Hi Ladies,

All week I think of things to ask on Coffee talk day, then Tuesday comes and I can’t remember them!

So here is my off the top of my head question:
1.
Jesse Tree ornaments for the un-crafty with little children (ie I will have to do most of the crafty work!)

Anyone, anyone? Uncomplicated coloring in pages that I can cut out (since staying in the lines is not a strong suit in this household…yet).

2
Do you put an ornament on your Jesse Tree every day? Do you start on Dec 1? What is your scaled down, easy version of the Jesse Tree?

3.
For those with under 5’s, how do you help them to know Jesus. Do you use the Gospels? Do you use children’s books? Do you do story telling? Anything that has helped your littles feel like they KNOW Jesus?

Carolyn:
Re #3: From ages 1-3, it is important to teach them about God the Father & His unconditional Love for each one of us and also about His creation. What I do with my daughter is I ask her questions throughout the day about “who loves her the most no matter what she does” but also teaching her that it is important to ask our Heavenly Father for forgiveness when we do something we know is wrong. When we’re outside or driving, I ask her about what she sees; great conversation starter to talk about Creation. In regards to having your child Know Jesus, I teach her that He is her best friend and that she should always try to “talk” with Him. It’s to a point now that she “plays” with Him. Very cute! =) We also have a Children’s bible, which we read her a story every night before bed.
When we are at a Church, she knows Jesus is in the tabernacle and He is only present in Catholic churches. She LOVES going to Mass for this very reason.
I hope this helps a little. =)

This is a comment for Danielle:
I was remembering how last year during Advent you would post each day with “today’s task”, “today’s treat” etc.  I hope you might consider doing that again this year.  I loved it, and I especially found the little “today’s task” ideas so helpful…like “Keep quiet. Even if chaos reins around you, keep quiet inside. Listen.”  I also thouroughly enjoyed the drawings by Kateri.

Carol,
I taught Kindergarten for 12 years in our Catholic school and have a great pattern for the Jesse Tree for young children.  If you do not find a source you like online, please feel free to e-mail me your address and I will mail you the master to copy. (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))

In a different post yesterday Momma J had this question:

I read how you said you get a leg up on the cooking for the week. I would love to hear helpful tips from Mom’s on when/how they do the bulk of their dinner preparations. Do they plan it all one day and cook up everything they can and just heat it up each day? Or cook everyday? How about trips to the grocery? I absolutely dread the 5-7pm hour when I always seem to be running around crazy trying to throw something together, get baths and bed done. There has to be a better way! Please share your tips, easy recipes, ways to make that part of life easier for disorganized, health conscious moms with quickly growing families! Thanks!

Also, please say a prayer for Momma J as she had a C-section scheduled for this morning.

Anyone do anything special for the feast of Christ the King?  I’d love to hear your ideas.  Thanks.

Therese,
Thanks for asking about the Advent reflections. I’ll see what I can do for this year. The trouble is, a partner and I are working on a book version of the tasks and reflections, and we really can’t have them all published online before the book.

But I am sure I can do something similar—and Kateri would be happy to make as many drawings as I ask her to. Stay tuned!

Well, I hope that this post goes through as the 2 I did earlier were “caught” as spam for some reason.  ; (

Carol…I LOVE the Domestic Church website b/c they have downloadable pages w/Jesse Tree decorations that can be colored, cut out & hung on a tree.  They also have the Scripture verse that goes w/each decoration so while my kids are coloring & cutting, I am reading the Bible to them.  Then we poke holes, tie yarn in them & hang them on a small table top tree that sits proudly on our kitchen counter.

As for part 3 of your question, my 2-1/2 yr old is really absorbing all things God-related so we talk about Him to her all the time.  And the Blessed Mother, too, of course.  She has one particular picture in her Rosary book that she just LOVES of the Baptism in the Jordan.  We can’t however convince her that it’s John the Baptist so she shows everyone the picture & says, “Look!  It’s Jesus pouring water on Jesus’ head!”  It’s SO adorable…

God bless your family & your Advent!!!

My family gave me a lovely Madonna and Child garden statue for my birthday. Has anyone out there built a grotto? I got some ideas from the gardening center, but I’m surprised I haven’t been able to find a how-to on the Internet. I’d love to have a special place for the Blessed Mother and baby Jesus. If we’re stuck in this house on a busy road, at least we can put this statue out for all to see.

Does anyone have experience with the Glory Stories?  I’m trying to decide an appropriate age for gift giving.  What age is too young? My kids are aged 7, 5, 3, 1

To Carolyn:  my husband bought a “half shell” for our statue of Mary.  He found it at a famous fountain/marble store here in NJ.  But he did have to drive around a lot to locate one.  We placed it in our garden and every year we plant different flowers around it.

Re: dinner recipes.

I know it sounds dull, but try to come up with two or three meals that your family will eat and our easy to make.  My two Fall/Winter staples are roast whole chicken and pot roast.  Both these require little work other than assembly.  I don’t own a slow cooker, I do everything on my stove with a Le Crueset.  If I have a little more time in the evening, I will make sausage & peppers or breaded pork chops.

I more or less rotate the same dinners each week so I know what I need when I go to the grocery store.  I shop about 2x week on average. 

I don’t really remember what I did when my kids were little.  Honestly, that part of my life just zoomed by.  Now it’s a lot easier to pull it all together.  I wouldn’t try to be too perfect now, if your kids are babies.  You will have plenty of time down to road to get your act together with dinner.

We love the Glory Stories!  We listen mostly in the car so our whole family enjoys.  Your 5 and 7 y-o will really like them.  I just ordered several copies for our children & godchildren.  I ordered through http://www.holyheros.com.

Jesse tree:

Emmanuel books sells (or used to sell) an Advent Jesse Tree kit that our family has used for years with little ones.  It has two options - one where the kids make their own drawings and one with circles that have a symbol already printed for each story.  They also give the readings, a little background, and a prayer service for each day.  The colored circles go on a Christmas Tree poster that hangs on our wall.  My boys have loved this!  In fact, they say that they look forward to Advent because prayer is fun then.
We read the stories from the Fr. Lovasik Children’s Bible.

I need advice on potty training.  I have a 3-year-old that is adamant about not using the toilet.  About 8 months ago she successfully urinated in the potty chair, but refuses to go since.  I’ve tried incentives/bribes such as Cinderella pullups and panties, and suckers and M&M;‘s, but to no avail.  Baby #3 is due in February, and I’d really prefer to not have 3 in diapers at the same time.  Any suggestions?

A great way to to help your children really live and understand Advent go to http://www.holyheroes.com and register for Holy Heroes’ Advent Adventure.  It is free.  And by registering you will receive a 20% discount off of everything you buy, including Glory Stories.  Just register and everyday you will get an email from us at Holy Heroes.  When you open the email you and your children will be able to watch a short video (on an Advent topic), listen to two audio links (a scriptual children’s decade of the Joyful Mysteries and the Angelus prayed with other children), print out coloring pages, crossword puzzles, word searches, quizzes, and the Jesse Tree ornament with the Bible passage for the day, and more.  They can all be printed out daily, as many as you want.  It will only take a few minutes a day and your kids will have prayed and learned something everyday.  This is a great tool for busy families to help their children understand the meaning of Advent.
Have a Blessed Advent,
Kerri

On meal planning,
I tried lots of elaborate methods but this is what has worked for me for the past 8 months or so:
I sat down one day and typed in all the meals I make for dinner (just the names) and printed them out using a label format on cardstock (so each meal is on one “card”, then cut them out.

Every Sat. or Sunday (usually pretty late), I pick 4 or 5 of them, sometimes I hand the stack to my husband or kids and ask them to pick a few out. I add some if I’mm cooking a meal for someone else that week.

As I have used the cards I jot down the special ingredients I need to be sure to have on them so that they are now all filled in. I assign a card to a day, I make my list from the items on the cards and I go shopping.

Just knowing at the beginning of the day what’s for dinner and that you have it all in the house helps me. I find I can brown some meat or chop a veggie during small spaces of downtime during the day because I know what needs to be done.

Hope this helps!

Dinner:  What helps me is making a double or triple batch of something easy (chilli, beef stew, etc) and then freezing the left over portions for another day.  Then all you need to do is assemble a salad (which yoiung children can help with), make a bread and you have dinner.

LeAnn,
I feel for you. My son has just now finished potty training!! He turned 3 in August and we had been potty training with him in just underwear for about 7-8 months. My 3rd child was born in May and I felt the same way, I did not want 3 in diapers. Let me tell you now that I look back I would not have tried to push him so much. It is much easier to change a diaper than to clean up messy underwear. I may have saved money but not my sanity. Give her time and don’t push, she will eventually go. I would suggest setting a timer and having her sit on the potty every-so-often just so she is comfortable and if she goes than do some fun activity and give a lot of praise. Other than that I think you need to just let her do it in her own time. Trust me it will make it a lot easier especially with a new baby. I learned the hard way!

Jes - The Glory Stories are WONDERFUL!!!!  Your 5 & y year old will love them, and the younger ones, while they may not understand them, may at least be quiet while they are on, as mine do.  These are great for road trips, and are wonderful gifts for godchildren.  Plus, they support one of the few solidly Catholic missionaries.  I would encourage everyone to check them out!

My husband loves to cook but rarely has time. We love a great meal but I’m stingy when I shop which tends to lead to last minute take out or dinner out. So when my husband has a free weekend (like this past one) He hits Costco’s and a butcher we like and helps me stock up the freezer. I put lots of meat in already cooked—-chicken breasts, ground beef, meat pie etc so I can think about a last minute meal easily and he gets us some date night meals which seem expensive until it keeps us home.

Sorry if this isn’t clear: vicious head cold hit the house.

Momma J,
here is what I do:  I make a 4 week calendar of meals.  IOW, a month’s worth of dinners planned.  (I didn’t originally do a whole month’s worth, I did a week at a time til I had a month.) Then I use that calendar for at least 3 months in a row, sometimes 4, before I make a new one.  Since you are eating the same thing only every 4 weeks, no one here complains about repetition. When I am really organized, I make a master grocery list for week 1, week 2, week 3, and week 4 (but often this does not happen.)  I also have 2 nights where the menu is always the same—Sunday is always breakfast for dinner, Monday is always pizza.  The other nights have some variation, but Friday is always Tex-Mex, Thursday is always some kind of fish..  It helps me a lot.  If you had told me 10 years ago I’d be doing this I’d have thought you were nuts.    Now it’s a lifesaver.

Does anyone know of a good group study on the rosary?  I’m having a hard time finding one.

Thanks in advance!!

Thanks for the Jesse Tree (Therese: I will definitely email you!) and knowing Jesus input! I love hearing how other people catechize the little ones in the house. It helps inspire me!

I just wanted to add a little “hurray for me” on the subject of laundry which has come up here in the past. I used to have loads of laundry sitting and waiting for me (in fact my husband used to say he could go for weeks without seeing certain pieces of clothing…he was afraid to put stuff in the wash because he may have to go without for a month! I used to think he was exaggerating. But no!), anyway, now I am at most a day behind all the time. Most days I am doing yesterdays laundry!!! And a few weeks ago when we had one of those weeks from hell (really, everyone had stomach flu, the three kids all on the same night and that wasn’t the worst thing that happened that week) anyway, as you can imagine I got behind in laundry. But it was SO not overwhelming. In fact I wasn’t nearly as behind as I used to be on a regular basis!

So, Rachel, if you are out there, I think I am officially a “laundry geek”.

Anyone have any ideas on how to break it to children that this Christmas is not going to be as, well, festive as they are used to?  We’ve had a lot of unexpected medical expenses and home expenses this year—thus not as much money to be festive with.  Also, we have a newborn—thus not much energy for Mom to be festive with.

I’d like to cut it down to one gift each (usually the kids get one ‘wow’ gift and a few smaller gifts, and some family games that are shared gifts) other than stocking stuffers, which I accumulate all year, anyway.  I’m going to cut the baking down to three kinds of cookie and one kind of candy (that’s about 1/4 of what I normally do) and I want to cut back on the decorating as well.

I just don’t know how to explain it to the older two (they’re 10 and 5) in a way that isn’t going to cause temper tantrums and resentment. 

In other years, grandparents/aunts and uncles might have been able to fill in more gifts so that there would be more there, but with a majority of the family tenuously employed by/retired from the big three automakers, they can’t really afford to buy a lot of stuff this year, either.

Thanks Carrie.  I think I’ve also been buckling under pressure from others to get her out of diapers.  I really appreciate the support and feedback from someone who’s been there !

cjmr,

Maybe “explaining” is not the best way to go. Perhaps if you just starting talking as if the plan is set “Okay, we have to get ready to make our cookies for this year. Lets make gingerbread men and chocolate chip. Which kind of candy do you guys think we should make?” Then if they ask you can just say, without too much drama, that things are a little tight so you thought you would focus on the stuff we really like best. You can also talk about what “gift” they will get for Christmas…in the singular, focusing on what they really want.

Sometimes I think it sounds worse to kids than it really is. I can remember my parents discussing the “lean” Christmas coming and it always seemed more depressing in anticipation than I think it would have been if they had just subtly lowered expectations.

To Carol:

I just found this last night when I was searching for Jesse Tree information. Hope this helps.

http://images.rca.org/docs/discipleship/jessepatterns.pdf

Does anyone have a suggestion for an inexpensive place to find holy/saint cards?
My daughters love the few we have and would love to get them more for Christmas. We do not have a Catholic Bookstore close by and I really don’t want to pay high shipping charges for the few online sources that I have found.
Thanks so much!!!

LeeAnn,
I feel where you are coming from on potty training. My two-year-old just started but we will have our third in May and I understand not wanting 3 in diapers. That being said, I can’t try to force it. My daughter has developmental delays and that is a part of it. But I also watched my neighbor go through this only to have their son regress after the baby was born. For all the tears and frustration my neighbors were back to square one.

Thank you to all who gave suggestions regarding my husband’s cousin and breastfeeding and her breast reduction. She still will not discuss breastfeeding with anyone including her mother, sister or any of her friends. I have decided whether she’s nursing, pumping or has gone to formula, if she chooses to open up I will listen and be supportive, but until then, unless the baby appears malnourished, I’ll back off. It’s her personal decision.

CJMR - my experience is that most people -especially children - value Christmas “experiences” over a pile of gifts.  I’d start by asking your 10 year old what her favorite Christmas memories are.  You might be surprised.  I’ve conducted a couple of workshops based on the book “Unplug the Christmas Machine” and almost universally, what folks remember best about past Christmases are things like decorating the tree, singing songs, painting ornaments, playing games, working at a soup kitchen, staying up late and driving around in the dark to see the Christmas lights, etc. This year I’m cutting way back on the cookies too - I’m due 12/27 -so I asked the kids which cookies they liked best.  Of course they picked the cut out ones (which I find soooo labor intensive) but I can see why they love them.  We all sit around the kitchen table (dad too) and spend the afternoon listening to christmas music, drinking hot chocolate and decorating.  A great family memory. 

We’re also nervous about the economy, so we’re cutting back on gifts as well.  We’ve told the kids they can ask Santa for 4 things, but they will only receive 2-3.  They don’t seem to care. I then immediately turn the conversation to what should we do/get for Grandparents, Daddy, teachers and other special people.  My kids are young (10 & under) but they seem to be enjoying planning surprises for loved relatives as much as they like pouring over the Toy R Us catalogue. Some inexpensive or free things they’re doing for others include writing & illustrating stories, framing a picture they drew or painted and making a “movie” 2-3 minutes long using my camcorder then burning to a disc.

If you are enthused & comfortable that your “new & improved Christmas” is the right thing, then you’ll be better able to communicate it with joy.  Merry Christmas!

My husband suggested that I write and ask if anyone knows if there is a Church teaching on this:  We are struggling with the decisions our parish is making right now and how they are spending their money.  Several people in key leadership positions (not the priests) are not teaching Church doctrine.  We were wondering about giving our tithe to a mission overseas instead of to our parish.  Do we have a moral obligation to tithe to our parish first?  Ideas?  Knowledge?

Thanks,  Bridget

cjmr:  re:Christmas
We don’t have a lot to spend any year…so I try to keep the focus on traditions….We have a Jesse Tree (made with lids from O.J. cans and cut out colored paper), An Advent wall hanging, Advent Wreath and daily prayers, we do a daily easy craft, each child helps make a type of holiday cookie or candy to share with others(we save some for our family celebration also), we do Advent Angels among the children, celebrate St. Nicolas, St. Lucia, Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Guadalupe’s feasts…..some or all of these things can be incorporated to build up the season, rather than the 1 day focus of gifts.  It actually is much easier than it sounds…just 1 day at a time ...We also have had years where everyone gives handmade gifts to each other, and they’ve been very nice remembered years.(Our daughter made scapulars on the sewing machine, our son made a rosary hanger shelf , one child made sacrifice beads for everyone, the younger ones baked something-even chocolate dipped pretzels/or popcorn balls were delicious gifts from the 2-4 yr. olds…I hope these inspire you and God bless your family and new baby…the BEST gift of all.
Meals:  I always started dinner when my babies took their morning nap…then it’s easy to finish up at dinner time by popping the casserole in the oven and preparing the vegetable/salad.  I still do this and it relieves much of the stress. (I ALWAYS shop with a list for the week’s worth of menus first.)

Has anyone ever tried making any kind of bath scrub or other homemade wash?  Did you like it?  If so, do you still have the recipe?  I’d like to do something like this for several female family members and coworkers this year, but I’m a bit hesitant to just pick any recipe off the the internet and give it a go.  Any other ideas for homemade gifts that wouldn’t be too complicated to create in bulk?  Thank you!

KC, I made these last year for my sisters-in-law and mother-in-law.  I’m not sure if any of them have actually USED them, though . . . (sigh)

Candy Cane Bath Salts:

2 cups epsom salts
1/2 c. sea salt
4-6 drops peppermint oil
2-3 drops red food coloring

Place one cup of epsom and 1/4 cup sea salt in a bowl or resealable plastic bag. Add 2-3 drops peppermint oil.

Place the remaining ingredients in a second bowl or bag.  (I found I needed LOTS more food coloring to even get very pink!) Mix well until the coloring incorporates. Layer the red and white salts in a clear bottle or jar.

This year, I’m going to try making cloth shopping bags with my new sewing machine.  Yikes - wish me luck!  :>)

Any La Leche League leaders out there?  I successfully breastfed my first three children.  My fourth child went from about 50th percentile in weight at 4 months to the 1st percentile at 6 months and has stayed tiny even with formula in his food and later Pediasure supplements.  Now my fifth child has gone from the 90th percentile at birth to the 49th at 2 months and the 19th at 4 months.  I thought I was feeding enough and she doesn’t seem malnourished or lethargic or anything, but clearly something is going on.

My pediatrician wants me to supplement with formula, which I’ll do if I must, but I would like to figure out if there is anything else I could do. 

Suggestions?

What is the best way to decline “playdates”  when your child’s classmate’s mother wants to have your daughter over her house?  I do not want to insult her by declining her invitation but I feel my daughter who is six years old is too young and I do not know the family well.  Am I being too overprotective?

P.A.
Maybe you could invite the girl and Mom to your place for a playdate first.  You could get to know them a little more and also talk about how you like to ease your daughter into new situations..that takes away the insult over declining and gives you breathing room for future requests.

P.A. - I don’t think 6 years old is too young for a short solo play date, and I understand your concern if you don’t know a family. The easiest thing I’ve found is to say your daughter would like to play with so & so, and would be more comfortable playing at your house and then invite the other girl over for a short play date.  When mom drops off/picks up her daughter, you’ll probably get a chance to visit and then you can get a begin to get a better idea of what this family’s like.  Another way is to just warmly say what you just wrote and invite the mom & child for coffee one day in order to get to know them better.

Hi, all~

I was wondering if anyone has any ideas for marking a first reconciliation.  My husband and I will be bringing our eldest child to the sacrament in two weeks, and we have already told him we would have a quiet dinner out, just the three of us, afterward.  However, I would like to do something more to commemorate the event…anyone have ideas for a gift or project that would add to this experience in a sacred and solemn way?  Any ideas would be most appreciated!

cjmr - We’re cutting back this year, too, and I am sure we’re not alone!  At Christmas, mine will be 3, 4, and 7, and around here, we do enjoy the ripping of paper and the “event” of the present opening, so I am planning on several small gifts rather than a big, expensive electronic or wheeled present.  Play-dough, sewing supplies, dart board (magnetic!!!!), paperback books, classic board games (7.99 at Target), and coloring books are already stashed. 

P.A. - I, too, have trouble declining playdates, but, unless I am extremely close with the family, I invite myself (and toddler and preschooler!) along.  Then, I get a read on the family and home from the inside.  Trust your instincts, and do not give heed to any accusations of overprotectiveness.

Grace and peace…
Jeannine

A few thoughts:
1.  I love the idea about meal cards.  Thanks Danielle!
2.  There is really no need to explain about a different kind of Christmas.  I grew up on the other side of this mentality. My parents who struggled to have kids adopted two and every holiday always was over the top.  As a teenager, I began to realize how out of focus Christmas became.  As an adult, I am happy to set my own standards for the holidays.  I think making cookies and decorating and family time together are the best gifts to give kids.  Focus on what you have as a family and understand that kids don’t need stuff.  Don’t feel guilty.  Feel smart and like a good mom.  : )
3.  Any thoughts about how to manage sending Christmas cards?  I feel like I have a monumental task ahead of me this year and I could use advice about how to organize the list that keeps groooowwwing.
Thanks!

As far as the weight gain for breast fed babies is concerned one thing to check is to make sure that your pediatrician is using the breastfed growth charts rather than the formula ones because there is a difference.  BF babies frequently start out gaining rapidly and then slow down. However, there are other things that can be going on.  Are you a smoker?  That can impact on both your let down reflex and the baby’s growth pattern.  Is your baby nursing truly on demand or are you trying to keep them on some sort of clock schedule?  Are you offering both breasts at a feeding?  Do you hear the baby swallowing frequently during a feed?  Is the baby nursing at least once or twice during the night?  Have you tried nursing more frequently to build up your milk supply?

Babies do frequently pick their line on the growth chart and stay there.  My dd went from a pudgy 3 month old (whose father called her thunder thighs) to a very lean one year old.  She stayed very lean from that point on, but finally was back above the 3rd percentile by the time she was 15.  As an adult she is staying in the low 120’s (at 5’5) and is one of those people who can eat what she likes and not gain weight.  There was nothing wrong with her it was just her metabolic makeup.  Her brother was the absolute opposite and never dropped below the 40th %.  He weighed as much at 6 as she did at 11.  To give you some idea of how tiny she was at 5 she only weighed 29 lbs.  Two kids, same mom, same lactation ability, if anything she nursed more than he did. 

Sometimes low weight gain is a result of lactation management (i.e. trying to schedule feeds rather than allowing the natural supply and demand system to work), sometimes low weight gan (especially in the early weeks) is due to a poor suck on the part of the baby.  Rarely, poor weight gain is due to a physical problem in the mom.  I would suggest contacting a lactation consultant before adding supplemental formula.  Generally they know more about lactation than most physicians and they could do an assessment of the baby’s nursing patterns.  One possibility since your baby is nearing the half year mark is introducing solids earlier rather than later instead of supplementing with formula.

Sometimes what’s happening is that the baby gets put off frequently when a mom is running around doing a lot of other stuff.  For some babies it doesn’t seem to be a problem, but some mother’s have a milk supply that is very sensitive and it takes little to disrupt it.  Remember an empty breast makes milk faster than a fuller one, so the more frequently the breast is emptied the more your body will be signaled to make more milk.  If you can figure out some ways to spend a couple of days snuggled up and nursing a good share of the day you may find that your milk supply increases substantially and the baby starts gaining faster again.

I am thinking about getting my two girls (ages 4 and 2) a dollhouse for Christmas.  Does anyone have any suggestions for pretty, wooden dollhouses that won’t break the bank?  I would like something that they can play with now (i.e. sturdy!), but that they can also continue to use as they get older.

This is actually for Danielle’s son, Eamon:  Your comments about the Flipsides cracker-pretzel were hysterical!  And I totally agree…what was Keebler thinking!

re: Bridget #32

What Church doctrine are they not teaching?
That is what I was wondering when you wrote.
I ask because some feel that holding hands during the Our Father is a terrible thing to do and against Church teaching.  I personally don’t like holding hands with anyone except my family but would not have this high on my list of priorities to withhold support.  That is just a small example.  Some feel that they must follow Canon Law and stay in the parish within their physical boundaries.  I know the older moms I have gotten to know share how they could not go to the parish in the neighborhood they wanted to because they were refused if they didn’t live within the boundaries ( and there was 4 churches within a mile).  I believe this is still somewhere in Canon Law but hardly anybody follows it.

So for me it depends on what the issue is.  Are they promoting abortion?  That would be a grave matter and some other things just wouldn’t matter as much to me.

Jordana - My first two babies were robust and chubby but my third was skinny and my fourth had a lot of trouble gaining weight. I figured that my milk was getting less like cream and more like 2 percent! With my fifth baby I decided to be proactive and consume as much good fat as I could right from the beginning. By good fat I mean coconut oil, avacado, butter, whole milk, chicken broth made with the whole chicken including skin, fish oil, walnuts/walnut oil, etc. This plan seemed to work well and he gained just fine although not as rapidly as the first two (they were REALLY big).  If you would like more information about this kind of diet you could check out the website westonprice.org .

P.A. - I feel the same way. I don’t know whether it is overprotective or just realistically cautious. I do know that I regret the times when I have allowed playdates that are against my better judgment. Nothing very terrible happened but just things that I wish he had not been exposed to at a young age, as well as some safety issues at one house.

To cjmr: my family had plenty of lean years when I was growing up, esp. when my dad was in med school.  My folks were never extremely lavish with gifts anyway, but some years they did tell us that it would be an entirely homemade Christmas.  All of us made gifts for each other or gave something that we had that we knew the other person particularly liked.  Those were the best years and the ones we kids all remember now that we are grown up.  It doesn’t have to be a let down; in fact, we had more fun with it because we had to think so hard about what to make or give away and spend time on it.  No one wanted to open their gifts from others, actually: we were too excited to have everyone else open what we had given them! It’s a good opportunity for everyone not to just buy something and check another person off the list, but to really put time, thought, and sacrifice into the gifts.  Do let your kids know what’s going on, to a point (not to where they will wonder if mom and dad can afford to feed and house them at all, let alone buy gifts, since kids can worry more than they should about such things), but just so they can adjust expectations and really feel a part of whatever new, simple things your family does.

True confession time.

I don’t do the Jesse Tree. We’ve tried a few times and just can’t get into it. The Advent wreath is another story they are ALL about the Advent Wreath.

Now maybe if they got to light the Jesse Tree on fire….....

Midwest mom:  I have found large lots on ebay.  We use many in homeschool projects, so we do use the large quantity.  This makes the shipping a bit more reasonable.  How many are you looking for?  I have lots here, including many we picked up in Rome.  If you are interested, you can contact me via my blog, or ask Danielle for my email address.

Bridget:
I have been in this situation twice before.  With the first parish, we gave what would have been a donation to the parish to a specific parish ministry, such as the pro-life ministry, St. Vincent de Paul, or the Legion of Mary, or specific parish projects you do support.
In the second parish where this was a problem, we only donated to worthy second collections (Peter’s Pence), and to our building fund.  The idea behind the latter was our money was paying off the building debt, in hopes that an orthodox pastor would come and he would not have that debt hanging over his head.  Praise the Lord, that is just the situation we are in now!  My sympathy is with you; I know what a burden and struggle your situation is.

to Jeannine,

Congrats on the upcoming first reconciliation!  In our family we’ve always commemorated the day with a gift of a personal crucifix.  Our younger ones have even looked forward to this gift with “hints” of which one they like best!