Halloween

Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight make me a child again just for to-night! ~Elizabeth Akers Allen

Halloween, it brings such wonderful childhood memories. I can remember my mom making my costume and my brother and I waiting all day in anticipation for my dad to get home from work so he could take us trick or treating.

All the kids would jump in my dad’s van and he and my uncle would drive us to the so called “rich houses” all that means is we did not live in the best neighborhood, so we would go into my grandparents neighborhood where my dad said they gave out better candy.

My brother, cousins, and I would be let loose into the night to run free from house to house. I was a kid who had to be home when the streetlights came on so being outside to run free in the dark was awesome.

We would have our pillowcases out and ready to be filled. We were allowed to trick or treat until our pillowcases were full and we could not carry them anymore.

I remember the ever-dreaded moment when my mom would make me wear a coat over my costume, but if I pestered my dad long enough while trick or treating he would let me take it off.

Mom got wise and started making our costumes big enough to fit over a winter coat.

Who can forget the best Halloween show ever made, It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Watching this cartoon special at night when no cartoons should be on was another highlight of Halloween.

I have fond memories of my childhood Halloween and I enjoy watching the fun my kids have today.

My kids get their pillowcases ready and wait for dad to get home. My brother comes over to join in on the fun.

Halloween is a time where kids can be free and own the night. And a pillowcase stuffed to the brim with candy isn’t so bad either.

For more Halloween goodness check out the post Top Ten Things to do for a Catholic Halloween at Canterbury Tales.


Happy Halloween!

A Day in the Life of a Thrifty Shopper

Where I live the weather changes so quickly. You don’t know if it is going to be 70 degrees outside or 40 degrees.

The cold weather has been pretty consistent. I took the winter coats out and had the kids try the coats on. All the while crossing my fingers hoping their coats would fit one more year.

Everybody’s coat fit perfectly except Miss. She has gotten so tall that last years coat was not going to cut it. Miss needed a winter coat now so I headed off to my favorite place, our local thrift store.

We have an awesome local thrift store. There are some days when I go that I can’t find anything, but most of the time I can find some really good stuff.

The kids and I went hunting for a winter jacket for Miss. At first the selection was not that great. Either the coats were not warm enough or way to worn. Then Miss spotted a lime green coat that she loved. It was heavy and warm and looked brand new. It was a London Fog winter coat and as I was inspecting it I saw it still had the tags on it and the price on the tag was $60.00. The thrift store price was $8.99, score!

After the thrift store we did some shopping at the dollar store to find curlers. Miss made up her own costume this Halloween and it includes curlers for her hair.

The kids were being good, and I was still excited about my awesome find at the thrift store. A lady was looking at us and I smiled. Before she walked out the door she said, “Now that is really being handicapped.”

It did not register in my brain what she said until she was out the door. Then I said, “Did she just call me handicapped?”

I began to get angry and was glad that the women had left because I really wanted to say something to her. But instead I shrugged it off and thought about the cool lime green coat that I got for a steal and went on my merry way

As we returned home from an exciting day of thrifty shopping a family member stopped by to chat, it went something like this…

FM-“How is Homeschool going?”

Me- “It is going really well.”

FM- “That’s good I guess.” “I just feel bad for you.”

Me- “Umm, I’m good”

FM- (gives me a look like she knows something I should know too.)

Me- ‘Look at this awesome coat I got….

FM- (cuts me off to tell me about her ailments)

Determined not to lose the happy feeling I have had most of the day, I listened politely as I looked at Miss wearing the brand new coat I bought for $8.99 and tried to remember that it really has been a good day.

Cane River by Lalita Tademy a Review and Reflection

I finished reading the book, Cane River by Lalita Tademy.

The author, Lalita Tademy, writes about her heritage. Lalita researched the women in her family going back five generations. The early women were slaves in Louisiana.

The book tells of the hardships these women faced, how their body and spirits were broken on a daily basis, but how family and the hope for their children helped them to carry on.

This book graphically tells about the despicable treatment Lalita's family had to go through. It also tells of how these women loved and cherished the children they had even though some of the children came about in heartbreaking ways.

As I read this book my heart went out to all the people who suffered under slavery, how their families were torn apart. How children were sold from their mothers. I tried to wrap my brain around how something like this could happen in my country, how all emotions were turned off for the human beings being tortured, whether physically or mentally.

The only thing the woman of this book had to hold on to were their families and children, and even those things could be taken away in a blink of an eye.

There were times when I was reading this book with my mouth open in disbelief, wondering how in the world this could have happened, how could so many people believe owning slaves was a right? The thought disgusted me.

This book made me reflect on the issues of human rights in America today. How many people in this country still believe that some human beings are not worth having rights? How many people will look at a pregnant mother who may be poor, alone, scared, or became pregnant in a horrible way and think abortion is the answer. Taking away the rights of that child and taking away the only thing that mother may have to hold on to.

Unlike slavery, the practice of abortion does not only exist for a certain group, it is the oppression and slavery of all women.

In this book the women hold onto their children and the thought of children. Even knowing these children will most likely be slaves, they hold on to the hope that the next generation will make a difference.

How can we have that hope today when women are taught that it is their right to kill their children if the timing or the way they were brought into this world is not perfect?

The right of abortion has made women into the slave masters and slaves all at once.

One of the lines I love in this book is when a mother and daughter are talking and the mother is trying to console her daughter. The mother says, “I am the rock in your garden, and you are the bloom in mine.”

To fix abortion we have to fix the family.

I had chills down my spine when I read about the slave masters and the people who had their mind and heart in a place that did not have room for certain humans, God’s children, I was frightened. I was overwhelmed at the lack of love and the insanity of it all. I was scared because I could see all of what I was reading happening right now in America.

With abortion, we have been tricked into thinking that these children are not even human. We can close our eyes and hearts because we can’t see their flesh or look into their eyes. We cover it up as a women’s right, but really we are being enslaved, having our children taken from us, our legacy, apart of us that will live on and be apart of God’s plan. At the very same time abortion causes us to be a slave master, deciding who is worth the right to life and who is not.

Will there ever be a day when every parent will look at their children, whether born or unborn and say, “I am the rock in your garden, and you are the bloom in mine.”

I hope so.

You Know You Homeschool When...

Everything in your home becomes a part of school. A foggy bathroom mirror is a perfect place to practice writing your letters.

Voting For a Third Party

This election has my head spinning. Between the two major candidates I know whom I am not voting for. The difficulties I am having are with one major candidate and a third party candidate.

I feel I have a moral obligation to vote for the person who upholds my values and whom I think would be the best president. If I were true to this stance I would have to vote for a third party. Is that throwing away a vote?

I am not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to politics, but I do know that I should be able to choose the person I think represents me and whom I feel will do the best job.

If I vote third party will I be throwing away my vote or will I be making a statement that I would like a candidate who represents my family to be given a chance and be heard?

If I do vote third party I know that particular person won’t win, but will my vote and the votes of others who are fed up make a statement to future elections?

Jumping on the bandwagon and casting my vote for the lesser of two evils is something I don't want to do, I want to be proud of who I vote for.

It would be nice if more choices for the most powerful position in the world were given to “We the People”, choices that make a true difference.

When Life Gives You Mushy Bananas make Banana Bread

I love banana bread. It is so easy to make and so good to eat. Here is a simple recipe that tastes scrumptious. You can add spices and nuts to your taste.

Banana bread

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
2. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Get a helper to mix the dry ingredients.


Then mix the wet ingredients.


Don't forget to mash up the bananas.


An audience is always good.


Pour the batter into a bread pan and put it in the oven.


There you have it, yummy banana bread!

Make Your Own Holy Water Font

Our little Flower group is going great. The girls like being together and love doing the crafts.

Every two weeks a different mom is in charge of leading the group and preparing the craft. These past two weeks it has been my turn to lead the meetings.

I like doing crafts as well but I have a hard time coming up with ideas on my own, thank goodness for the Internet.

As I was searching for the perfect craft I came across the blog Cottage Blessings.

I saw the post about the Holy Water Fonts, this was the craft I wanted to do.

I went to the craft store and bought the wooden plaques. In the framing section you can get hooks to put on the back of the plaques to hang them on the wall.

I bought plastic shot glasses at a store that sells items for parties. Then all you need to do is cut out pictures from magazines, cards or use holy card images.

The girls glued the pictures onto the plaque and then I hot glued the shot glass to the plaque. There you have it, a Holy water Font to hang in their room.

Sweetie And The Gang

Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms. ~George Eliot

I love my pets. I have had dogs and cats all my life. These animals are a normal part of our family. If we did not have any pets around our house would seem so empty.

Right now we have two dogs and some fish. I have always been a dog person. I am not really into cats, but the cats I have known I have always liked.

Sometimes I wish I had a huge house with a big yard so I could have more pets. It is probably a good thing I don’t because I would take in any animal that needed a home. I would most defiantly have to stay away from the animal shelters.

Big D is fond of birds, I was always scared of them until I met my husband’s bird when we were dating. His Grandpa also has a bird that I like.

So after 11 years of marriage and Big D putting up with all my animals I felt he needed a bird. We found Sweetie on Craigslist.com. A wonderful lady in our neighborhood was looking for a good home for Sweetie and we just happened to be that home.

I wasn’t extremely excited about a bird, but now that we have her I think we are going to be good friends. This morning she sat on my shoulder as I cleaned the kitchen, and she chirps for me to come talk to her. She is one cool bird and I am glad she is going to stay.

Titus


Maggie


Sweetie

Holy Card Images

While looking for images on the internet I stumbled across this blog, Holy Cards for Your Inspiration.

The images are beautiful.

Stop by and take a look.

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

“There is no use trying; one can't believe impossible things." (Alice)

"I dare say you haven't had much practice. When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” -Queen

I am a fan of Tim Burton. He is working on his new movie, Alice in Wonderland, the classic book by Lewis Carrol.

The movie is supposed to come out in the Spring of 2010 and I can’t wait.

Johnny Depp is the Mad Hatter

I have read that Mia Wasikowska will play Alice. To be honest I am not sure who she is, but did I mention that Johnny Depp is playing the Mad Hatter?

It has been a while since I have read Alice in Wonderland, but I recently purchased the book to read to my kids.

I hope Tim Burton does a good job. There has not been one movie of his that I have seen that I didn’t love. I am sure this one will be no different.

Pro abortion protestors attack Catholic young people praying

I usually don't post two times in one day but this video I came across at The Catholic Knight just made me want to cry, and at the same time feel so proud of the young Catholics who stood up and defended our Church.

Go to The Catholic Knight to read more

The Minivan

Minivans get a bad rap for being uncool. I felt the pang of the uncoolness when I came to the conclusion that no other car would suit our family than the minivan.

I got over it and told myself to grow up. It is not the car that makes the person. I told myself that I was still cool.

If you read my post about being broke down on the side of the road, you know we were having van troubles. If you did not read it you can go here.

We took our van not once but three times to the mechanic and still it was not fixed, we realized we had to purchase a new minivan.

Dig D went to a dealer that goes to our church and I am so grateful that we were able to purchase a new van. This one even has more room than our old one.

It seems that our Priest also went through this dealer to purchase a new car for the Sisters of our Parish. The car the Sisters received is more of a truck (I don’t know what it is called) it seats seven, it is silver, and it looks really cool.

I was talking to our Priest about the new truck for the Sisters and how much I liked it. Our Priest then told me that he had a decision between the cool truck and the minivan we purchased, he chose the truck.

I believe that all the coolness I thought I had flew out the window of a mini van.

Little Moments From God

Lil D is preparing to make his First Reconciliation. Yesterday we learned how to examine our conscience.

We went through the Ten Commandments and broke each one down to understand what each one means on kids terms.

It went something like this…

Me: “You shall have no other gods before me, that means to love God more than anything, like video games, playing, television etc…”

Me: “Keep the Sabbath day Holy means go to Mass with joy, pay attention and participate.”

We did this all the way down the list, when we were done there was silence. Then Miss spoke up.

Miss: “I think I need to go to Confession this Saturday.”

Me: “I think I do too.”

Pick a Seat Already!

Miss is an Alter server at our Church. She goes with her dad for the 8:30am Mass because Big D helps out at that Mass as well. I on the other hand can’t get it together until the 10:30 am Mass. Lil D and I attend Mass at that time.

I have been attending Mass every Sunday going on seven years now, and we have pretty much sat in the same general area for that long. If you know anything about Catholics you know that we have our certain seats at Mass and we like to keep it that way.

Where Lil D and I sit means that when it comes time for Communion we go to the back of the Church and a Deacon or a Eucharistic Minister will give us Communion. I have no problem with either of these folks distributing Communion. Lil D on the other hand seems to have a problem with this.

Last Sunday as Lil D and I were preparing to go up for Communion, I was informed by my son that he did not want to go up unless we would be getting Communion, or a blessing in his case, by our Priest or a Deacon.

I said all right, thinking it was a simple request, and proceeded to maneuver over to the line that was going to our Priest. You will have to know that in our Church it is a maze to get into a Communion line if you are not going with the flow by where you are seated. We basically had to walk around the entire Church, be physically stopped by an Usher, and I think we cut off a sweet older women. The things we do for our kids.

I realized that sitting in our normal seat would not be a great place to receive Communion from our Priest or Deacon, unless we want to cause havoc, which we don’t. The only other option is to find new seats, and do this without upsetting any of the people who have had these seats for the past 10 years or so.

Next Sunday Lil D and I will go to Church early and scope out the seats. I will try to remember who sits where so I don’t ruffle any body’s feathers.

We will find the perfect seat, one that will make my little traditional Catholic happy. If I ask him if these seats suit him, he better not say, “What are you talking about mom?”

You Know Your Catholic When...

-You have a "favorite" religious order

-You say the meal prayer no matter where you are

-You have a nativity set at your house during Christmas, and have also played with it.

-Whenever anyone says "JPII" in your head you think "We love you"

-You know that Father Stan could take on Eminem any day

-You know that Advent is the beginning of the new church year.

-You have a special place in your heart for Mother Teresa

-You know at least five people named Mary

-You want to name one of your sons John Paul

-You have a Mary statue in your front yard.

-You can name off all the Joyful, Glorious, Sorrowful, and Luminous mysteries.

-You consider your rosary to be your spiritual weapon

-You've memorized the St. Michael the Archangel prayer and recite it when you feel tempted by sin

-One or more of your friends entered the seminary or the convent

-Your mom is currently pregnant

-You and your spouse practice NFP

-You believe in Purgatory and know it's important to pray for the souls who are currently in Purgatory

-You think Scott Hahn writes the coolest books.

-You’re able to sit still for a full hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament

-Your idea of a great date is mass followed by good conversation at Panera

-You refer to John Paul II as John Paul the Great

-You never leave home without your scapular.

-You often end disputes with, "Let's look it up in the Catechism."

-You and your friends have shown up at Adoration at 4:00 in the morning

-When watching Star Wars and hear "may the force be with you" you respond with "and also with you"

-You have participated in sword fights using Palms on Passion Sunday

-You and your friends have ever played "Mass" instead of House, or Cops and Bad Guys

-You have your own designated seat at Mass

-They know you at every Catholic bookstore in the area, and ask you where you've been if you haven't stopped by in a while.

-You’re named after a saint, not a family member.

-You know at least three awesome stories about Padre Pio

-You get excited about going to mass

-You arrive at Mass half an hour early to get a good seat and talk to Jesus

-Your mom always makes sure to celebrate your feast day

-Altar serving is the cool thing to do

-You associate the smell of incense with major feast days

-You’ve ever referred to yourself and your significant other as "a couple discerning a vocation to marriage"

-You and your many siblings went trick-or-treating dressed as popes and martyrs

-You feel compelled to make the sign of the cross after reciting ANYTHING... (like the pledge of allegiance) and then you catch yourself and have to remind yourself that it wasn't a prayer

-You have a priest come bless your house with holy water before you move in.

-You never eat before church, and brunch afterward is always the best!

-Your first serious conversation you have with a potential girl/boyfriend involves your conversion story

-You lie awake at night wondering why the St. Michael Prayer was removed from the end of Mass

-The word "vocation" to you does not simply mean "job"

-People tend you look in your direction in class whenever anything involving religion comes up

-You always have one or more saints on some part of your body.

-You have a Rosary or Saint Christopher pin in your car.

-One of your Crucifixes has five years worth of dried out palms stuck behind it.

-You would rather get your picture with the Pope then with a huge celebrity.

-You have more than one Rosary hanging from your bed.

-You have contemplated being in a religious order at least once.

-Your one wish is to be able to ride in the Pope mobile

-You say "God bless you" anytime anyone sneezes, out of habit

-You know the greatest way to start a date is with The Mass, because you'll have the greatest meal, Christ in the Eucharist

-You know more about St. Francis of Assisi than "he was some guy who could talk to animals"

-You have had multiple meetings with the priest at your own will

-You had competitions with your friends on Ash Wednesday to see who could keep their ashes on the longest

-You still write "Your Kingdom Come!" or "JMJ" at the top of your page/letter/report/test

-You spend your Thursday nights at choir practice hanging out with people at least thirty-five years older than you in preparation for Sunday Mass

-You mentally correct every textbook use of "BCE" and CE" with "Before Christ" and "Anno Domini". You also mentally capitalize every written use of the word "God' and "Mass"

-You know that some Catholics don't eat meat on Wednesdays or Fridays, even not during Lent.

-You find that praying the rosary is a good way to pass the time(especially at work)

-You get really excited over a holy day of obligation.

- You are tired of people referring to the birth of Jesus the immaculate conception

-You've ever been told my your mom, "Offer it up", and then felt very obliged to do so

-When discussing possible names for your future children with friends or your future spouse, you start ruling out names that aren't virtues, saints, or biblical

-You’ve thought it would be fun to read the CCC as if it were a novel

-You hug strangers at Mass during the sign of peace

-You think getting a S.T.D. is cool... (S.T.D.= Doctorate of Sacred Theology)

-You held a pope party (complete with papal flag, and German beer) for the election of the B XVI (it was a Tuesday night).

-You were disappointed when you couldn’t find a Catholic version of trivia pursuit

- You hear the word Madonna, you think of the Blessed Virgin, not the song "Like a Virgin."

-You know that "prostrate" is not a place where men develop cancer

-Instead of change, you find a rosary under your couch cushions.

-You have at one point had to stop a younger child/sibling from playing in the holy water font.

McCain Burger

In the mood for a McCain burger? head over to Professio and watch this video.

8 and 8 went in the door to buy a Nintendo 64

Miss is having a little difficulty with her multiplication tables. I have tried flash cards, drills, and memorization, but still the facts are not sticking with her.

I talked to one of my home school mom friends and she recommended teaching Miss and Lil D how to skip count. They already know how to count by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s now I will attempt to teach them how to skip count by the rest of the numbers.

As I was searching the Internet for some tips and tricks on how to teach multiplication I came across this video, Finger Trick Multiplication Times Tables 6-10.

We tried the hand trick and it worked very well. Miss did her multiplication drills very quickly using this hand trick.

I am hoping that by using this trick along with the skip counting, the memorization will come to her.

What tips or tricks do you use to teach multiplication facts?

Happy 4th Birthday Bug!

My Little Bug is 4 years old today!



Time goes by so fast and little ones grow up so quick.



As a baby I held you in my arms, looked into those deep brown eyes and tried to ingrain every feature of your angelic face into my memory.

Rubbing my cheek against yours, Eskimo kisses, butterfly kisses, there are not enough kisses in the world that could satisfy my affection toward you.

Look how you run, catching up with the big kids. Playing games, singing songs.
Sitting all alone reading a book. You are becoming such a big girl now.

You are so busy, with so much to say. There is always something for you to do and explore.

Then there are times where everything is quiet. You crawl into my lap and I hold you like I did when you were tiny. I look into those deep brown eyes, hold your soft little hand, and kiss your tiny button nose. These times are when God shows us that he is near. These times are when God lets me see and feel a little piece of heaven.

Happy Birthday Princess, I love you.

Party,Cake,and Dogs

Tomorrow we are having a big block party and celebrating Miss and Bug’s birthday. I have been busy all day getting ready.

I used to buy the kids cakes, and then one year decided to make their birthday cakes. Now they expect a homemade cake every year. That is fine with me but I am not all that good at cake decorating. But if the kids like it than that is all that matters.

Here is my attempt at Dora. I know she looks a little creepy, but you can still tell it is supposed to be Dora right?



And what is cake making without a little of this?



Last but not least we have the dog. Our little Corgi, Leia, who liked to run away all the time was let out the front door buy someone who has something smeared on his face most of the time. She would always come back, but this time she didn’t. The kids were heart broken. I went looking for her, called the shelters, nothing.

Today Bug was telling me how she keeps having dreams of Leia and how upset she is about not having her. I decided I would go to animal control to ask about her. Well while we were there we had to look at the dogs. Lil D became misty eyed because of all the animals alone in the cages. Bug got upset because Leia was not there. Then the kids saw the little Jack Russell looking at us with desperate eyes. The kids pleaded with me to rescue her.

I would like you to meet Maggie. Yes I am a pushover.

What About This Guy For President?

"I earnestly pray that the people who make up the moral constituency in our politics will show the faithful courage their leaders do not. To do so, they must declare their independence from a two-party system that offers no choice but for evil. They should 'seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,' actively looking for the candidate who most effectively stands for His will. When they find such a candidate on the ballot, they should vote for him or her. When they know of such a candidate, though not on the ballot, they should write in the name. If in some states they are not allowed to do so, they shouldn't wait until Election Day to make a good old American fuss about this infringement of their voting rights. They should not settle for less than what they know is right for their country. Why? Because they love their country, and because they love the Creator God who made them free. And most of all because the Good Neighbor who suffered and died on the Cross to save them from death and sin is not willing that our nation should be lost to a 'choice of evils' because those who profess to follow Him will not show in their love of country the same sacrificial love that He showed on Golgotha, and still shows for all of us." -Alan Keyes

The Reference Desk Man

I love the library. The library in my area has a great kids section. Besides the books it has games, toys, computers, and a wall hole that the kids can crawl through and hide in. It is a lot of fun for the kids and gives me time to look for the books I need.

I am new to the library, I just started to frequent our local library this year since we started homeschooling.

I don’t know if it is just me or maybe others have experienced this. I think part of the qualifications for the person who works the reference desk is they must move and talk at a very slow pace. Since I am new to our library I find myself needing to ask questions, so I go to the reference desk. It does not matter who is working that day all of them move and talk at the same pace, very slowly.

Today I had all the kids with me at the library. I had a list of books I wanted to get for the older kids. I searched for them on the computer, I searched the shelves and I could not find any on my list. I knew I would have to go to the reference desk to ask about one book that was supposed to be there.

By this time my oldest son is in a time out. My littlest one has one shoe on and clutching one of the stuff animals, screaming as his older sister tries to take it away. The last thing I wanted to do was approach the reference desk. But it is a book I need for school so I went ahead and asked about the book.

The person looked up very slowly from the computer, I asked my question and he very slowly told me he would teach me how to use the computer to hold books. (I already know how to do this). He slowly walked over to the computer, and then proceeded to let my daughter do all the typing. I am looking at him and then looking at my two screaming toddlers. His face never changed, he just went on with the demonstration.

Then he decided to call another library for me, all this at the pace of a turtle. Now my oldest son is crying, my youngest one has no shoe or sock on, and bug is sweating to death screaming for me to take off her jacket.

The reference guy makes the call and tells me I will have my book soon. I thank him and he looks at me and with a slow sweet smile and says, have a wonderful day. He says the same to each one of my unruly children.

He was so sweet and nice. Ignoring how my kids were behaving and genuinely happy to help. He moved slow as all reference desk people do, but I think that means patience, patience with people who don’t know the library well, patience with mom’s who are always moving way to fast.

Thank you for your patience slow moving reference desk man. Thank you for not rolling your eyes at my children or me. You were a very big help.