If You Give a Catholic a...

I'm posting this a little after-the-fact so that I can refer back to it next year. My blog is my brain! Ok, maybe thats a bit of an exaggeration but it's not too far fetched to say that it has become my memory bank!  Sometime I don't know how I'd remember things from year to year without it:)

On Fat Tuesday/Mardis Gras, I wrote a little ditty to share that's based on one of our favorite story treasures!  My pre-K gal is particularly loving it right now. This book even has recipes to go with the stories.*Love*

If you know these stories like If You Give A Mouse A Cookie or If You Give A Moose a Muffin, you'll certainly "get it".  If not, oh well, it may just sound silly!

Here goes my little Mardis Gras Ditty:

"If you give a Catholic a pancake TODAY, chances are she will want some chocolate to go with it.  You'll give her some chocolate and she will want to tell you about Mardis Gras.  She'll probably get thirsty and want something to "drink"!  When you give her something to "drink,"  she'll tell you that Mardis Gras is French for Fat Tuesday and she'll ask you for  some ice cream.  While she's eating the ice cream, she's reminded that it's the last day of eating richer, fatty, foods before fasting for Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday.  After eating the ice cream, she realized that's tomorrow!  Chances are she'll want another pancake and some chocolate to go with it!"

*So we made Pancake Party Bowls...

An idea from the book, based on the story If You Give a Pig a Pancake*

We doubled the recipe and spread among 6 tin pie pans and we all had plenty of pancake!

Bake only 10-12 minutes

We sprinkled Mardis Gras colors (yellow, green, purple) in the pancake batter after poured.

These are the fun supplies we used to indulge!

After baking, we "made our own" party bowls...The fruit made me feel better as a Mom.  At least we all had fruit mixed in with all the junk:)

Everyone had fun making their own Pancake Party Bowl Creations!

+These were a fun treat, indeed+

Hope everyone's Lent is going well...Mine has been off to a very uncomfortable start but I'm hanging in there, always mindful that I'm not hanging on a Cross!

Merry Mardis Gras!

~Merry Mardis Gras~

(Fat Tuesday in French)

I just posted these Mardis Gras Cupcakes over at Catholic Cuisine.  Be sure to click over there for the significance and easy instructions!  The kids have already "sampled"and agreed that these should be a new Fat Tuesday tradition at our house!

Fat Tuesday Prayer:

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for it is from your goodness that we have this day to celebrate on the threshold of the Season of Lent.

Tomorrow we will fast and abstain from meat. Today we feast. We thank you for the abundance of gifts you shower upon us. We thank you especially for one another. As we give you thanks, we are mindful of those who have so much less than we do. As we share these wonderful gifts together, we commit ourselves to greater generosity toward those who need our support.
Prepare us for tomorrow. Tasting the fullness of what we have today, let us experience some hunger tomorrow. May our fasting make us more alert and may it heighten our consciousness so that we might be ready to hear your Word and respond to your call.

As our feasting fills us with gratitude so may our fasting and abstinence hollow out in us a place for deeper desires and an attentiveness to hear the cry of the poor. May our self-denial turn our hearts to you and give us a new freedom for generous service to others. We ask you these graces with our hearts full of delight and stirring with readiness for the journey ahead. We ask them with confidence in the name of Jesus the Lord.