Author - Lorri

Feeling Fine

THANK YOU! To everyone who helped or volunteered to help us locate a replacement Wohtee. I had taken a picture of the bottom of the car and was on my blog’s admin site to upload the picture, when I saw I had one comment that was pending approval. That comment was from Phil’s brother and he had left 2 links which correctly identified Wohtee as the Ferrari F40, plus he found a blue one on Amazon.com. ( I think the comment went in the moderation queue as an anti-spam measure since it contained 2 links.) I Googled all morning for a Ferrari F40 in blue and couldn’t find it. So Donald, I bow to your superior search skills.

—————————————————————–

We’ve been spending a lot of time in church lately. Last Saturday we participated in the parish’s Seder Service potluck. Lots of yummy food and Boo got to read the part of the youngest child asking the “why” questions.

We attended mass on Holy Thursday and Philip was one of the 12 men to get their feet washed.   When they were finished, they each came down and washed the feet of their families.  The water was COLD!.  Bip thought it was great fun.

Good Friday was just an amazing service.  So beautiful, so stark, so sad, so hopeful.  Boo was an altar server, so he was excited to tell us that he “didn’t do too badly” with all the new things he needed to do for that mass.  Actually, he did quite well and looked rather handsome, too.

And this morning we were in church again for rehearsal for tonight’s Easter Vigil.  I’m excited about this since we are sponsoring our friends into the church.  It’ll be a long  mass ( I counted 7 readings, an epistle and the Gospel) and one I wouldn’t normally take the children to, but it’s going to be well worth it.  I hope Bip hangs in there well, or at least just goes to sleep.

Plus, Boo and I grabbed the opportunity to go to Confession after the rehearsal (Philip and Pumpkin went earlier at a Penance Service) so we are feeling clean and shiny, too.

Replacement Wohtee is on the way, beautiful church services, friends coming into the church and Easter dinner with more friends.  We’re all feeling fine.

Wohtee

Bip has a love of  cars.  “Cars” the movie cars, Matchbox cars, Hot Wheels cars – anything on wheels, he loves.  He has quite a little collection going and he plays with them every single day.   A year ago, he’d amuse himself by lining his cars up across the living room, giving us time to do school.   I keep 3 in my purse, for church, waiting rooms and restaurants where he needs to keep relatively quiet.  Bip’s cars are found in almost every room in the house.  He loves his cars.

A while ago – he’s only 3 1/2, so it couldn’t have been too far back – he named one of his cars.  Just one.  He named it Wohtee.

wohtee

This is Wohtee.

Shortly after Wohtee got his name, Wohtee disappeared.  Bip didn’t talk much then, but he spent much of his waking hours asking, “Where Wohtee?”.   The other blue cars wouldn’t do, he had to have Wohtee.  What makes Wohtee so special is that his tail fin lifts up and you can look inside, so when Wohtee was found, there was much rejoicing.

Then Bip discovered “Car” the movie.  He fell in love, of course, in part due to a role by none other than his beloved Wohtee.

kingiswohtee1

See the resemblance?

Even now Bip still refers to The King as Wohtee.  And the original Wohtee remains a favorite.

Wohtee met with disaster this morning.  Apparently there was an unfortunate bombing incident in the dining room and Wohtee might have been blown out of a cannon, thought that part is unclear, and he landed on the hard, linoleum floor, breaking off the part that makes him so uniquely Wohtee – his lifting tail fin.

ohno

Alas, poor Wohtee, we knew him well.

I can’t fix him.  I tried.  So now what? Try to replace him, I guess. All I know is that he is a Hot Wheels car, but there is no other name on him.  Just “1988”, which I learned is not the year Wohtee was made, but the year the real car was first manufactured.  Upon closer examination, I think he might be a Ferrari:

mightbeferrari

I’ve looked online and I can find Hot Wheels Ferrari F40’s and F50’s which are close but not exactly like Wohtee, but not one of them is blue.

Does anybody out there know cars enough to identify Wohtee?  Know somebody that does?  If I could figure out exactly what kind of car he is, it would make finding his replacement easier.

Anybody know a Hot Wheels collector that might help figure out what Wohtee is?  Is there a patron saint for this?

8 Ways to Make Choretime Work in Your Home

1.  Use “if -then” consequences.  In other words, if the chores are not done correctly, then there’s no watching TV/going out to play/getting on the computer.  Whatever your child enjoys doing in their free time is on the line here,so  they need to learn to work before play.  I know some families that require chores to be done before breakfast.  They don’t have many problems with morning dawdlers!

2.  Have a set chore time. We do chores twice a day – in the morning after breakfast and in late afternoon.  Chore time is the same every day so my children know what to expect.  Give fair warnings, like announcing that chore time is in 30 minutes, then setting a timer to let everyone know it’s time to get to work.

3.  Set a good example.  When your children are doing chores, you do yours, too.

4.  Take the time to train. Don’t expect your child to know what to do.  Teach them how to look under the bed, behind the dresser and on the closet floor when cleaning their room.  Show them how to get into the corners when sweeping the floor. Explain how move furniture around when vacuuming.

5.  Inspect their work. Depending the age, ability and dependability of the child, you don’t need to inspect their chores every day.  For younger children or a child learning a new chore, you might have to work with them for a while.  Eventually they can work on their own, with daily inspections and finally you can taper off to the occasional pop inspection.

6.  Use specific feedback.  When checking on their work, let your child know what they did right and what needs improvement.  Don’t say, “this room is still a mess”, instead say, “You did a good job making the bed, but I see some clothes sticking out under the bed. “  Or, “The bathroom sinks are nice and shiny, but I think you forgot the mirrors.”  When they get everything done correctly, give them lots of praise!

7.  Be flexible.  In our home, afternoon chores need to started at 5 PM.  The National Anthem plays at that time, signaling my children to come in from outside.  When their chores are completed, they may go back outside.  However, I also allow them to do their chores before they head out so that they may play without interruption.  However this is a privilege earned by doing chores correctly and without complaint.

8.  Remember that chore training is a part of parenting. Yes, it is easier to do household chores yourself.  You’ll be faster and do them better.  But being consistent with chores is teaching your children so many good things.

For more about how I set up a chore system, see my article at the Homeschool Classroom: Managers of Their Chores.

Proof

How do you know when homeschooling is working?  Test scores? College admissions rates?

When your 8 year old finds the word “tzar” while playing Boggle with the family.

Basilica of the National Shrine

Our Catholic homeschool group took the show on the road Friday with a field trip to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Or just the Basilica, for short.

After getting lost taking the scenic route in the rain, we still managed to get there in time for mass in the crypt chapel, where our group was welcomed – by name- by the officiating priest.  Then lunch in the cafeteria where it looked for a moment that we were not going to be able to find seats for the 22 of us, but by the time we’d gone through the line all sorts of tables had opened up.

After lunch we had a guided tour.  I’d love to say that it was wonderful, but our guide talked sooo fast that he was difficult to understand.  I was trying hard to hear what he had to say, and I know that the children missed most of it.  I got some great pictures, though.

The basilica contains over 70 chapels and oratories dedicated to Our Lady, and they reflect the cultures and traditions of people around the world. This one, to Our Lady of Lourdes, is a replica of the grotto in France.
rsz_dsc01418
I’m not sure why it had a gate in front of it.

Bip was on a potty break when we saw the chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  I took him back to see it and asked him if he knew who it was.  “Mary!” he said in that cute preschooler way he has.

rsz_dsc01430

I showed him Juan Diego, with the roses spilling out of his tilma.

dsc01432

I thought Our Lady of China was beautiful –
dsc01435

Walking into the main part of the church, this is the ceiling –
dsc01425

And a close up of one of the domes…
dsc01427

When you’re visiting DC, don’t miss the Basilica!  They have free pamphlets available to help you find your way or you can purchase a more in depth guide.  Both are available in the bookstore or gift shop.  There’s free parking, always a plus in DC!

Farewells

dsc01404

My friend and neighbor packed out this week and they’ll be leaving on Saturday morning.   We’ve been living on the same block for 3 years now, and we’ve seen each other almost every day.  Our children play together, our daughters dance together, we go to Catholic Women of the Chapel together, our husbands were on the parish council together, we went to our Catholic homeschool group together.  Our lives have been intertwined for the last few years and now it is time to say goodbye.

I won’t even pretend that we aren’t very sad about this.  This has got to be the worst thing about military life, the saying farewell.

It’s not too bad when you are the one leaving.  For weeks and months before your packers arrive, you are busy with the details of moving.  Things happen in a blur, the stress levels increase and it’s all such a hassle, then the packers show up and do their thing, your stuff is loaded in a van, you clean your house one last time and you’re gone.  Off to the next big adventure.  You’re sad to be leaving, but there are new things ahead of you.

When you are the one left behind, it’s really quite lonely.  You see the movers pack up your friends and then you go over to their newly empty house to pick over their perishable foods, flammables and liquids that the movers won’t pack.  The truck pulls away and at some point it’s the final goodbye.  And then your friends just leave. And you go back into your house, wondering if you’ll ever see them again.  You promise to keep in touch (this time!) but inside you wonder if you’ll just end up on the Christmas card list.

It’s going to be particularly hard this time around, since Boo, Pumpkin Girl and Bip’s friends are leaving, too.  Usually it’s just one of us losing a friend when someone moves away.  This time it’s all of us.

It’s going to be tough at first, but we’ve got a Major Event every month for the next 3 months and that’ll keep us distracted and busy until it is our turn to move on.

Rainbow Scarf

One month, almost to the day I cast on, I’ve finished my rainbow scarf! Entrelac is surprisingly easy, so it was a good mindless project for watching TV with.  I got it all finished and blocked and then it got just cold enough to be able to wear it at least once before packing it away for the season.

So There We Were…

…leaving the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Philip and I, our friends that we are sponsoring into the Church, our parish priest and one of the members of our church who was there for support.  The three military men were in uniform, looking very handsome indeed.  We were just walking along the front of the basilica when one of the men said, “Newt Gingrich just got into that white car.”

Parked in front of the basilica were two tour buses and in between the two buses was a white car, but from where we were, we couldn’t see who was in it.

After a round of, “Really?”, “That white car up there?” and “No way!”, I said, “Let’s catch up and look.” So we sped up a bit and as we passed the white car, we turned to look at the passenger.

And lo and behold! there was Newt Gingrich himself.

We did what any grown up would do – we grinned and waved.  Newt waved back and one of the guys started to walk closer to the car.  And Newt did what anyone who finds himself being peered at by three guys in uniform, two women and a priest would do – he rolled down the window.

So all three of the guys rushed up to shake his hand.  I would have, too, except I was wearing heels and I would have hand to run to get to the car in a timely manner.  I shook Philip’s hand right afterward, though, so it was almost as good.

Or course, we were all wondering just what he had been doing at the basilica and when we got home, I looked on the internet.  Turns out, Newt Gingrich is becoming Catholic and was participating in the Rite of Election himself.  Cool.

Morning Has Broken

Thank you for all your kind words, prayers and support.  It’s nice to know that if you’re going to fall apart for the whole internet to see, that people will be understanding.

But like the song says, morning has broken, and spring has arrived and I’m doing much better.  It seems like I should get rid of my notebook, but I can’t.  It’s a snapshot of how my life once was and to throw it away would be to throw out a huge part of me.  But it needs to find a home.  After some thought, I know where to put it, and it’ll be safe and I won’t ever stumble upon it accidentally.

So…the shamrock cookies turned out well!  Rolling them out thicker definitely helped and so did using a dough board.  I’ve got yucky linoleum counters, so I use a dough board with a cloth for pie crusts, it just never occurred to me to use it with cookie dough.  Duh.  The combination was a winner and I was able to roll out all the dough, cut out and bake all the cookies in under an hour.

And I promise to finish the rest of my Rite of Election story this weekend!!!

Copyright The Mac and Cheese Chronicles 2020.  All rights reserved. Images and content may not be used without express permission.