All-Star Game

Polar Bear and Winger played great in the All-Star Game for the Squirt AA tournament this weekend! Four out of the eight goals were scored by Polar Bear -- he made it look so easy! Even Gr. Judy and Gr. Gerald were impressed -- and they barely understand hockey. They treated the twins to bed and breakfast for this Midwest Finals weekend.

Other great news: Alan Smith of the Minnesota Mavericks showed up at the rink and recruited them to play on his Squirt AAA team this summer. Only two other players from our league were offered spots on his team. They are looking forward to fast-paced tournaments up north which will challenge their competitive spirits.

100th Day of School

We celebrated our 100th Day of School with my famous banana cake. The twins made a list of the things we have in quantities of 100. (One year we discovered that Captain has more than 100 socks!) Nothing too surprising on the list since we have done it for many years in a row. We have 100s of Legos, books, marbles, toys, sea shells from Florida vacations, etc. Happy Schooling!

St. Thomas Aquinas

Today, for the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, I wanted to post one of my favorite quotes from his writings:

"Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath, and a glass of wine."

Now which one should I choose first?

Popcorn Bowl

Winger is so thrilled to make popcorn in the basement microwave. (what a treat!) Plus he has a cardboard bowl from the movie theater that he can re-use! (another treat!) He wanted to make some today when the twins had a friend over to play video games after school.

Mother Teresa Movie

While the kids were snowboarding, I stayed in the lodge for 9 hours and did my own thing. This included watching the "Mother Teresa" movie with Olivia Hussey. She did an excellent job portraying the saint of Calcutta! It was easy to watch, and I recommend it for kids. Her passion to respect the poorest of the poor is so evident, yet her humility in pursuing this dream is astonishing. This film was produced by Lux Vide, as an Italian TV special in 2003 in honor of her beatification.

Snowboarding

We took a field trip to Snow Creek today. All four of my kids went snowboarding with their friends, despite the cold temps and the snow-makers blasting right into their faces. Meggar skied with Rach, Dorito took Adam, and the twins invited Todd and Taylor. We were fortunate enough to win a 3-visit pass from the West Ski Club annual drawing, and it's great to use it for friends like this! Here's a photo of the board Meggar got for Christmas from Santa.

Weekend Hockey

It started with a Topeka Roadrunners game on Friday night. They scored 5 goals (exciting!) so we were treated to FREE pizza at Cici's Buffet. The twins asked Dawson to come home with us - and they spent their time Saturday playing knee hockey, air hockey, and garage hockey.
Their team had the weekend off, but the Saints Bantam team had 4 games! They went on the ice without a warm-up, because I forgot the roster and registration documents. Luckily, Dorito helped them come back, and he scored 2 goals this weekend.

You've Got Mail!

For Christmas, we set up new email accounts for the twins. They were so cute to hurry and check their email the next morning. After the initial message from Mommy and Daddy, they forgot for a few days... Then Winger announced excitedly, "I've got four messages!" He will be good about writing replies, because he is always writing letters and stories during school. Whereas Polar Bear is a little more laid back and reads the emails without bothering to reply. You can guess which is Mom's favorite twin!

Art Showing

"Don't Eat the Artwork" was the theme of Robin's and Aimee's art showing at Blue Plate Dinners in Lawrence. We journeyed to their Opening Night, which included wine and appetizers by the host establishment. I was not disappointed. Robin looked hip and happy, the artwork was refreshing, and the crowd was cheery and full of conversation. Robin was in my journalism classes at K-State, and she has a beautiful spirit. Her paintings are a combination of vibrant, Italian colors and raised glass covers which are etched with one-word encouragements. We saw her trademark stars on a green background of "hope." (Robin was always able to wish upon a star.) Winger liked the "be happy" painting, because yellow is his favorite color. Captain liked the menu at Blue Plate Dinners, so we took home Chicken Brunswick Stew. And I bought the Cream Cheese Puffs with Apricot Chutney. (It will be a great appetizer for my next movie night.) The evening was too short, but it was sweet.

Obama's Disgrace

He only waited one day to sign an executive order that repealed the Mexico City Policy. President Obama fulfilled his campaign promise one day after the March for Life. Now taxpayers will be forced to see their money given to groups that promote and perform abortion here and overseas.

President Reagan first put the Mexico City Policy in place, and it is named for the population conference that took place in Mexico in 1984. President George H.W. Bush continued the pro-life policy, President Clinton overturned it, and President George W. Bush kept it for eight years by threatening to veto any Congressional action that aimed to reverse it.

"One effect of Obama's order will be to divert many millions of dollars away from groups that do not promote abortion, and into the hands of those organizations that are the most aggressive in promoting abortion in developing countries," said Douglas Johnson at the National Right to Life Committee.

March for Life

Today marks the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, so hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers will witness for the unborn by marching in Washington, D.C. Luckily, our friends (like Stephanie) have warmer weather than the year Meggar and I went with Kristen H. and Elizabeth S. Regardless of who is the sitting president, we will bring up the cause year after year and pray for legislative/judicial justice for the tiniest human babies.

At our parish, we sent home baby bottles and asked each family to return them full of coins. This fundraiser will benefit the local Pregnancy Resource Clinic.

Hockey Pajamas

One accomplishment over the holidays was that I sewed hockey pajamas for the twins -- Blue for Ben, of course. And with the extra fabric, I made them each a pillow to match. We actually won Reid's hockey PJ pants in the raffle, and the red long-underwear shirts were bought at the mall. But I couldn't resist the snuggly warm flannel with the hockey designs at Jo-Ann Fabric!

Fiddling with White Elephants

The "Fiddlers Three" played for the Lions Club (rescheduled) Christmas Dinner party tonight. Afterwards, a white elephant auction was held and the fiddlers got in on the bidding action! Dorito bought 2 Disney movies, Polar Bear bought a 1999 bottle of Coke for Meggar, and Winger won an oven mitt and a 3 pound box of cookies! We were chuckling at their bidding styles:
Winger = non-stop vocalizing and explaining his bids to those seated near-by,
Polar Bear= shy with only a slightly-raised hand, and
Dorito = sudden outbursts of raising his hand with a big smile and little giggle.

Inauguration Day

Today is the Inauguration of our 44th American President. There is a wonderful TV ad showing in Chicago on the Black Entertainment Network

that puts the right perspective on Barack Obama's accomplishment. It was only possible because his own mother chose life. Every child deserves the same - regardless of the color of his skin.

Martin Luther King Jr. legacy

I love this quote from Dr. Alveda King, niece to Martin Luther King, Jr. --

"African Americans are pro-life and favor procreative marriage. As we see the dawn of a new year and a great milestone being passed, blacks across the country should let our new president know that we want babies in the womb protected and traditional marriage respected. The accomplishment of an African American holding the nation's highest office will be of little value if the black community continues to be destroyed by the horrible plague of abortion."

Mexican Treats for Book Club

These
"Christmas Rolls" are taken from Chapter 1 of "Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquirel. I made them for our monthly book club tonight. They have a spicy mixture of chorizo, onions, sardines, oregano, and serrano chilies (which my friend Joe Serrano grows in his backyard each summer for his kids' sake). As the story goes, you may cry over the chopping of the onions. And the simmering aroma in the air may remind you of Christmas in kitchen's past. I love recipes and culinary fiction or culinary memoirs. I also took Luzon wine from Jumillo, which was recommended by the Wine Shop lady for its smoky flavor to complement the rolls - Excellent! The title: "Like Water for Chocolate" is a saying that means the boiling water/milk is ready for you to melt in the chocolate--either to refer to someone who is boiling mad or boiling with passion. I can relate to Tita! It was a great treat for me tonight to discuss this book, even though another member *detested* the story. The magical realism was not to her taste. I also brought Vee along, and I think she liked meeting our 6 regular members and will join our book club for the whole year!

Christmas Rolls
1/2 chorizo sausage (I used 1/2 pound)
1 can sardines
1 onion, finely chopped
1 can chiles serranos (I used fewer)
Oregano, (I used 1/2 t. ground oregano)
10 hard rolls
Simmer the onions and chorizo sausage slowly so as not to burn. Add sardines, serrano chiles, and oregano. Let mixture simmer to combine flavors. Allow to stand on counter until serving time. Stuff into hard rolls, allowing sauce to drip over the edges.

Bantam Hockey

The Saints Bantam team traveled to St. Louis for the MLK RiverCity Tournament. They finished in 3rd place! and enjoyed their time at the hotel breakfast buffet. Dorito spent a lot of time in the "Rule Room" playing PS-2 games with Aaron and Cody, et. al.

Taking a Break

As you can see, this blog lacked my attention from Dec. 12 - Jan. 12. The busy-ness of family life at Christmas time is my best excuse. I was too stubborn to admit the hockey and school schedules were overwhelming me. Since I need to continue writing for my own sake, I will try to pick up the peices. Everyone will know I'm not perfect.