Revolution of Love

Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

7 Quick Takes (11/1/13): The Really Quick All Saints Edition

I’m linking up with Jen for this 7 Quick Takes.

~ 1 ~

Last night I grabbed my laptop and sat down to write 7 Quick Takes after a nearly 3 week blogging break but I was just not in the mood. So I put the laptop away and snuggled up with Brian and watched the first episode of The Paradise, which has been patiently waiting on my DVR for weeks.

Now that it is Friday afternoon and the kids are quiet, (ha! Let’s see how long that lasts!) I will try again.

 

~ 2 ~

Photo Credit: Happy Saints.com (Love those guys!)

First off, Happy All Saints Day! We went to Mass this morning at the kids’ school and the 3rd grade always dresses up as their patron saints and gives a little presentation. It was really beautiful and sweet. We were supposed to go to an All Saints Day party at a friend’s house tonight but Brian and two of my little guys are not feeling well so I think we’ll have to stay home. Bummer.

(Looking for a costume idea? Check out the post Saint Costume Ideas for All Saints Day.)

 

~ 3 ~

We did have a nice Halloween (although JP was already a little under the weather) and went trick or treating at a local shopping center that has an afternoon non-scary Halloween party for kids. The shops give out candy and there is a pumpkin patch, etc. We love it and go every year.

As for costumes we had Bella as a “Newsie”, Andrew as Super Mario, John-Paul as a Star Wars clone trooper and Matthew as a Jedi Knight.

The best thing about afternoon trick or treating? By 7:30 we had the boys asleep, Bella reading in her bed and Brian and I ready to watch a movie and eat some candy. Yeah, the party days are over. ๐Ÿ˜‰

 

~ 4 ~

Now that Halloween is officially over, I can watch my Christmas movies and listen to Christmas music without guilt. I know, I know, it is still too early but I love it and December – to mid Jan is just not long enough for me to celebrate. I like to start since early October but curb it until Nov 1. ๐Ÿ˜‰

 

~ 5 ~

Disneyland 2012

I am also counting down until we return to So Cal for our annual trip to Disneyland and then Thanksgiving with my family. Although, we just saw each other at my sister’s wedding (which was beautiful!) we were so busy with the preparations and festivities that we didn’t really have a lot of one on one time together. That will be remedied in 24 days. ๐Ÿ˜‰

 

~ 6 ~

Don’t forget to set your clocks back Saturday night! Happy dance!!

 

~ 7 ~

Have a great weekend!!

 

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads or Instagram. ๐Ÿ˜‰


7 Quick Takes (10/13): Sunday Edition – Winners & Road Trips

Linking up with Jen (at the 11th hour.)

~ 1 ~

I was supposed to start writing this on Friday but I never got past typing the #1. Today, I am almost certain I won’t actually make it to #7 but I’ll try anyway. Hey, look. I’m already onto #2. ๐Ÿ˜‰

 

~ 2 ~

This morning I opened up my email and guess what I saw?? An email from CatholicMom.com telling me that I won a copy of Lino Rulli’s new book Saint from their recent contest. Yay! Lino is so funny (and a little crazy.) I am looking forward to reading his book! ๐Ÿ˜‰

 

~ 3 ~

That email was also a reminder that I still had to announce the winner of the recent RoL contest. John-Paul had the honors of choosing a winner.

I was so happy for being a winner myself that I decided to pick two names…so there are two winners to congratulate!

So the winner of A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms: 52 Companions for Your Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul is Liana W. The winner of Small Steps for Catholic Moms: Your Daily Call to Think, Pray, and Act is Annery. Congrats to you both! ๐Ÿ™‚

 

~ 4 ~

Speaking of books, remember how I told you that I loved the book Mysterious Albion (Vatican Vampire Hunters) (Volume 1) by Paul Leone? Well, his sequel is almost done – Vatican Vampire Hunters 2: The Book of Thoth. Mr. Leone (is is too informal to call him Paul?) sent me a sneak peak and I have been dying to read it but it’s a PDF and hard to read on my phone and I rarely sit at my computer just to read. I know there is an app to send PDF’s to your Kindle. I’ll have to go look it up so I can start Book 2. In the meantime, go read Mysterious Albion if you haven’t yet! ๐Ÿ˜‰

 

~ 5 ~

I bought the cutest little St. Anne charm for my planner. You should click over to Tiny Saints and see all the adorable saint charms they have, including many “lesser known” saints. This would be a great gift for All Saints Day, Namesake Day or a Baptism.

 

~ 6 ~

Lastly, this time next week my younger sister Bridgette (and godmother to Andrew and Matthew) will be a married woman. I am so excited for her and my almost brother-in-law Mick! We will be leaving shortly to spend some time with my family. It will be the first time all 9 siblings will be at the same place in over 4 years. My fellow blogging sis EML and I have nieces and nephews we have yet to meet! Because I will be busy with the packing, road trip, wedding, family reunion etc, I’ll be taking a blogging break for at least for a week. I will however still post pics and updates on my Facebook page and Instagram so meet me there! ๐Ÿ™‚

~ 7 ~

Wow, I actually thought of 7 things. Have a wonderful week (or two!)

 

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads or Instagram. ๐Ÿ˜‰


7 Quick Takes (10/4/13): Downton Abbey Season 4 Preview Edition

Today I am linking up with Jen for 7 Quick Takes.

It’s been a busy week and as I mentioned yesterday, I was having a difficult time coping, but I am feeling much better now and have a free 1/2 hour so let’s get to it!

~ 1 ~

Well, fellow Downton Abbey lovers, it’s that time of year again when we lament that the UK gets to see Season 4 before we do and we figure out ways to watch it online or read all the UK blogs with season details, unless you are like me and try to avoid all spoilers at all costs! I do however, enjoy the teaser trailers I have been seeing.

~ 2 ~

When I saw the preview trailer from PBS Masterpiece, I was happy to see that Mary is grieving. Not that I am glad that Matthew is gone, (I am still shaking my fists over that one!) but when I was seeing the news about the casting of new love interests for Mary, I was afraid that she (and we) would not be given time to grieve the loss. Her struggles makes it more realistic.

On the plus side, there is no more Bates in jail prolonged drama and plenty of Team Anna&Bates secret looks and stolen kisses. ๐Ÿ˜‰

~ 3 ~

Check it out for yourself.

~ 4 ~

Here’s another trailer from ENTV

~ 5 ~

We have to wait until Jan 5th for season 4 to air in the US but in the meantime, you can watch this preview of Masterpieceโ€™s The Paradise, which starts on Sunday, Oct 6.

The preview reminds me a bit of Mr. Selfridgeโ€ฆ since it was a period piece set in a retail shop. Letโ€™s hope that this one is better. Mr. Selfridge was a disappointment to me. I like Jeremy Piven but he didnโ€™t seem the right cast for this role and I hated that ALL the characters (including the married once) had no power to keep their pants (or corsets on.) Well, Iโ€™ll be hoping for the best anyway. ๐Ÿ˜‰

~ 6 ~

Check out the trailer.

~ 7 ~

What did you think?? Are you excited? I can’t wait. ๐Ÿ™‚

Oh, and don’tย  forget to enter the contest to win a free copy of Small Steps for Catholic Moms OR A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms here. The drawing is on Wed, Oct 9. All you have to do is tell me which you prefer. (And you get an extra entry if you tell me you like(d) RoL on facebook.) ๐Ÿ™‚

Have a great weekend!

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads or Instagram. ๐Ÿ˜‰


7 Quick Takes (7/27/13): Busy Days, 90’s Music & Beauty Despite Disability

I’m linking up with Jen for today’s 7 Quick Takes.

~ 1 ~

It seems like awhile since I have done a Quick Takes. That’s usually because by the time Friday comes around I am so fried from the week that the thought of blogging loses its appeal. But the big kids are at school, the little kids are sitting quietly (I know, shocker) eating a banana and watching Pingu. (Yeah, I don’t get the appeal of that show but for this particular moment, silence is golden.) I just sat down to eat my breakfast burrito. (Did you notice, sis? I used the proper terminology and not the ridiculous word “wrap.” Does that only bug us? Maybe it’s a Mexican thing. But I digress…) Since I am sitting at the computer eating my breakfast anyway, let’s see what I can type with one hand while I eat with the other. Ready…go.

~ 2 ~

“Bang, bang on the door, baby…” I’m listening to my 90’s playlist as I am typing. Can you guess which song/band is playing now??

Source

September is always a busy month for us but this week it hits its peak. We had our carpets cleaned yesterday and ohmygoodness, that was the best chunk of change we’ve spent all year. We have four kids and light colored carpet. I believe it was my mother-in-law that chose the color (we are living in the home of Brian’s grandmother who has since passed away.) If you saw my MIL, you’d know why she picked that carpet. She looks JUST LIKE Eva Gabor on Green Acres. The last time we took a trip to Lake Tahoe together she wore white, head to toe. Five hours later she came out of the car perfectly coiffed and spotless. I can out of the car with bed head and a big ketchup stain on my chest from the happy meal fries I snagged from Matthew. Enough said. So yeah, this light carpet is lovely for a childless couple but it is not exactly the best for a family of six.

Anyway, the guy from My Pro Dry (if you are on the Monterey Peninsula, give them your business. They rock!) must have drawn the short straw. I am sure our customer case file says “bio hazard equipment optional” written somewhere. He made our disgusting looking carpets sparkle again. As I looked at the clean, empty room I was tempted to lock the kids out of the house so I could have just one day of my house looking like it could be on “Better Homes and Garden” instead of a repeat of “Hoarders: Buried Alive.”ย  Oh well. Now that everything is dry, I have to move all the furniture and junk that is piled up in the corners back where it belongs. Fun stuff, people.

~ 3 ~

Name that band – “It’s the end of the world as we know it…”

Speaking of messy, last week Nicki over at A Catholic Heart for Home continued her Not Alone Series with her Favorite Mom Blogs. And guess what? My sis and I were both mentioned. My sister’s mentioned accomplishment were having 5 kids under 5, homeschooling and making things from scratch. (I know, right!) She rocks. My accomplishment? That I am so messy that I make Nicki not feel so bad about her own domestic struggles…or something to that effect. If I wasn’t in such a good mood I could get all “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha” about my sis, but I won’t. Seriously, thanks for the mention, Nicki. I am glad to hear that you are enjoying the blog, messiness and all. xoxo ๐Ÿ˜‰

~ 4 ~

Name that band – “Come as you are, as you were, As I want you to be As a friend, as a friend, as an old enemy. Take your time, hurry up The choice is yours, don’t be late. Take a rest, as a friend, as an old memoria. Memoria…”

[Pretend there is a topic related photo here.]

This weekend we also have Bella’s birthday party with her friends, Bella’s family party at the inlaws and our school Fiesta that all families are required to work. I am avoiding all this madness by typing and spilling salsa on my shirt. Dang it! “You should wear white more often,” said no one ever. Forget the one hand typing. I need both so I can finish this before my timer runs out. Hit the snooze! I need 5 more minutes!

~ 5 ~

Name that band – “Sorry I’m not home right now, I’m walking into spiderwebs. So leave a message and I’ll call you back. A likely story, but (Yeah) leave a message. And I’ll call you back” (Aw, remember the old days before we had caller ID.) ;-)

I wanted to join Suscipio in their 3-2-1 Fantastically Fun Friday Link-up without the link-up! Whether you are a blogger or a non-blogger, just answer the 3 questions in their comment box. This week Jen is going to the state fair so her prompts are fair related. Here is my contribution:

3 Things I’m Thankful For
~ I may jokingly complain but for the four sweet kiddos who make our carpets so dirty.
~ For twelve years of blessed life with my sweet Bella Bambina.
~ For date nights that land in Phase 3. Woohoo. (Ignore that, mom. I know you don’t like when I mention such things in “public.”) ๐Ÿ˜‰

2 Foods at the Fair I Love to Eat
~ A corn dog OR
~ A BBQ pulled pork sandwich.

1 Ride at the Fair I Am TERRIFIED of
~ I’ll go on a roller coaster but anything with a clown...Scary.

 

~ 6 ~

Name that song/band -“Teachers, Keep on teachin’ Preachers, Keep on preachin’, World, keep on turnin’, ‘Cause it won’t be too long. Oh, no Lovers, Keep on lovin’ While believers Keep on believin’. Sleepers, Just stop sleepin, Cause it won’t be too long. Oh, no!” (I dare you to hear that song and not dance around.) ๐Ÿ˜‰

Matty in the waiting room.

For those who didn’t already read the news on my Facebook page or Instagram, we took Matthew to Stanford Hospital last Friday so a specialist could take a look at his legs. Basically, Matthew’s leg bone is facing the wrong direction. In old days, they would have put him in a brace but, thankfully, they don’t do that anymore. Instead we have some simple home therapy we have to do with his legs and as he grows taller, 99% of the time, the leg bone will rotate into the correct position.ย  Praise, God.

Thanks for all your prayers and encouraging words. Please just say a prayer that he continues to heal. And let’s not forget all the kids who are suffering various ailments. As we sat in the waiting room we felt incredibly blessed that Matthew’s problem wasn’t more serious. There were so many little broken bodies, it brought tears to my eyes. There was one little guy sitting in his wheel chair hardly able to move. He was holding a Dora sticker in his hand and dropped it. He moaned for his grandma to pick it up but she didn’t look so hot herself. I don’t think she understood what he wanted. I walked over and picked up his sticker and gave it back to him. He lovingly caressed it as if it was a precious prize. Then he smiled at me and his face lit up. I smiled back and sat down.

I looked at another girl in a wheel chair and she smiled too. She had a lovely smile that was reflected in her eyes. I looked around the room and for a brief moment I didn’t see the disabilities and the limitations, I just saw kids who were happy and playful in situations that would have broken me. They were beautiful. So for those sweet kids carrying incredible crosses, let’s say a prayer for them and their families and take a moment to be thankful for our own blessings.

~ 7 ~

With perfect timing, the song โ€œThatโ€™s the Impression That I Getโ€ from the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones just came on. It’s so good I need to add the video. (Never have white socks with a dark suit looked so good.)

Have a great weekend! xoxo

Oh, and don’t forget to enter the contest to win a free copy of Small Steps for Catholic Moms OR A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms here. All you have to do is tell me which you prefer. (And you get an extra entry if you like(d) RoL on facebook.) ๐Ÿ™‚

 

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads or Instagram. ๐Ÿ˜‰


7 Quick Takes (9/6/13): Prayer, Discipline and Foyle’s War

I’m linking up with Jen today for 7 Quick Takes. ๐Ÿ™‚

~ 1 ~

 

Pray for Peace – You’ve most likely seen these already but in case you haven’t, I’m posting it here. The Holy Father has called for a day of prayer and fasting for peace in Syria. It is on Saturday, September 7. I think I will fast from my phone/computer/camera. Hopefully I can make it 24 hours. ๐Ÿ˜‰ But seriously, whatever level you can do, we should all be joining in!

 

~ 2 ~

Prayer Request – Speaking of prayer, please say a prayer for my little guy Matthew. He has an issue with his legs – he is pigeon toed and has relatively severe bow legs. His tibula bone (particularly on his left leg is facing outward instead of forward. Usually in time, it will rotate but he is going to be 2 1/2 and it is still pretty bad. So now we need to take him to a pediatric orthopedic up in Stanford (about 2 hours north of us) to get an evaluation done. We are hoping he will not need surgery. So an extra prayer for my little guy is much appreciated!!

 

~ 3 ~

Quiet time – Speaking of Matthew, with Bella and Andrew back in school and John-Paul going three days out of the week for a few hours, Matthew and I have more time alone together. After dropping JP off at preschool we’ll often go make a visit to the Chapel. It’s good for him and definitely good for me. Sometimes I get so busy with day to day living I forget to just stop, quiet myself and be in the presence of Our Lord. Amazingly, Matthew is quiet and just sits/kneels with me patiently. Quite the opposite of how he acts with his brothers at Sunday Mass!

 

~~ 4 ~~

Slackers Unite – Along with spending a little more time in quiet before God, I could also use a reboot in the discipline department. That is why I was intrigued when I read Jen’s post about doing an online book discussion of the e-bookย  21 Days to a More Disciplined Life. I clicked over and read the intro of the book, not expecting much. Then I read this section:

Who is this book for?

  • You have trouble following through.
  • You get overwhelmed by huge projects.
  • You start strong, but your passion fizzles out.
  • You are super-disciplined in a few areas of your life, but you have one or two pet areas that you just canโ€™t get under control.
  • You check out 10 different books on discipline and organization from the library, but return all of them late.

The last one had me laughing out loud. Yeah, that is so me. This summer I was in super slacker mode and as I mentioned on Monday, September 1st is my Jan 1. My drive to improve my problem areas is strongest right now. I pulled out my planner and got back into using it (cuz if I don’t write it down, I don’t remember it!) and I am ready to work on a little discipline that doesn’t burn out in a day or two. I downloaded the e-book and will be joining in the discussion. If you are interested, join us!

 

~ 5 ~

Bday Wishes – Bella’s birthday is coming at the end of the month. She is going to be 12! She loves the music from the Broadway musical “Newsies” so I thought I would give her a Newsies themed party. The poster is my base. Colors could be black, white and red. Any other suggestions??

 

~ 6 ~

Foyle’s War – Are you a Foyle’s War fan? Brian and I have been watching Foyle’s War of PBS for years and were ecstatic when the show was coming out of retirement and picking up where it left off. Season 7 starts on Sunday, Sept 15 on PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery. If you’ve never watched it before and like period dramas or mysteries, you should check it out on Netflix.

 

~ 7 ~

Okay, it is an hour past my bed time (and you wonder why I need a book on discipline) and I can barely keep my eyes open so I better stop here. Have a great Friday!

UPDATE: At midnight last night I could not remember what the #7 Take was supposed to be. Now in the light of morning, I remember!

I wanted to join Suscipio in their 3-2-1 Fantastically Fun Friday Link-up without the link-up! Whether you are a blogger or a non-blogger, just answer the 3 questions in their comment box. This week Angela is hosting.ย  Here is my contribution:

3 Things I’m Thankful For
~ When my little guy hugs me from behind and says, “I wub you, mama.” Swoon.
~ For the upcoming weekend and having everyone home.
~ For packages in the mail with sweet surprises.

2 Things in My Purse That Don’t Need to Be There
~ A 1/2 of string cheese that’s hard as a rock
~ A roll of scotch tape. (My 4 year old would disagree. He is always accidentally tearing a page in one of the books he’s always carrying around. He likes me to fix it immediately, not when we get home. ๐Ÿ˜‰

1 Thing I Love, Love, Love to Eat
~ It’s a tie between a BBQ Turkey Burger or Taco Salad. Yum.

Thanks for hosting, Angela!

Okay, now you can have a great weekend. ๐Ÿ˜‰

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads or Instagram. ๐Ÿ˜‰