Christmas Favorites

Patrick was thrilled to receive LEGO Lord of the Rings The Battle of Helm's Deep. Needless to say, it was built in less than a day. Thankfully, he and Finnian also received some Lego bricks from their grandfather which allow for more creative building. Patrick is slightly familiar with the stories of The Lord of the Rings trilogy due to his older siblings listening to the audiobooks.

Finnian's smile, when he opened his Playmobil Fortress with Lighthouse, made me very happy. When Finnian told us earlier in the year that he wanted the Playmobil lighthouse, I was dismayed to find that it was a 2007 set, and it was no longer being made. After work one day, my husband headed to his favorite toy store and called me to say that he had found what Finnian wanted. I am grateful that he did. 

Theresa, her siblings, and her friends like the stilts that she received. She laughed hysterically when she unwrapped Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. I laughed when my husband told me that we should buy it for her, and her oldest sister laughed when she wrapped the game for Theresa. Since Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots was opened, the children have been enjoying playing it. Even though the quality is not what it once was, I think that my husband chose a winner. I will always remember Theresa laughing as she finished unwrapping this present.

Joan was surprised and thankful when she unwrapped her Miraculous Medal and her Gumdrop case. My parents gave her a beautiful Miraculous Medal for her Baptism, but she lost it while swimming one day. She put the new medal on immediately.

Kieran happily shared his Fisher-Price Ice Cream Set with Elizabeth. Being the eighth child and a baby, we felt that he really didn't need anything. However, we knew that Elizabeth would enjoy having him share the ice cream with her.

Anthony couldn't wait to show me how a skimboard is used. Now, we just need better weather and the beach to be open so he can show me how it is used in water. ;)

Each child usually gets a gift from St. Nicholas, a gift from their grandfather, a book from us, and some stocking stuffers. Elizabeth somehow received two well-liked presents from St. Nicholas this year: a stick horse and a DUPLO Cinderella Castle. She spends a lot of time playing with the Fisher-Price Snow White and the Seven Dwarves set that she got from her grandpa too.

Agnes started reading and looking at Storey's Illustrated Guide to 96 Horse Breeds of North America as soon as she opened it. She actually received her main present, her violin, a few weeks before Christmas.

All of the children liked the Glorious Nativity Puzzle. Putting it together was a team effort.

I am appreciating my new red oven mitts. It took me a little while to decide whether or not I like them because I have been using my old oven mitts since my husband and I were first married. Not only did my husband find a great pair of oven mitts, he also purchased them in my favorite color. I think that my husband is most pleased with his UltraPod II. 

I am most thankful for the fact that my husband took all of us to Midnight Mass once again this past year. In my book, going to Midnight Mass is truly the best gift that he can give to me and our children. May God bless him for being such a wonderful husband and father!

Saturday Morning Breakfast: Oatmeal Pancakes

Oatmeal pancakes are a Saturday morning favorite in our house with family and friends alike. The recipe that we use was originally shared with us by one of my husband's coworkers. We have altered the recipe a little bit. The pancakes are delicious. Don't take my word for it. Simply try some.

Oatmeal Pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats (we use Quaker oats)
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbs sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• Vegetable oil or butter for greasing the pan (we use butter)

The Night Before (Friday night at our house)

Combine oats and buttermilk in a bowl. Mix it so that the oats are all covered with the buttermilk. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate over night.

The Next Morning

Take the bowl of oats and buttermilk out of the refrigerator and set aside.
Melt the stick of butter.

In another bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.
Add the 2 lightly beaten eggs and melted butter to the bowl of oats and buttermilk. Mix well.
Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl and mix. The batter will be very thick.

Heat butter or oil in a skillet on the stove top. Scoop (we use an ice cream scoop) pancake batter into hot skillet. When the first side is cooked, flip the pancake and cook the other side. Serve the oatmeal pancakes with maple syrup, other pancake topping, or eat them plain. The latter is how my youngest daughter prefers to eat her pancakes.

Tips

A double batch of pancakes serves 9 of us 3 to 4 pancakes each with a few leftover. When doubling the recipe, we have found it best to actually make two batches, using two separate bowls.

If you have leftovers, don't expect them to last. My children snack on leftover oatmeal pancakes as though they are pieces of fruit.

For some reason, these do not taste good with blueberry syrup, but do taste good when fresh blueberries are added to the batter.

Baptism Anniversary Presents

Each year, we celebrate our children's Baptism anniversaries by going to Mass if possible, having a Mass offered for them (not always on their anniversary), giving our son/daughter a religious gift, and having a special dessert after dinner.

With our first child, we started by giving her a book each year; however, as our family grew, I branched out a bit. One of our children was baptized on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and another was baptized on the traditional Feast of Epiphany, so I often get a themed gift for these two children. We have also been known to get gifts that are related to the saint for whom the child is named. Below are some of the books and other presents that our children have received on their Baptism anniversaries.

Books

• Along the Paths of the Gospel
• An Alphabet of Saints by Robert Hugh Benson
  
• Angel Food for Boys and Girls by Fr. Gerald T. Brennan
• The Book of Saints and Heroes by Andrew Lang
  
• Books by Louis de Wohl  (for older teens)
• Books by Mary Fabyan Windeatt
• Catholic Tales for Boys and Girls and More Catholic Tales for Boys and Girls by Caryll Houselander
• The Catechism in Pictures
• Encounter the Saints
• Francis: The Poor Man of Assisi, The Lady of Guadalupe, Mary: The Mother of Jesus, and Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie de Paola
  
• Golden Legend of Young Saints by Henri Daniel-Rops
  
• A Life of Our Lord for Children, The First Christians: The Acts of the Apostles for Children, and St. Patrick's Summer: A Children's Adventure Catechism by Marigold Hunt
• My Path to Heaven: A Young Person's Guide to the Faith by Geoffrey Bliss, S.J.
  
• Once upon a Time Saints, More Once Upon a Time Saints, Around the Year Once upon a Time Saints, and Saints & Heroes by Ethel Pochocki
• Our Lady of Guadalupe by Carmen T. Bernier Grand
• Saints for Boys: A First Book for Little Catholic Boys
  
• Saints for Girls: A First Book for Little Catholic Girls
  
• Stories of the Child Jesus from Many Lands by A. Fowler Lutz
  
• A Story of St. John Bosco and A Story of St. Jean Vianney by Brother Ernest, C.S.C.
• The Little Apostle on Crutches by Henriette Delamare
• Twenty Tales of Irish Saints by Alice Curtayne
• Vision Books
• We Three Kings by Gennady Spirin
• The Weight of a Mass: A Tale of Faith by Josephine Nobisso
  
• The Young People's Book of Saints by Hugh Ross Williamson
  
• and more...

CDs 
CDs have actually been Christmas stocking and Easter basket stuffers over the years, but they would make good Baptism anniversary presents too.

• Glory Stories - Our CDs were purchased from Catholic World Mission before Holy Heroes started to reproduce them. I am happy to see that they recently re-released Blessed Miguel Pro.

Games

• Litany Game
• Mary Memory/Go to the Grotto Card Game
• Saint Search

Movies

• St. Bernadette of Lourdes
• The War of the Vendee
• My parents gave us all of the CCC videos, but they would work as Baptism anniversary presents too.

Puzzles

• Sunsout Our Lady of Guadalupe 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle
• Sunsout St. Francis of Assisi Jigsaw Puzzle 

Both of these puzzles will be given this year.

Sacramentals

• Miraculous Medals
• Scapulars - Catholic Heritage Curricula used to sell some very nice child and adult-size scapulars for a very reasonable price. Unfortunately, they no longer do so and I have not found anything that compares. Nevertheless, we do still buy scapulars from our local Catholic bookstore.

Statues

• Guardian Angel with Children
  
• Our Lady of Lourdes
• Our Lady Mount Carmel
  
• St. Anne
• St. Patrick

Eight Months Old

Brothers

Our little boy cut his third tooth (upper left) on January 4. He cut his fourth tooth (upper right) on January 13.

He enjoys sitting up and playing. He can move to where he wants to be and he rocks back and forth on his hands and knees, but he is not crawling quite yet.

Our baby boy reaches his arms up or grabs my skirt when he wants me to pick him up. He says, "Dadadadada...." often. Occasionally, "Mamama or Nananana" escapes from his mouth too.

He is our smiling happy baby who has all of us wrapped around his finger. Needless to say, "We love him."

Our Happy Baby

Update: He cut his 4th tooth (upper right) on January 13.

Gingerbread Houses

A couple of days before Christmas, we  made our annual gingerbread houses.

And so it begins

This year, we decided to have a competition to see who could make the best gingerbread house, the boys or the girls.

Having Fun

The competition was fierce, until my husband made the boys' window look like a face.

Working Diligently

We decided that two competition categories were needed, the best gingerbread house and the funniest gingerbread house.

Working Hard

Elizabeth decided that the frosting was finger-licking good.

Concentration

She also decided that eating the candy was more fun than decorating the house.

Final Touches

Everyone was happy with the final results. However, the gingerbread houses could only be admired for a day. In the morning, we found that our sweet-toothed daughter thought that the houses made a great snack.