St. Nicholas Day Party

We went to the St. Nicholas Feast Day Party at Mater Dei Catholic Church in Irving today.

We put together some food and some ornaments that the children made, and got a table to sell our wares.  At first, business was slow.  I thought it was because of the economy, and people were inclined to watch their money a bit closer.  I also thought they may have been worried about the local version of 'Occupy Wall Street' might drop in to protest the corporate greed of the family-based Catholic entrepreneur.  All I need is to have 'Occupy Mater Dei' show up and insist that we distribute the goodies we made for free to all the people who can't find a job.

Thankfully that did not happen, and after a while we started selling.  I think people took a look at everything before deciding on purchases.  We had a near monopoly on food, so things went well.  For a time, the homemade 'sleighs' were literally FLYING off the table.

Here Zelie takes a break in the action to wolf down a sandwich before the next onslaught of consumers:

We sold candied pecans - not our own pecans, sadly - and brownies, cookies, banana bread, and blueberry muffins.  We sold two types of Christmas ornaments: some were plastic ones where you bake them in the oven to fill the colors of the ornaments.  The others were made with barbed wire from our property, shaped like Texas, and then backed with felt pieces that resembled the Texas flag.  Here is an example:



But the biggest sellers were our sleighs, made with small candy canes, KitKat candy bars, and either a little box of Nerds or Junior Mints.  With little bit of ribbon and tape, we made them into the shape of a sled, or sleigh:

The kids covered the Nerds or Junior Mints with aluminum foil.  As I said, these treats literally flew off the table.


There were craft projects for the children to do, and a little train which rode around in the parking lot.  The rain put a damper on the outside activities right around the time that the inside show started.  Here Bernard, held by his Godfather Nathaniel, watches a puppet show featuring large mice and a nun that sings.  He was fascinated by it.

The final part of the show was when St. Nicholas showed up.  Here he is, exhorting the children to be good:

Here are three of the children ZelieLouisa, Maximilian, and Marcellinus watching St. Nicholas, looking a bit bored.

I missed them greeting St. Nicholas, so I had them come back up for a picture.  This was really inconvenient for Max, so this is as close to a smile as I could get.

The man who portrayed St. Nicholas, the German dancers, the puppeteers, all made it a wonderful day for the children.  Well done!

Christmas Eve 2009 Video

Here it is. Facebook's new privacy regulations made it impossible to embed in the sidebar, so we uploaded it to YouTube instead. Enjoy:

Pentimento, Part VII - Stabbing Westward

The renovation has hit the school room with full force; the books are all on the East side of the house. In addition to repainting, we are adding more shelves and some permanent desks to the room. Here is an interval picture of the new desk/shelving:

Apparently, my textbooks will be moved here because they do not look as impressive on the bookshelves in the living room.

Above is another look at the bookshelves, a ladder, and a green chair. Below, the guest bedroom awaits the painters.

A bit of romantic graffiti adorns the chalkboard in the school room.

Speaking of romance, since we are running out room for books in our house, we have asked for advice from our interior decorator, who has advised us on how to manage our book purchases prudently.

She advised us to only shop for books during certain periods when we are unlikely to complete online credit card purchases. This takes some sacrifice for both of us, but it makes the times we do manage to purchase books more meaningful for us as materialistic consumers.

Speaking of materialism, it is time for another musical video. This one comes from Japan, and is a tune we all recognize. It was a big favorite in the family last year, and so it will be the second video for Advent:

Advent, Week #4: Wednesday

Last Video for Advent:



Merry Christmas!

Advent Week #4: Tuesday

Follow this link to hear another version of Winter Wonderland.

See if you can figure out which one is the mother and which one is the daughter. Clap CLAP CLAP!

Then check out one of my favorites at this link or watch it below:

Advent Week #4: Monday Morning celebration

In the Old Testament, David danced before the Ark of the Covenant in celebration. This has been considered a prefigurement of what happens in the New Testament, when the last Prophet, John the Baptist, danced before the Blessed Mother when she came to care for her cousin Elizabeth.

"And how have I deserved that the mother of my Lord should come to see me? For behold, the moment that the sound of thy greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leapt for joy."

- Luke 1:43-44

So dancing is okay, unless it looks like this:

Advent Week #4: Sunday - The Gloves Are Off

Someone (who will remain anonymous) violated the terms of this musical hairshirt extravaganza and put a video of Boy George where I could see it.

All I can say is, are you dreaming of a White Christmas, and do they know it's Christmas time?

Final week to pray, fast, give alms, and watch bad videos. Extra points for those who can sit through this whole thing:

Advent Week #3: Saturday Duets

Today is a busy day, so I am punishing you early.

These two videos prove that even professionals can sing badly.

Video ONE:



Video TWO:




Even with Dean Martin blitzed, and Frank Sinatra's socks sliding down, they still sing rings around the other two yahoos. Note how Dino keeps the cigarette low through most of the video.

Advent Week #3: Friday Night Feast

First, there is this link to a story which will excite all of you. Burger King has just started marketing a meat-scented body spray.

Imagine the look on the face of Wifeofdadwithnoisykids. Imagine me splashing a bit of this body spray on, and then walking up to her.

I can imagine her breathing deeply the scent of freshly grilled meat. I imagine her closing her eyes, and with quivering lips saying to me, "take me out to dinner, baby."

But enough about me. keeping with the food theme, I bring you a truly awful bit of penance from the folks who gave us the dancing California raisins. This is a rerun from last year, but some things are just so horrible they must return, just like a Canadian penny in Texas.

Prepare yourself.

Advent, Week #3: Thursday with a Lump of Coal

Consider this lump of coal rather than a musical hairshirt:

Advent Week #3: Wednesday Respite

Christmas always reminds me of A Christmas Carol, which reminds me of 'Tiny Tim,' which reminds me of Tiny Tim, which reminds me of the ukulele, which reminds me of Carol of the Bells played on a ukulele, which brings us back to Christmas. Note that Christmas is just six degrees of separation from Christmas.

Consider this a respite from the awful music I have subjected you to.

Just as a sentence ending with a dangling participle should torment your sense of correct syntax....

Enjoy.

Advent, Week #3: Tuesday Meditation

"I don't know why people get married to chipmunks."

"Dad, do people get married to chipmunks?"

These were questions from my 7- and 8- years old sons after watching this little bit of musical madness:




I have not had much time to work on original blog entries; this is a busy time at work, at home, and with a new baby who seems to be trying to arrive early. Sometime in the future I shall get back to writing more and including less videos. But let's have one more for the road from 'Old Blue Eyes.'



BY THE WAY, THE BABY IS UPSIDE DOWN!

Advent Week #3: Monday Meditation on Bad Music

Is there anything worse than this?

This video shows why people are paid good money to modify the output of the various instruments and microphones at rock concerts.

I don't think he is saying anything offensive, but on the other hand I am not really sure what he is saying.

It is called 'The Bell That Couldn't Jingle,' and is sung by the man who couldn't sing.

Advent Week #3: Sunday!

This is Gaudete Sunday, so I want to give you something special - SPECIAL!

CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK

Or watch it below(for those of you who are not my Facebook friends):

Advent, Week #2: Saturday

Please pray that the '2009' Edition Noisykid will stay in the oven for a few more weeks. We spent last night in Labor and Delivery working on stopping labor.

Actually, I slept on a cot which broke into three parts as I lay there. I had to work all day today.

Anyways, keep Wifeofdadwithnoisykids in your prayers.

But now, let's MAMBO!

Click on the link above to enjoy a little musical nightmare.

I actually learned to Mambo in college, but I don't do that kind of thing anymore.

Actually, it's a Cha-Cha.

Advent Week #2: Friday - THE BABY IS UPSIDE DOWN!

If only it were true in real life.

The Feto-Meter shows the baby twirling upside down, which is not the way he is positioned right now. Of course, the Feto-Meter does not show the 2009 Model Noisykid with his outdoor plumbing, either.

We are investigating ways to make the baby 'come about' - a nautical term, from my days in the Air Force. But I digress.

Today is Friday, a day our family usually abstains from meat. However, today is also the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

In honor of this occasion, I send you some Meatloaf for your viewing and listening displeasure:




Well, it's cold and lonely on this Texas Winter night. I can see the keyboard by the monitor light.

Advent, Week #2: Thursday

I feel as if I have been remiss, sending you 'easy' penitential musical hairshirts.

That will end now.

Do you remember the Partridge Family?

This guy sang for them; I only had eyes for Susan Dey.




Oh yeah.

I outgrew my boyhood crush for Susan Dey and her braces which picked up radio signals, met Wifeofdadwithnoisykids, and the rest is history.

Advent, Week #2: Wednesday

Consider the shepherds, the lowly shepherds who were the first to learn of the birth of Our Savior.

Consider their response if they heard the choir of angels accompanied by this instrument:




Thanks to Sue D. for this link!

Advent, Week #2: Tuesday

I am on call today, so I shall be brief.

Follow this LINK to get a special Christmas greeting from Weird Al Yankovic.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception!

Consider this version of Jingle Bells by a bunch of guys who look as if they just left a Star Trek Convention:



Speaking of bad acting - I mean, Star Trek - take a look at this: