Bust a Move

Today was another completely loaded day for me and my sweet Catholic Peepers, starting out with middle school orientation, back-to-school clothes shopping, a splendiferous spaghetti dinner made personally by incognito, and finally ending with that annual Catechist meeting where we got all wild and danced on tables I received materials in preparation for teaching 7th grade CCD. Lordy. Bring on the new school year!

Fizzy Refreshments

Finally, the Catholic Peeps and I are back to the regular weekend schedule, complete with Saturday afternoon mass and eating frozen yogurt treats at TCBY immediately afterward. Call it a ‘reward system’ for good church-like behavior. The system works, so we’re sticking with it. Only, today Catholic Girlie scored a fancy new TCBY treat called the “Sorbet Fizz” which basically consisted of strawberry-kiwi sorbet mixed with Sprite. Who thinks of these newfangled things anyway?

Dynamite Day

So the Catholic Family’s Friday July 3rd party got started early with my 8:00 am salon appointment and Hubs having the day off from work, meaning a breakfast of homemade waffles and steamy espresso to tide me over while sitting in that blessed salon chair for 2+ hours. Then, for wasting time purposes, I paid Kohls a visit and picked up 3 new outfits of skimmers (pants somewhere in between walking shorts and capris) and summer tops, because quite frankly, I needed a lil’ wardrobe update that didn’t bear the name of Nike or Adidas. (Father Chi frowns on that kind of thing during mass, you know.)

Meanwhile, Hubs & the Catholic Kids were home watching Roger Federer kick some tennis bootay at Wimbledon, out-and-about taking taking the car for a much needed oil change, and subsequently working up a good appetite for sub sandwiches. So guess what? I met those peeps at Barnes & Noble, because it just happens to be right next door to Kohls and a birthday gift card was burning a hole in my wallet. But we only left with a few books for the CK’s and my card intact. (BTW: Spent that baby online later in the afternoon, per Becca’s sweet book recommendation – thanks!) And finally, lunch at Subway where we replenished our starving bodies. *whew*

Then what? In search of a fireworks stand! More specifically, one bearing the Knights of Columbus logo, as we prefer buying fireworks in support of those nice Catholic gentlemen in our Archdiocese. Although, despite the fact that Catholic Son had his sights set on bringing home a 3-foot tall monstrosity of pseudo-dynamite, we settled with a nice grocery bag of fireworks fun to keep us safely entertained yet another year:

Rude Awakening

Here’s how not to wake up on a Saturday morning: with a certain child bursting into your bedroom as you sleep announcing that he/she found a present cat poo outside his/her bedroom door upon opening it. Dude. As if hubs and I need heart attacks bright and early in the morning? Ok, so clean-up time and then we’re over it. Breakfast wasn’t quite as appealing after that disgusting event, but you just move on with things. Ew.

Anyway, so Books-A-Million was having a huge ‘Summer Sale’ today forcing the Catholic Peeps and I to seek out a few book bargains. And that we did: 3 ‘Crime of Fashion Mysteries’ by Ellen Byerrum (me), ‘Darkest Fear’ and ‘Subterranean’ by James Rollins (hubs), 3 manga books (son), 3 chapter series novels (daughter) – all for $59 + tax. Crazy, I know! We were completely pumped after walking out of that place, and ready to read every single one of those sweeties. BAM rocks the planet with us right about now.

The afternoon barreled right on with Catholic Girlie trying out my new EA Sports Active and me cheering her on as I completed a few bicep curls & stretches, because my entire body was screaming after completing 2 days of my own personal EA Sports Active workouts. Lord have mercy on me. Then in no time flat, mass beckoned us over to the local parish where we put in a few extra prayers, thanking God for our blessings – with chlorine being very close to the top of that particular prayer list.

Speaking of which, we made a quick pit stop over to Kohls on our way back home, because apparently CS sent up his own personal ‘wish list’ to God: funky-rad new swim shorts.

Father’s Day: Part 1

For Father’s Day this year, we actually have a PLAN for Catholic Hubs/Dad thanks to the swanky survey we created especially for him to fill out. The Father’s Day Survey consists of selections for all kinds of meal choices and events, complete with little check boxes next to each item. Not only that, but we even put that convenient “other” option with a blank line next to it for many of the selections just in case our options weren’t up to snuff. Then with CH’s completed survey, we set out to achieve all of his requests over the weekend. Aren’t we amazing? I know!

So here’s what happened today, the first half of Father’s Day weekend:

• Shopping, Dad-Dude Style: With a Sports Authority gift card burning a hole in Hub’s wallet, we took him to the shopping center where he bought a few workout duds. But shopping didn’t end there, oh no. Best Buy and Books-a-Million beckoned from the curb for us to bring Hubs inside for a little more perusing, for Dad of course. Ok, so I walked out with a BAM membership for future savings, but I had good intentions.
• Lunch at Subway: This seems to be a recurring Saturday event , so who were we to keep Hubs away from a usual favorite? We’d never do such a thing. The menu: toasted Italian Herb/Cheese turkey footlong (split between Hubs & me), pepperoni & cheese 6-inch on white (CG), ham/turkey/white American cheese on wheat (CS) all complete with Lay’s BBQ chips on the side with carbonated beverages.
• Pool Time & Mowing: Hubs wanted to mow the lawn this weekend, so I took the CK’s to the pool for a couple of hours as a way to keep people busy. The weather was perfect for both: a little overcast and free of rain showers. I even snuck in some reading time while checking out the over-abundance of tattooed people swimming at the pool. How fun is that?
• Mass, Frozen Yogurt, Barnes & Noble: Next, we took CH to mass where Father Chi bestowed a Father’s Day blessing on Hubs and all of the other dads in attendance. So nice to have our weekly obligation out of the way on Saturday so we can sleep in on Sunday. Then we headed over to TCBY and treated CH to a cup of chocolate frozen yogurt topped with Heath bar crumbs, while the CK’s slurped down strawberry smoothies and I savored a cup of white chocolate mousse with fresh strawberries, whipped cream and Lactaid on the side. Then finally, because it was nearby and why the heck not, we visited Barnes & Noble where I left without buying a single book for myself. Miracles do happen.

Next: Day #2, Sunday (6/21), the OFFICIAL Father’s Day

Wedding Crashers

Watching your children’s babysitter walk down the aisle getting married is a total surreal experience, as determined by today’s events. I still can’t wrap my head around the whole thing, even after watching said bride cut cake with said groom, the same cake I drooled over not even an hour ago. I just can’t believe our former sitter is now a married woman, meaning the Catholic Kids are not too far behind. So hard to fathom that thought. It’s sort of like an out-of-body-experience where I’m watching the future take place before it even happens. Scary.

Anyway, the entire wedding event was simple, elegant and screamed class at the top of its lungs. The Catholic Family and I expected no less, as we’ve known the bride’s family from the time Hubs and I started working for the Corps of Engineers 15+ years ago. Daughter of a favorite Corps technician (someone whom we add to our emergency contact list at school every year), the bride is a fellow parishioner and long-time friend who was there in our time of need when we were new parents. We attended her High School ‘Open House’ after graduation and even rooted from afar when she earned her Master’s degree in another state. And yet tonight while walking through the receiving line, those same CK’s she babysat back in the day can just about look her in the eye, leaving her equally amazed at how fast the years have passed. *sigh*

But scary as it is, all I could think about during the wedding reception was sucking face with sweetly kissing my own groom every time I heard the *ching ching* of silverware hitting those water goblets. Makes a person want to get married all over again. Just once.

Gifts from Students

These end-of-year gifts are from students I’ve taught since 4th grade Catholic Religious Education, and I’m so grateful. How amazing is this? Now I’ll be making sandwiches/toast, purchasing books, and sneaking off eating the truffles that were conveniently excluded from this photo as they rested nicely in a safe hiding spot away from sneaky chocolate predators! Talk about spoiled.

Freakish Week

Just chipping away on my ‘To Do’ list for this amazingly loaded week; and blogging has always been a good way to get a grip on reality, thus this post. First and foremost, Pizza Parties are ON for my blessed CCD’ers. (Yes, that’s a plural: PARTIES. One today, another tomorrow.) Tonight, Pizza Hut will deliver hot & tasty pizza to the church while Catholic Hubs attends Catholic Girlie’s 6th grade honors ceremony, the one I will sorely miss while breaking bread with Catholic Son’s class. Oh well. Can’t attend everything, right? Anyway, I will be offering up fudge striped cookies and a 2-liter of Sierra Mist, with dancing on the tables completely optional. We’re planning to rock the entire parish foundation! Party like it’s 2009!

Ok, we’ll tone it down a notch. Wouldn’t want Father Chi to show us up with his fancy dance moves, now would we? How embarrassing for us.

Meanwhile, I’ve got another client meeting lined up for Thursday morning, then later that day the oldest will be playing the National Anthem prior to the Omaha Royals baseball game at Rosenblatt Stadium. Can you believe it? I know!! The kicker is that CG’s private cello coach, Mark Motycka, rescheduled her cello lesson just so she could perform, and he might even be sitting alongside us while she plays. Love that guy. Then last but definitely not least, Catholic Hubs and I will head over to Lincoln, Nebraska on Friday to chaperone Catholic Son’s field trip to the Nebraska State Capitol and Memorial Stadium. Who knew?!

Wait a minute… did I just hear someone say ‘Penis of the Plains‘? Stop that.

Last Lesson

Today marks the final CCD lesson of the year for my 6th graders, yesterday was the last for 4th grade. What does that mean? Well, for me it means that I’ve officially taught religious education for every single grade from Kindergarten through 6th. Wowzers! And looking back, I can report the best and worst ages to teach, my favorite being 3rd & 4th grades and not-so-favorite 2nd and 5th. But don’t get me wrong – I’m thrilled to have had the chance to be in the classroom making a difference all those years. Wouldn’t have changed a thing.

So what’s a catechist to do next week? What any CCD teacher would do…
THROW A PIZZA PARTY!

While sitting back all smug about being done, of course. *happy dance*

Going to Hell in a Handbasket

Ok, my first thought after typing that post title was, “Huh? Who the crap invented that whole saying? Because if anyone’s going to Hell, why would they be in a handbasket? And what’s a handbasket anyway? Is there really one big enough for an actual person to fit inside for going to Hell purposes?”

Whatever. Let’s just go with it.

Anyway, I’m not going there (fingers crossed); and if I were, I wouldn’t be going in a handbasket. A stolen Jaguar? Now there’s a possibility. But the purpose of this blog is not about me, or anyone I know, going to Hell. Instead, I’m sitting here studying my catechist material for presenting to young CCD’ers later today. Said material contains information about JUDGMENT. Only, I’m not talking just one JUDGMENT, but get this: TWO! That’s right – ‘Particular Judgment‘ for people after death and ‘Last Judgment‘ for the living and the dead when Jesus returns. And somewhere along those lines, I need to explain the concept of Hell to my CCD peeps… oh, this is going to get very interesting.

Someone throw me a rope – it’s getting deep in here.