Guess who turned 3 today?
I tried really hard to let the children do most of everything on their own, but... I couldn't help myself with a few of the steps, like preventing all the salt from pouring onto the table and ground. Ignatius filled the measuring cup halfway and I did the rest. He dumped it on his own, though.
Note the bad guy Lego figurines on the side... Julian wanted them to watch him do this in the hopes that some of them would have a change of heart. In the end, he said "Three-headed Bomber and Four-armed Gamboo changed their hearts, but not the others." Haha!
It took several tries to get the pieces for the crown to be the right consistency and thickness, and as you can see I wasn't able to make it as perfectly symmetrical as someone more talented than I. But! I don't care all that much. It's the symbolism that matters more than its pleasing the senses.
I put some purple tulle netting around the crown of thorns as the color for the season is such. I'm really happy with how it turned out!
Signing Off,
Liz
IGNATIUS, THAT'S WHO!!!
I can't believe he is 3! He brings us such joy... Every day spent with him is a rumpus adventure, and I mean that in the best possible way. We love you to pieces, Naish! He and his brother will celebrate today with ice cream after dinner. Why not I or Joey, you might ask?
Today is also the start of Lent, a.k.a. Ash Wednesday, which is a day of fasting and abstinence for all Catholics who've reached the appropriate age. There is one other day we fast during the year, and that is Good Friday.
Basically, fasting for Catholics means: 2 small meals + 1 main meal + 0 snacks. Abstinence consists of not eating meat, but eating fish is okay (for a great infograph, check this out). So, this all means... No dessert for Mamma and Daddy tonight! Boo hoo! Just kiddin'. It's really not any more difficult than one day of dieting! We will most certainly survive, and hopefully grow to appreciate what we have as privileged 1st world members of society all the more.
Speaking of Lent, I wanted to do a project with the children so as to help prepare our hearts for Easter. I'm not a very crafty person, but I have a sliver of patience every once and a while! The project is making a crown of thorns out of salt dough and tooth picks. I've actually done this before. I don't think I blogged about it, but if I have pardon my repetitiveness! The idea behind having a crown of thorns with toothpicks is that during the 40 days of Lent, we'll take out a "thorn" every time we do a kind deed or make a sacrifice for love of each other and our Lord. Here's hoping we keep it up, so we have a completely bare crown by Easter!
What would a kiddo project be without a bunch of pictures?
I tried really hard to let the children do most of everything on their own, but... I couldn't help myself with a few of the steps, like preventing all the salt from pouring onto the table and ground. Ignatius filled the measuring cup halfway and I did the rest. He dumped it on his own, though.
I keep my flour in an empty oatmeal container, FYI.
Note the bad guy Lego figurines on the side... Julian wanted them to watch him do this in the hopes that some of them would have a change of heart. In the end, he said "Three-headed Bomber and Four-armed Gamboo changed their hearts, but not the others." Haha!
It took several tries to get the pieces for the crown to be the right consistency and thickness, and as you can see I wasn't able to make it as perfectly symmetrical as someone more talented than I. But! I don't care all that much. It's the symbolism that matters more than its pleasing the senses.
Placing toothpicks into the crown.
I love this picture, because it shows Julian asking questions about Our Lord's sacrifice. Doing things like this is such a great teaching moment...
Just before popping it in the oven.
"CHEEEEEEEEESE"
And now, it's time for the finished product!
Signing Off,
Liz
