion*

Peter Pan

The Pirate Queen

Plain and Fancy

The Producers*

Rags

Side by Side by Sondheim

Songs for a New World

Spamalot

Steel Pier

Street Scene

Sunday in the Park with George*

Sunset Boulevard

Sweet Charity

Tarzan

Urinetown

West Side Story

The Wild Party

Will Rogers Follies

The Woman in White

Working

* means I have the soundtrack. :)

The Ten Commandments, according to Michael and Katie Grace

We started with the Ten Commandments today for catechism. I asked the kids what they thought the ten commandments were.

MICHAEL:
1. Honor your mother and father.
2. Do not joke about the Lord.
3. Rest on the Sabbath.
4. Forgive others.
5. Do not sin.
6. Rejoice for the Lord.
7. Help the poor.
8. Do to others as they would do to you.
9. Love one another.
10. Give your things.

KATIE GRACE:
1. Obey your parents and the Lord.
2. Pray.
3. Be loving.
4. Forgive.
5. Don't punch people.
6. Serve the Lord.
7. Don't pester when you can't have computer time.
8. Be in choir and sing nicely.
9. Don't make fun of people.
10. Be a good example.

Monday

Yesterday for Christian Ed we talked about the Lenten season. We made a cross from push pins and Michael looped the string. Then we talked about different sins and put them on the cross. At Easter, I'll replace the sins with some beautiful flowers.

I found the idea here.

I've been trying something new--a scheduled routine. I'm not willing to call it a schedule. But I've found it keeps me intentional about seeing that everyone's needs are met. We even got to watercolor paint!

Cold and raw the north wind doth blow
Bleak in the morning early,
All the hills are covered with snow,
And winter's now come fairly.

Meal Plan Monday

Monday: Beef fajitas, guacamole and salsa with tortilla chips
Tuesday: Beef stew and Phoenician bread (made as part of a homeschooling project)
Wednesday: Sweet pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans
Thursday: Polka dot soup, carrot and celery sticks, popovers
Friday: Cheese pizza and salad
Saturday: At church with youth group (end of 30-Hour Famine)
Sunday: At church with the youth group (Confirmation)

The week in review

Well, a half-week in review, I suppose, since these are from Thursday-ish on.

As I feared... erm, expected... going to see The Lion King brought a resurgence of Lion King play at out house. Here are my little thespians' rendition of the final chorus of "The Circle of Life"

bear = lion cub

I am having furniture issues. I get that children, and particularly boys, need to climb, but our furniture is falling apart. I have declared a temporary moratorium on standing on the furniture until I think this through. Generally, I try to put people before things. But we need furniture and we can't just replace things that are broken carelessly.

Speaking of physical boys...


And big boys who are outgrowing their swing...


It's just as well. We don't use the swing a lot anymore, but Michael was practicing cello upstairs when the baby fell asleep.

And Frugal Friday!!

Katie Grace and I went thrift-storing and I found some great deals.
There was a wooden perpetual calendar with the verse "Choose this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"-- $2
A beautiful like-new Hanna Anderson corduroy dress. It was $5 and won't fit Katie Grace for a few years, but it was too beautiful to pass up.
A chemistry molecule model kit to tuck away for a few years- $2
Some great books, including Bread, Bread, Bread and a math workbook that's unused. Also, The Keystone Alphabet, which will come in handy for fourth grade's state study.

And see that box? Well, I was inspired by this post over at LaPaz Home Learning. Chip told me how much Michael loved the rice table at the children's museum, and I was intrigued by the lentil tray. One of the thrift store had this box storing lots of little bits and pieces that were for sale. I've seen it a billion times, but when I saw it Friday, I knew it would be perfect. I asked if they would sell it to me, and they would, for $5. I filled it with rice and voila--


I think lentils might be easier to clean up though.

It was the last week of basketball.








Michael had his birthday dinner and cake on Saturday.


And today was his birthday. My baby is nine!

He loved his Eagles hoodie from Mimi and PeePaw.

The desire of his heart was an "electronic organizer." He's obviously inherited my OCD tendencies. And Grandma and Grandpa enabled him.




Grandma and Grandpa are moving into a condo and have been cleaning out their house. They brought most of Daddy's childhood home today. A lot of it was paper, and Daniel was in heaven.

Weekly Plans for the Week of February 18, 2008

Liturgical Focus: Lent/Passion of Our Lord

This Week’s Feasts and Festivals:

Monday, February 18: Martin Luther

Presidents’ Day

Friday, February 22: Washington’s Birthday

Chair of St. Peter

Special Events:

Thursday, February 21: 10 AM LLL

6 PM Mask Making at the Library

Friday to Saturday: 30 Hour Famine

Saturday, February 23: 10:30 AM Mask Making at the Library

2:00 PM Carnival of the Animals Children's Concert

Only in this household do you hit Martin Luther and the Chair of St. Peter in one week. Oy vey.

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow...

Another blustery day yesterday! No public school, so no orchestra. Michael was upset we couldn't have the day off. To be honest, we've been slacking off all week because I'm trying to get my bearings back, so I don't feel a whole lot of sympathy.

Daniel loves to crawl into the kitchen. I don't get the appeal, unless it's the all-you-can-eat baby buffet that inevitably ends up on the floor. And it has to be cold, especially since I often forget to put his pants on after a change. I think it's a subconscious plot so I can kiss and squeeze those fat little baby things, LOL! He actually cries if we close the door from the living room to the kitchen. Yesterday, he found a box of SIGG lids, straps, and other sundry cup paraphernalia.

That's one happy baby!

I took this photo last night when I was feeling confident in my caramel-making prowess.

Note the awesome vintage candy thermometer I scored at Goodwill for a buck!

But today, I must confess that my caramels didn't set. The butter all rose to the top like a crust, and underneath was a grainy, soupy mess. So for snack, we had apple slices dipped in caramels.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our Little Saint

Today is the tenth anniversary of our losing our first little baby, Mary Elizabeth. It's good to know we have a little saint in heaven, interceding for us.

A Lazy Sort of Day

We have about four inches of snow outside! I'm glad I got to the store yesterday.

I am totally off my groove. When I am done with this post, the plan is to get some organizing done. The plan was to take today off and get some organizing done, but I didn't get any done. And we ended up "doing school" more than I thought we would!

As I knew it would, The Lion King brought a resurgence of creative play. I put out the shadow puppet kit and the wooden animals to see what would happen. They started their day upstairs practicing for a scene from The Lion King (I told them I would video tape it if they practiced, so that was music. Then they came downstairs and made some shadow puppets-- art.

They started playing basketball downstairs (phys ed!). I bought some pop up laundry baskets that hang on the door, and so we were using one for a basket. I ended up cutting the bottom out of one, and voila--instant basket!

Next we did devotions (Christian Ed). We're talking this week about how God not only wants us to love Him and do good things, but also to think good thoughts. Our verse this week is Phillipians 4:8:
Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

The baby needed to nurse and nap, so we read two chapters of The Phantom Tollbooth--language arts.

Michael wanted to burn a CD of his favorite songs, so we worked out a play list. Then while it burned, he and I did some long division (math), including a fun tic-tac-toe-ish game.

While he listened to his CD and did some problems, Katie Grace and I did reading.

By now it was lunchtime. After lunch, we read Story of the World--history--which was followed up by some map work--geography. Katie Grace did some coloring, Nicholas made a plague picture, and Michael started his Red Sea diorama.

At this point, we cleaned up and called it a day. And, for a day that was supposed to be pretty easy, it was quite packed!

Yesterday at the grocery store, a clerk asked Katie Grace why she wasn't in school. This was odd because it was 3:30. But odder still was Katie Grace's answer. She looked at the lady and said in a deadpan voice...


"I ate my teacher."

She has an odd sense of humor. She must take after her Daddy.

One last thing--Daniel learned something new today too!

AUGGHHHHHHHHHHH!

A Week in Review

Three posts today, and no posts last week. It was a rough week, but we did get lots done.

Sunday was Michael's First Communion. Except it wasn't, because in the ELCA, children can technically receive Communion from the time their baptized, so Michael has been receiving since he was around a year old. This was a hard day for me actually, one of the hardest parts of raising Little Lutherans.

This is Michael and his buddy Lukey.


And cake! Everybody loves cake!


Monday was Rosa Parks birthday, and we talked about the life of this wonderful woman.

On Shrove Tuesday, we had pancakes for dinner.

Ash Wednesday was spent getting the house ready for Lent.

It was a rainy, dreary, cold day, and my four little ones and I went to Mater Delarosa to receive ashes at noon. When Father blessed Daniel, Daniel gave him the biggest baby grin, and both Father and Monsignor couldn't help but laugh out loud. By the time we got to the car, Daniel's ashes were pretty much gone. Michael said, "I guess Dust doesn't really stick to babies."

On Thursday, we changed out the Nature Table.

We'll definitely have fun adding more to King Winter's kingdom!

I also couldn't help but notice I had three matching children on Thursday, and I couldn't resist a picture.


On Friday, we traveled about three hours to stay with some college friends. They're also homeschoolers, as you may be able to tell by the great bookshelves. Here are their three girls with our crew.


We spent the night and made our way to our main destination on Saturday- the Benadum theater in Pittsburgh to see The Lion King. I'll blog a little about that separately, I think, but here are some pictures.

The opening curtain and beautiful stage.


And two happy children before the curtain went up. Daniel and Nicholas went with Daddy to the Pittsburgh Children's Museum.


And Katie Grace wanted me to take a picture of the chandelier, because it was pretty.

After the play, we stopped for dinner. A lady came up to us and said, "When I saw them seat a family with four little kids next to us, I almost cried. But your children are very well behaved!" I didn't quite know how to take that!

We left the restaurant around 7 and pulled up in front of our house at 11. We would have gotten home sooner, but we hit horrible fog. I prayed for the last hour of the trip!

The today, I caught Daniel doing this:


Time to dig out the baby gates!