The Closet Madonna

We have an abundance of Mary statues around here....an outdoor one who looks after our garden, a beautiful pearlescent one on our home altar, one in the dining room opposite a St. Joseph statue, two kitchen Madonnas in - appropriately enough - the kitchen, and a scattering of smaller ones in bedrooms.

Then there's the poor neglected  Lady of Sorrows statue that's been sitting in my closet for ages.  We used to have her out in out living room until Advent started one year.  A sorrowful Mary just didn't fit with the season of Advent.  Besides, I was going through the house trying to reduce excess where I could, and that statue had never been my favorite anyways.  So I put her in my closet to keep her safe from little hands....and I guess I kind of forgot about her.  Or perhaps I just haven't taken the time to figure out what to do with her.

I have a strict "no kids in my closet" rule, but ever since the kids discovered the statue in there a few months ago, I've allowed one exception - they are allowed to go in each morning while I have it open and give her a kiss.  Stella often talks to me about why Mary is so sad.

Acting upon another sweet and holy inspiration, the kids have been occasionally picking flowers from the yard, and bring them in to give to the yellow Kitchen Madonna near the sink.  I keep some mini vases next to her just for this purpose.  Truth be told, it's a benefit to myself as well, since I enjoy having pretty fresh flowers to look at while I'm washing the endless dishes.

A couple weeks ago, Stella brought in a big orange day-lily.  It was one of the first of the season, and I was looking forward to displaying it on my kitchen shelf.  I started filling one of the little vases, but Stella stopped me.  "No, I want to give it to another Mary."  I tried to convince her to give her flower to Mary in the dining room or Mary in the backyard.....somewhere public where we could all enjoy the beautiful flower.  But Stella was insistent - she wanted to give the flower to the Mary in my closet.  I told her the flower wouldn't do well just shut up in the dark, that no one would be able to see it in there, that I didn't want a vase of water spilling all over the carpet, and that we should really find a better place.  "No," Stella answered, "I want to give it to Mary in your closet.  To make her not sad anymore."

Of course, my heart just melted under the impact of such a pure and loving intention.

It's now become somewhat regular for Stella to bring a flower to "Mary in my closet" - gifts given completely unselfishly, entirely for the joy and honor of the recipient.

The Kiddos

Just some updates on the people who have been consuming all my blogging time!

Sly is still ever ever ever so slowly learning to read.  He's doing a little better these days at imaginative play, which I feel has never come very naturally to him.  Rosie suggested that a good way to get kids playing on their own is to first sit down with them, and sort of "teach them how to play."  Once they get the hang of a new concept, you can sneak away and they'll have a fun time on their own.  I've been trying this recently, and having much success.  For example, I got out the toy cash register Sly received for Christmas, and said we were going to play "supermarket."  The kids helped me arrange all our play food by type on the shelves of an empty bookcase I brought into the playroom.  Then I gave them a little basket so they could "shop."  They brought their purchases to me at the cash register, I rang them up, and then told them how much play money to hand me.  They loved it, and have been playing store very regularly since.

Recently, he was frustrated because we've stopped buying juice.
Me: "Well, juice has a lot of sugar, Sly, and it kind of makes kids crazy."
Sly: "Juice doesn't make *me* crazy. Stella makes me crazy!"

Meanwhile, I've finally accepted that Sly's  "love language" is quality time, and the only way to keep him from acting out, hurting his siblings, and other wise acting crazy is to give him lots and lots and lots of it.  Sometimes I feel like there's not enough time in my days to give each kid all the attention they want plus keep up with the cleaning, laundry, meals, dishes, etc.  But I'm learning little ways to make it work.  This past week, I worked really hard to include Sly in everything I did.  He helped me in a lot of my chores, and I even popped up into his bedroom during his "naptime" (during which he hasn't actually napped for two years) to chat or play for a few minutes.  It's made him a much more pleasant little man!

Sly probably whacked Stella with that sword a second after this picture was taken

Stella is speaking in full (adorable) sentences now, and wanting to do a lot more things herself ("do myself!").  She still can not get enough snuggle time.  Her "love language" is absolutely physical touch.  She constantly runs up to Tom and I, saying, "I want YOU, Mommy/Daddy!!" which means she wants to be held and hugged and kissed.  She really is just a big sweetheart.

She's still resistant to potty training, but I'm not that eager to push it during the winter, anyways.  Too many layers to pull off, and the potty seat is too cold for her to just sit on, waiting.  But she's so good about naps and bedtime.  Many days, she is just ready for sleep and says, "go nap now, Mommy."  I love how she is so eager to please :-)

She's been playing with her dolls all the time, and it's so cute to see how she treats them like her real little babies.  She asks to put (real)band-aids on them, give them (real)medicine, put them in the (real)bathtub, and change their diapers.  Several times, I have found Linus' clean diapers in Stella's bed, which she must have stolen from under the changing table to put on her babies!

first snow of the year

Linus is still a very sweet and happy baby.  And he's learned to crawl, which I love.  Not only are crawling babies completely adorable, but it means they are able to entertain themselves much more easily.  He's happy to just get around the house and play with things he finds.  The only drawback is having to put baby gates up at the tops of the stairs....which we're still working on, because Tom's determined to find a creative way to do it without drilling into the nice woodwork.

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 40)

-1-

It seems that my drastic paring down of my Facebook friends to only those people I'm actually real friends with (or at least want to be real friends with) has kept me in a nice little bubble regarding various (often annoying or infuriating) aspects of modern culture.  For example, despite hearing about it for almost a month, I didn't actually see a single "ice bucket challenge" video on my newsfeed until just this week.  And who posted it?  My 60-year-old father.

-2-

On Tuesday, I made the effort to wake up really early at a reasonable hour, for once, and got myself and the three kids to daily Mass across the street.  I had mentioned to Sly that we were going, so he went to his room and picked out "church clothes" - pants with a belt, a dress shirt, and a bowtie.  I told him that I was alright with him not dressing up, since it wasn't a Sunday Mass.  But he insisted.  I've gotta hand it to him, he realized how inconsistent my rule was - I mean, Mass is Mass. 

All the daily Mass folk (a.k.a. retirees) were tickled by his outfit, and complimented him left and right.  So I'm betting he'll be choosing to dress up again in the future.  Suits me fine.  Little boys in bow ties are adorable.

-3-

All the homeschooling bloggers are busy writing posts about starting up the new schoolyear.  I keep seeing recommendations for curriculum, and the occasional suggestions for keeping yourself sane amidst the chaos and/or malaise that's in store for you in a few months.

Despite the advice I've heard so many times about not starting to homeschool a pre-school age kid unless they're begging for it....I've decided to dip my toes into the water with Sly.  We're testing out the oft-praised Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. 

Sly loves books so much, and already spends hours poring over the pages.  He has many books memorized verbatim, and "reads" them to me or Stella.  He's dying to learn to read for real.  His verbal skills are pretty high, so I think he might be ready.  According to my mother-in-law, Tom "taught himself to read" at age four.  So this might not be too crazy.  Plus, it's just fifteen minutes a day.  Still plenty of time for playing and being a kid.

We've only made it through two days, but so far, so good.  If I realize we need to take a break from it down the road, no big deal!

-4-

Speaking of books, we made a couple good discoveries at the children's library this week.  Books that were so enjoyable, I'm considering getting copies of our own.

The first one is Nest, by Jorey Hurley.

The story is quite simple, with just one word per page ("nest", "hatch").  This makes it appropriate for toddlers, but pre-schoolers will enjoy it as well because of the sweet story about the little robin growing up from egg to adult.  It's a sort of introduction to life cycle or the "circle of life".  The illustrations are very "clean" and appealing.  Because the author shares just one word about each picture, it left plenty of room for discussion with my kids about what was happening on each page.

Tom reading the kids a totally different book (also a good one, though)

The other one is Train, by Elisha Cooper.


It follows five different types of trains as they travel through or across the US.  The author did a wonderful job capturing all the sights, sounds, and moods of the various experiences and landscapes.  The drawings are rich with lots of details to discuss.

But you don't have to take my word for it [anyone get the reference?!].  Keep an eye out for them both if you stop at your local library!

-5-

Why is it so impossible to find dresses that have sleeves these days?  I'm not even talking about long sleeves (that is truly impossible to find - why?  It makes so much sense for the winter).  I mean dresses with any sleeves at all that cover the shoulders. 

Strapless, spaghetti-strap, halter-top, etc. dresses tend to be unflattering on people.  Or at least on myself.  And aside from the potential immodesty issues with many of them, there's the fact that they aren't seasonally appropriate three-quarters of the year!  If I have to layer a shirt under a dress, or a cardigan or shrug over it to be warm and/or modest, then seriously, what's the point?  Why can't they just make a one-piece garment that functions on its own?!

-6-

I did a Google search just now for "dresses with sleeves" and the first result was Modcloth.  It's nice that you're able to narrow down their selection by that indicator.  I do like Modcloth, but it's like a black hole for me every time I get onto their site.  Their selection is massive, and I feel like I can never get through it all.

-7-

Stella loved her birthday gift, as expected.  We had a little mini birthday celebration on her actual birthday, and gave her our gifts.  The "big" party is this weekend, though.

 She's happy to wear her little Ergo carrier with dolls or stuffed animals, on her front or back.

Yes, I know babies aren't supposed to face out on an Ergo.  But it's just a stuffed bear :-)

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary

The House, the Kids

Things have been busy around here.  Taking care of the kids is taking up a lot of my time...we still haven't quite hit our groove after the newest addition.  And any spare moment I get is spent working on some sort of "project" in our new house, or running out for yet another trip to a "home improvement store" for supplies.  Tom's been pointing out that we keep starting new projects without actually finishing all the "open" ones.  I realized that he's right, because lo and behold, I don't have any completed project pictures to show on here yet!  Soon, hopefully :-)

Here's one sneak peek, though.

 The off-white/green combo is the "before" and the white/teal is the "after"...

***

I set up a sandbox in the backyard for the kids.  Well technically, I set up the empty box, and my husband handled the sand.  I could not lift those 50 pound bags!  We've been lugging this dang thing from house to house since Sly was a baby - my mom gave it to him as a gift when he was much too young for it.  And then we didn't have a yard for a long time.  It's good to finally get some use out of it. 

The first time the kids played in it was while Tom was watching them on his own.  I went out with friends one evening, and suggested playing in the sandbox as a fun activity for them while I was away.  I got a text from Tom a little later saying, "this sandbox sucks.  There's sand everywhere!!".  Teehee. 

The kids enjoy it, but I'm not sure how long it will last.  We already forgot to put the lid on one day, and now it's filled with pine needles and rain water...

***

We attended a friend's wedding last weekend.  It was a Ukrainian Catholic wedding, and by far the most beautiful wedding I've ever attended.  And that's including my own, which was the traditional Mass, and also quite beautiful!  The prayers, rituals, and symbolism were so edifying.  During the ceremony, the bride and groom are each crowned by the priest.  As my friend's program explained:

The bride and groom are crowned as "king and queen" of their own home, a new Christian kingdom, which they will guide with wisdom and love as an extension of the Kingdom of God.

The crowns also recall the victorious crown of martyrdom, since every true marriage involves self-sacrifice from each spouse.  The word martyr means 'witness,' and the couple will bear witness to Christ's presence in their lives, which requires both to die to themselves and to give their own lives for the other.

What a powerful symbol!  It definitely inspired me to commit myself more strongly to my own wedding vows.

***

This little man has been growing like crazy.  He's my biggest baby by far, hitting the 97th percentile for length, and almost as high for weight!  At seven weeks old, he started wearing six-month clothes, and I would not be surprised if he's up to the next size soon. 

It's actually kind of nice, because it means Sly's hand-me-downs might actually be the right sizes for the right seasons now.

***

And my Stella is turning into quite a troublesome toddler.  Her obsession with toothbrushes (which is really gross, because she carries and uses everyone's toothbrushes all over the house) is finally being re-directed.  But now she's become interested in my makeup.

First she found my eye liner, and decided to put some on herself.  She watches me very intently every time I'm applying makeup - and actually hands me the next item, in the proper order.  I don't usually wear eye liner, but when I was dressing up a bit for the aforementioned evening out, she was watching in fascination as I applied it.  So a little later when she sneaked into my makeup and grabbed my eye liner, she knew exactly what to do with it.  Kind of.

Then I caught her applying some very expensive concealer to one of her dolls.

  I think it's time to move my makeup to a safer place!

***

By the way, if you're wondering why I'm willing to spend a lot of money on concealer, let me show you this.

This is me at age four (with a terrible haircut, so try not to linger on that).  My eyes already had noticeable dark circles then.  Age and motherhood have not made that problem any better, I assure you.


 

***

Yesterday, I was reading through some old e-mails from my mom's sister.  She's the person in the family who is interested in our genealogy, and keeps all the photos and records (every family has one of those, right?).  She had sent a photo of my grandmother as a young woman along with her siblings and parents.  This picture was taken right after they'd received the news that her brother had been killed in the war (WWII).

my grandmother is on the far left

Look how stricken everyone is.  I thought it was fitting that I found this on Memorial Day.  It's so easy to think of it as just a fun day to have a cookout, but sometimes it's good to be reminded of what it's really about.

A Little Jane Austen Fan

I wrote once before about a cute little book Stella's godparents gave to her: 

Pride & Prejudice: A BabyLit Counting Primer

I don't think I've actually read the book to Stella yet, but recently, I keep finding it in her bed in the morning or after naptime, so I can tell she's become interested in it.

Last night, while I was putting her to bed, she noticed the opened book lying on the floor.  She pointed to it yelling "guy! guy!" until I handed it to her.  She then proceeded to kiss the page, and I'm *pretty* certain she was kissing Mr. Darcy.

What can I say?  She has good taste in literary men :-D


***

FYI: I'm not in labor yet.  I'm trying not to be too disappointed.

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 33)

-1-

A blog-friend recently shared a link to a great post over at a blog for my mom about "Mom Style."

I can totally get behind everything Rosie says in this post.  I've long believed that moms can be comfortable and practical while wearing clothes that are classier than sweatpants/yoga pants and a t-shirt.  I love that she includes a number of photos to show you what she's talking about. 

A few passages that really resonated with me:

"Take stock of how your bones have moved - if it's just fat stores that are preventing certain clothing items from fitting and you can't bear to part from them, stick them in the back of the closet and try them on again in a few months.  But if your ribcage has expanded as much as mine has, you're going to have to face it:

There are some dresses you have that will never zip again.  And you don't need to keep them."

So unfortunate, but so true!  Last year, I finally accepted that most of my zipper-back dresses would just never be able to fit again, and finally gave them away.  Now, I look for dresses made of stretchy fabrics without zippers that I know will fit me.

"Does it work for early pregnancy AND the post-partum stage?  Can you wear it all the way through a pregnancy?  Or will it only fit for those 6 weeks when I've lost all the pregnancy weight but haven't gotten pregnant again?"

This is another truth I've only recently learned.  I've been in transitional stages myself for almost the past four years (pregnant, post-partum before losing the baby belly, nursing, very brief window of "normal belly and not nursing").  It's just not practical to have three or four separate wardrobes to work for me during all these stages, and I still hope to have more babies down the road. 

Everything new I've purchased (well, "new to me" since I almost only buy used clothes these days) has been with these questions in mind: Will it still work for early pregnancy, before I need maternity clothes?  Will it fit post-partum when I still have a belly?  Is it loose and unfussy enough for discreet nursing?  There are a lot of tops that can meet all these criteria - mostly of the "flowy" or slightly looser variety [I hate layering, so look for a one-garment solution rather than having to combine and dirty several items in order to acheive practicality and modesty].  I tend to like the peasant top look, and these can work well for a lot of stages. 

 -2-

A friend recently had a sweet baby boy.  We went to visit them a few days ago, and he was just so tiny and new.  Suddenly, I'm so aware of how huge Stella has gotten.  She's barely a baby anymore!  I'm glad I have another on the way already, because I would be feeling major baby fever right now.

big girl!

I've been making a conscious effort to pay more attention to her recently (aww, my poor second child).  Sly tends to hog the spotlight with his bombastic personality and his ability to have real conversations.  I realized that at the same age, we were doing a lot more "stuff" with Sly that we just haven't really been doing with Stella...such as reading  *baby appropriate* books, or having conversations with her even though she'll just respond with smiles and noises.  I've noticed that she is much happier now and also learning things more quickly.  Oh man, I sound like a terrible mom!

-3-

Tom has a potential job opportunity that is going to require some major deliberation.
Immediate pros: He'd be working for a good Catholic employer at a "company" which promotes the Faith, and it pays significantly better than his current position. 
Immediate cons: Tom would have an hour+ commute each way (!), we'd need to own two cars, and the hours - at least initially - are not as family friendly (he'd be home in the mornings, but gone the rest of the day, including dinnertime and kids' bedtime.  Also, the schedule is not M-F, but changes).

Many things to consider and pray about!

-4-

The kids and I were making necklaces with wooden beads, and I pointed out a teal bead and said, "this is Mommy's favorite color."  When Sly finished his necklace, he said he wanted to make one for me, which I thought was sweet.  I had to run upstairs for something, and when I came back, I saw this:

He used all teal beads for my necklace!  This probably seems like no big deal, but it is the first time he's ever done something thoughtful like this totally unprompted.  And simultaneously, it's probably the most "artistic" creation he's ever made on his own (since it has symmetry).  That boy is so far not gifted in the art department.  haha.  But we'll keep doing crafts!

-5-

As an example of Sly's typical 3-year-old inability to consider other people's likes and desires over his own, consider this conversation from earlier.

Me: "Sly, what should we get Daddy for his birthday?"
Sly: "A toy dinosaur.  And a puzzle.  And a toy guitar."

haha....I wonder who would benefit from those gifts?

-6-

And because I'm running out of ideas for these Quick Takes, more Sly quotes from the past week!

Sly: "I'm still hungry. What are we gonna do about that?"


I heard Stella start to cry, and Sly say to her: "It's ok, Stella. I was just being a gnome."
Me: "Sly...did you hurt her?"
Sly [matter-of-factly]: "Yeah. With my gnome teeth!"


I told Sly that he got his big head from Daddy. He walked over to Tom and said, "Daddy, thank you for sharing your big head with me."

-7-

My mom had a pair of maternity tights sent to me in the mail (yay!), and it came with two free "$20 credit" codes for Shutterfly - I think they made a mistake by putting in two....heck yeah!  Christmas presents for the grandparents....here I come!

Quick Takes are hosted at Conversion Diary

Celebrating Birthdays and Bringing Back Old Technology

For Sly's birthday, we gave him an old-school Fisher-Price cassette tape player (very similar to the one I had as a kid), and a little box of tapes.  I had been lamenting for a while that there were no good modern ways for kids to listen to their own music.  I wouldn't trust a three year-old with cds.  And he couldn't use an mp3 player without being able to read (right?).  I wanted a way for Sly to play his own music in his bedroom, as I did when I was little.  "There's just no modern equivalent that works as well for kids as tape players!" I remarked in frustration to Tom. Then it dawned on me: we could just get him a tape player.  Who cares that it's not the newest technology?

There were a few failed attempts to snag one on eBay (I wasn't willing to pay more than $20), and then one day - as always happens to us if we just wait long enough - there one was, sitting on the shelf at Goodwill, just waiting for us.  For $5!  I still have some - though certainly not all, and certainly not a few of my favorites - tapes from my own childhood.  We rounded out the collection with a few more we picked up at thrift stores for 25 cents each.  Sly loves it, and has been listening to music at naptime every day.  I can't explain how heartwarming it is to hear him (via the baby monitor) begin to learn and love some of my own childhood favorites.  We also gave him a toolkit which has been a huge hit.

We gave Stella a Rock-a-Stack, which is amazingly one of the only toys we don't already own (or so it feels some days...) and Good Night Pittsburgh - a cute book featuring local places (I think they make them for other cities too).

And of course they got a billion other gifts from friends and family, and we're feeling a little overwhelmed by toys once again, and I think another silent purge is in order soon.

***

The birthday party went well.  I did a Peter Rabbit/Beatrix Potter theme, mostly because it involved very little work for me.  That's the theme of the kids' bedroom/nursery, so I just kinda raided their room for decor a half hour before the party.

It's not a party without punch!  This is just the traditional pineapple juice+ginger ale+sherbet.  Always a big hit.

Table is still a little bare because Sly's cake was in the fridge.  Stella got Beatrix Potter cupcakes.

Utilizing bookends as a napkin holder.

Sly loved his dirt cake with worms and dinosaur candles.  The plants are real, but edible - it's mint!  I saw the idea in a magazine, and would never have thought to do it, but it makes a nice touch.

This cutie pie kept her party hat on the entire time :-)

There were only two other children as guests, and both of them were with their parents.  We kept the invitees to family and a few close (adult) friends.  But it was still pretty exhausting dealing with my hostess duties as well as a much-too-hyper birthday boy all afternoon.  I am definitely not ready for the type of kids' parties where you invite just other children and then have to keep them entertained for a few hours!!

One Year Old

Our little sweetheart is ONE today! 

The birthday girl today

one year ago

I can't believe how much she's grown, and how fast this past year went.  In many ways, she's still such a baby, though.  Sly started walking and weaned himself at 11 months.  Stella still has no interest in doing either. 

At one year...
Stella is such a doll, always smiling and waving at people.  She's pretty fearless, never acting timid in new situations.  She adores all animals and coos in delight whenever she sees one.  When she's lucky enough to get close to one of our cats, she just buries her whole face into their sides, crooning gleefully.  Stella has an enormous appetite, often eating more then her brother at every meal.  She's still super-snuggly, and has a gentle touch when playing.  She loves the blankie Mommy knit her, and cuddles into it every time she finds it.

Sly loves spending time with his little sister, and has taken to waking her up in the mornings (not something I approve of) just so she can come out and play with him sooner.  I love watching the two of them have fun together (especially when it doesn't end in tears).

Happy birthday, sweet Stella Maris!


(we'll be having a combined birthday party for the kids next weekend.  I'll write about it then!)

Kids Talking

My little Stella isn't quite 11 months old, but she's definitely started to talk.  I'm not sure if she's actually starting a lot earlier than Sly did (which, I hear, is common for girls), or if my ear is just better trained to discern "baby talk" now. 

There are a few words now which I am certain she is saying, since repetition and circumstance 

have made it clear: 

mama
dada
kitty ("k! eeee!")
hi/hey
water (wa-ga) - said when she wants a drink of it, or when she sees something like a fountain
night-night (nigh-nigh) - said in an amazingly sweet voice, with a flourishing hand wave, at bedtime

There are a few others that I suspect might be words, but I'm waiting to hear them a couple more times in the appropriate context until I'm sure.


****

Meanwhile, her big brother, almost 3 years old, is saying all sorts of rascally things.

Every few days, Sly pretends to be a different creature.  If anyone calls him Sly, or "big brother" or "little man" or any of the various things he gets referred to as, he becomes irritated and corrects them: "I'm a snake!" or "I'm an allosaurus!", etc.

We were checking out at a store...
Cashier: "I like your dinosaur shirt."
Sly: "It Tyrannosaurus Rex!"
Cashier: "Oh, that's nice."
Sly [affronted]: "He not nice!  He fierce!"

I found him one morning, pressing Stella into the floor and making her cry. 
Mommy: "What are you doing?!"
Sly [as if it was perfectly obvious]: "I'm saving her for later, to eat."
(I guess he was a dinosaur again that day?)
 
Sly has started to tell us sometimes - thinking it's a great joke - that he doesn't love us, or doesn't like us.
Tucking him into bed last week, he told me, "I love you.  I usually don't love you."

I've started to crack down on it.  A few days ago when he told me with a smile that he didn't like me, he got time out, and then had to apologize.  We have taught Sly, when he apologizes, to both address the person by name, and to state exactly what it is he's sorry for (example: "Sorry I hit you, Stella").  So when he apologized to me, it came out, "Sorry, Mommy.  I don't like you."

Sly loves to strum Tom's guitar.  He says he's "playing his album."  Sometimes Sky makes up random lyrics to accompany the guitar, and sometimes he sings Baa Baa Blacksheep.  My heart melts a little everytime he says the line, "Baa baa blacksheep, henny wenny wool..."

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 30)

 -1-

Stella finally started crawling a couple weeks ago.  Crawling babies are the most adorable!  But I forgot how much trouble they get into.  She's already begun making messes and getting into things she shouldn't (cabinets, bookshelves, trash cans).  We had to put up the baby gates again to block off stairs and the (often open) front door. I hate having to constantly step over them.  It's doubly frustrating, though, because they trap Sly in various rooms as well, and I'm always having to go lift him over.  [update: Tom installed one with a swinging gate at the top of the main stairs, and it's made things much nicer!]

I also forgot how babies have the impressive ability to find the tiniest (and often grossest) little things imaginable on the floor.  I'm constantly pulling wads of shed cat fur out of Stella's mouth.  And the other day, I found her chewing on a piece of Christmas tinsel in the living room.  I haven't seen any trace of tinsel since January!  How does she manage to find these things?

-2-

Recently I was reading through some entries from an online journal I used to keep.  Complaining about my anthropology class during my freshman year of college, I said: "I honestly feel like the smartest person in the class.  And the sad part is that this isn't just me being conceited...it's true.  I have no respect for anyone who majors in this ridiculously easy subject." [I know, I was kinda a jerk]  The funny thing is, at the same time I wrote this, I was becoming friends with this guy Tom, an anthropology major, and my future husband.  Haha!  We had a pretty good laugh over that.

-3-

I've mentioned several times that I'd like our family to start observing the Liturgical year better - celebrating many of the feasts and fasts of the Church.  I have been completely falling down on the job.  But at an antique store recently, I picked up a little gem that I'm hoping will inspire me to at least start planning a few more meals around the Church calendar:

I looked it up on Amazon, and it's actually been reprinted.  That's great, because it means more people will be able to find a copy.  I've only read bits and pieces so far, but I would recommend it!

-4-

I do almost all my stovetop cooking in cast-iron now.  It truly cooks the best.  One problem I've run into is that our cast iron frying pans do not have lids. In the past, when I needed one, I would borrow a lid from a pot.  But this never provided a tight enough seal for foods such as rice, which depend on steam to cook.  The other day, I came up with what I like to think is a pretty clever solution.  I used our sil-pats (silicone baking mats) to cover the pan.  They are designed for use in the oven, so the heat was definitely not a problem.  And they're so flexible that they bend to cover the pan perfectly!

An item which would probably work even better - and which I have had my eye on for a while [hint, hint, Tom!!] - is one of these silicone bowl covers.

-5-

I *finally finished* the cross-stitch I have been working on for my best friend's wedding....which happened a year ago now.   I was working on that thing for two and a half years.  If I was ever skeptical about the effectiveness of having young girls of the past create needlework samplers as a way to learn patience, dedication, industry....I no longer have any doubt that it worked!  Now I just need to frame it, which I am definitely going to do under glass, because if stain, dust, or moth ever go near this thing, I will cry.

Obviously, edited for privacy.  The pattern for the border comes from this book, and the center part I charted out myself.

-6-

Thanks to everyone who suggested some books for my Catholic Moms reading group last time!  At the suggestion of several people, we will soon be reading My Sisters the Saints.

-7-

I read an article the other day that discusses the problem of contraception, and how the Church should work to combat it.  It does such an excellent job of explaining why NFP - while sometimes acceptable - is not the answer.  Instead, it is the promotion of "heroic parenthood."  I've touched on some of these issues here and here, but this author lays it out so much better than I could.  Read it here: Heroic Parenthood
[note: this article is a pdf, so you might be prompted to download it in order to read it].

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary

Where's Stella?

I might be taking the "Stella is my baby doll" thing a bit too far...

chilling with some of my mom's antique baby dolls

I stripped one of the dolls (not shown) to dress her in this outfit.  But it's actual vintage baby clothing.  We might have to go "shopping" in my mom's doll clothing next time Stella needs to dress up for something :-)

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 28)

 Okay, Blogger is still not letting me upload photos!  Sorry for the extra-boring QT's today.

-1-

Sly hasn't busted out a "Frikkin' crap!" recently, which is good.  But he's started saying "holy heck" (learned from my Dad).  Still not pleasant, but at least it's a step down in crassness...

-2-

I had an Usborne books party at my house the other night, which was completely lovely.  I enjoyed myself more than I have in a long time, just hanging out with other women and laughing (and eating chocolate fondue!).  Almost everyone there was pregnant (and I didn't know it in advance).  I guess this does happen a lot when you invite a lot of Catholic moms to stuff.  Being surrounded by so many happy pregnant women, I would not be surprised if baby fever starts to hit me soon.  I'm pretty sure it's already hit Tom....he's been getting that look in his eye and asking, "so when are you going to be pregnant again?" 

-3-

The chocolate fondue recipe I used was so simple and so delicious.  Try it out!
As dippers, I had: strawberries, banana slices, pretzels, marshmallows, pound cake chunks.

Also, did you know that electric fondue pots exist?  I'd only used the kind with the little Sterno burners, which I don't like.  But my mother-in-law lent me her electric one, and it provided such nice even heat.  I definitely need to add that to my birthday list!

-4-

I keep running into friends and acquaintances who are already "homeschooling" their three-year-olds.  And I'm like, "oh crap! [see?  this is where Sly gets his bad language from]  Should I be doing stuff with Sly?!"  I'm sure any "schooling" I'd do with him at this age would be very simple and informal....but I'm wondering what other mothers do besides just, ya know...reading to them and playing.

-5-

So when I was a kid (early 90s), I had a big chunky Fisher-Price tape player/recorder, and a stack of tapes (some music and some books on tape that chimed when it was time to turn the page - remember those?) to listen to.  I feel like there's not a good equivalent for today's kids.  CDs are too fragile for little ones to handle.  But even CDs are probably considered old-fashioned now.  Most people don't even buy them anymore, they just download directly to their computer tablet or smart phone, right?  Do people besides me even still use mp3 players?  Either way, they wouldn't work for little kids, because they can't read so wouldn't be able to pick the song they want to listen to.  Is there some product or program I don't know about?

Anyways, to get around all of this, and because we are thrifty people, and because we are nostalgic people...Tom and I have decided to get Sly a used Fisher-Price kid's tape player off of eBay.  We've already amassed a nice little collection of cassette tapes (some remnants of my own childhood collection, and other picked up at thrift stores) that we know he will like.  I think he should be able to figure out how to work them. 

-6-

 Isn't this the perfect song to sing to a snuggly little sugar baby? [here I would have posted a pick of my own adorable little Stella baby, but I'm sure you guys (what us northerners say instead of y'all) can manage to hold yourselves together without seeing a pic of her]




I got this cd out at the library.  It's Elizabeth Mitchell's album Little Seed.  She sings covers of children's songs by Woody Guthrie.  Good stuff

-7-

I have still never read a book to Stella.  She's eight months old.  I can't remember when we started *actually* reading to Sly, so I'm not sure if I should feel bad for her or not.  All she wants to do is munch on everything anyways.

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary

Getting the Hang of It

Things flow so much more smoothly and naturally with this second child of ours, just by virtue of us having a much more balanced approach to caring for her.

When Sly was finally four months old, I couldn't *wait* to start him on solid foods.  I thought about it, read about it, planned it out, and talked to every parent I knew about how to do it.  It seemed like such a big deal.  We followed the traditional method: starting with baby rice cereal + breast milk, slowly increasing the proportions of rice for each feeding, introducing one new grain only after a full week has passed (to allow for any allergic reaction), graduating him to "first foods" of jarred pureed veggies, then jarred fruits, etc.

For a $20+  rubber toy, there's no excuse for the fact that my children have been able to suck ALL the spots off Sophie the Giraffe

With Stella, I just sorta shrug and say, "eh - she'll eat solids eventually.  No rush."   I didn't bother to buy any special baby foods for the longest time.  As she's seemed interested, I let her have tastes of whatever I'm eating.  I let her munch on a cracker, gave her a bite of my soup or applesauce or mashed potatoes, or use the food mill to grind down whatever veggies we're eating at dinner.  It's just a lot nicer to not make a huge fuss about it.  I don't think what we're doing is exactly "child-led weaning", but it follows that philosophy much more than the way we did it with Sly.

And as I gain confidence in the way I'm caring for this little girl, the less I think or worry about stuff like that - what specific parenting philosophy or method we may or may not be following [and there are lots of them!  I'm constantly explaining to Tom the meaning of concepts like "child-led weaning", "attachment parenting", "elimination communication", "co-sleeping", "cry-it-out", etc.].  I can just go with what makes sense at the time.

Sleeping anywhere, through anything - alright, second child!

Now, instead of letting my schedule revolve around the baby, Stella has adjusted to fit into the family's schedule.  It's so nice.  My experiences with Sly (my poor little first-born "guinea pig") have helped me to hone my mothering instincts, and now things just come so much more naturally.  Everything's not such a huge deal.

I feel a little bad, because we have a baby calendar for Stella, as we did for Sly.  But I keep forgetting to take note of the exact day she does new things - when she first laughed, rolled over, etc. There are going to be a LOT of the milestone stickers left unused at the end of the year!

We still love you, Stella Bella!

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 22)

Yes, I know it's Sunday now, and this is very late.  I wrote "takes" #1-5 early last week, before we went to visit the in-laws for Thanksgiving.   I intended to finish up the last two on Friday and post them while there, but their computer was being frustrating and didn't let me.  So I'm finishing it up now!

- 1-

 Sly and I have been on a little crafting kick.  I find it's a good way to keep him calm and out of trouble, and also to provide me with a more interesting way of entertaining him than just reading the same books for the one thousandth time.  I've been digging back into my memories of kindergarten for inspiration.  Last week, we did the classic "hand turkeys" for Thanksgiving.

Sly wanted lots of feathers on his baby turkey.

-2-

We also tried playing with some clay I discovered in the craft cabinet.  I thought it might be a disaster, but Sly was good with it, and didn't make a mess at all.  I showed him the gist of how to work with clay, and then asked him what he'd like to make.  He said a kitty.  While he worked to mould* his little ball into a kitty, he narrated what he was doing: "Make a paw.  Make a tail.  Make a bum."  haha!  I was pretty impressed at his understanding of all the parts that make up a cat.  But in case you start thinking I have a child genius on my hands, let me just show you the results of his cat-moulding...

hmm, yes - indisputably a bunch of cats...

-3-

Speaking of cats...I took a picture recently of one of my poetic masterpieces made with our ancient Magnetic Poetry set (remember when those were cool?) which we have on the metal cabinet we use as a pantry.

And I made it the cover art for my facebook page.  Oh yeah.

-4-

I am trying really hard to get all our Christmas shopping done before December.  It would be so nice to just have a low-stress Advent for once.  I remember when I was a kid how much I LOVED Christmas shopping.  Of course, my parents gave me the money to buy gifts for themselves and for my brothers, and since I was a kid, I felt zero pressure to pick out the "perfect gift" (actually, it's probably just that since I was a kid, I was delusional enough to believe that whatever I had picked out was perfect).  But now, gift-giving is incredibly stressful to me - the huge cost, the need to think up something the other person will actually enjoy.  Sometimes I wish I could say, "how about we just stop giving each other gifts" to most of the people in my life.  Sometimes you can get away with that.  But with most people you can't.  Sigh.

-5-

Stella Update:
I think Stella's in that stage you hear about where babies don't understand that they have a being distinct from their mother....you know, that mom is actually a part of them.  Which means that sometimes when I walk from the room, a previously-content Stella will suddenly burst into tears.  It's sad but also sorta sweet.  As long as I'm nearby, though, she's usually happy to just watch me and smile.

We've started to put her to bed a bit before our own bedtime, which means for the first time in months, there's actually an hour or so each day that's entirely kid-free!  I cannot WAIT until her and Sly both go to bed at the same time :-D

-6-

We were invited to brunch at our friends' house this morning [Sunday].  When I heard they were serving waffles, I was a bit disappointed, since I don't eat waffles.  I also don't eat pancakes or french toast.  And what do you think is the common denominator between them all?  Maple syrup.  Which I think is disgusting.  And you can't eat any of those foods plain, because they're too boring.  So I just don't eat them at all.  But my friend had made a special recipe along with the waffles: apple cider syrup (as shared on the inimitable blog Shower of Roses)!  So delicious.  So non-maple-y.  I've honestly never eaten a whole waffle before today.  It even got me talking about picking up a waffle iron next time we're at the thrift store (something we swore off for the rest of the year, after going a little too bargain-happy over the weekend), and making them at home.  Tom was thrilled too, since he hasn't eaten waffles either, since he married me.  ha!

-7-

Today we went to Mass in a different city, since we were on the road and visiting abovementioned friends.  A little before Mass began, a family began to stream into a pew a couple rows ahead of us.  I was only vaguely aware of them, but I got this weird feeling like I recognized them from somewhere.  I took a closer look, and I realized: I follow that mom's blog!  I've seen a million pictures of those kids, and read all about their goings-on for the past year!  I'm not going to say whose blog it was, but they are one of those families whose blog just leaves you in total awe.  It was so jarring to see them in real life.  I know this sounds silly, but until that moment, I never thought about the fact that they are real people who have a life beyond just the little glimpses they share online.  I prayed (literally) for the courage to go introduce myself afterwards.  It was a little awkward for us all, but I'm glad I did it.  I think it's really easy to let yourself feel intimidated by some of the other people out there in blogland, who seem to be doing parenting, homemaking, life, better than you are.  And I know I tend to think of certain bloggers as faultless sources of information and opinions.  But somehow, just knowing that one of those "superstar" bloggers who I read is really a REAL person who goes to a real church on Sunday, and with people who I actually do know in real life (and not some mythical church where everyone is already a saint)....helped to bring me down to earth a bit.



*Spell-check is telling me it should be "mold", but I always thought when it meant "the action you do with clay", it had a 'u' in it.  Dictionary.com confirms that there are two accepted spellings.  So I'll stick with "mould", I guess.

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 21)

-1-

So I wore that skirt from Goodwill - the one Tom hates - to All Saint's Day Mass last night.  Be honest - how ridiculous does it look?

  Tom said I looked Mormon.  But I also found out that the skirt has pockets!

-2-

While we're on the subject of clothes, I just need to complain about something.  Today we're going to a wedding for some of Tom's co-workers (Friday weddings always seem weird to me).  Usually, I relish such a rare opportunity to actually get dressed up, especially since I'm not in maternity clothes anymore.  But everyone from Tom's office really wants to meet Stella, so told us we have to bring her.  Which means I have to find a dress that accommodates nursing.  Sigh.  This is really hard to do!  I found a couple dresses in my closet that could maybe be pulled down in the front just enough - if I was slouched down rather uncomfortably, and under a nursing cover of course - to nurse in.  But I decided to go with a more-casual-than-I'd-like babydoll-style dress with leggings underneath.  I'm just going to lift the whole dress up to nurse as if it were a shirt! ha.

I often think despairingly that I may basically never wear any of my dresses again.  What are they chances that all three of these situations occur at once: 1. I'm not pregnant, 2. I'm not nursing, 3. I'm attending a formal event?  Possibly very slim. 

-3-

And while we're on the subject of dresses, and Stella...

I just think this is so cute.

-4- 

The other day, discussing an item we're selling on Craigslist...

Tom: Did that guy say he was gonna take it?
Me: He said he's gonna ask his wife.
Tom: Ughhhh. That means the answer is no.

haha.  So true ;-)

-5-

Earlier in the week, Sly was having a very "terrible twos" sort of day, and driving me crazy.  I decided we needed a craft to occupy us and ease some tension.  I settled on the classic "tissue ghosts".  I always thought it looked like they were hanging from a noose.  Maybe I'm just too morbid.

Martha Stewart would be jealous, don't you think?

-6-

Sly's love for Bach has only continued to grow.  Tom printed out a picture of him, and asked Sly if he wanted to tape it up in his room.  When asked where it should go, Sly pointed at the ceiling and said "up high".  So that's where it is...

He also now likes to say the composer's full name, which to Sly is, "Johann 'Dassin' Bach!!"

-7-

I checked a few books out of the library about Montessori's method as relates to young children.  I hear a lot of people talk about their appreciation for her approach, but I just need to learn more about it to see what it's really all about.  I will write about this again, if I have any strong impressions or decide to implement anything from this reading...

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary

Assorted Cute Photos from an Otherwise Ordinary Life

My posting has slowed down a bit since Stella arrived.  It's not even that I've been too busy to write.  I just feel like life has been pretty ordinary (ha!  my blog title proves appropriate!), without many events or interesting ponderings to share.

....Although some of my favorite blogs to read/look at are the ones where the writers simply document the sweet little bits of "ordinary life" - so maybe I just need to be better at seeing the beauty and blessings in the everyday.  hmm....this is actually a good project for myself....

Anyways, life with two little ones is going well.  I still maintain that the transition has not been bad at all.  But again, I haven't even made it through month one.  I'm kinda waiting for the other shoe to drop...

We had a few slightly more interesting happenings this weekend, which I mostly failed to capture on camera [Yes, I'm the least dedicated blogger ever.  That said, I don't want to ever feel like I'm missing out on real life because I'm too worried about taking pictures of it to share on the internet.  I'll need to factor that in to the proposed "project" I mentioned above].  Our good friends stayed with us, and became Stella's godparents on Sunday.  I didn't get ANY pictures of the baptism itself , but am awaiting some copies to be e-mailed by the grandparents. 

But I did get one of Stella sleeping near the cake at the party afterwards!

She had been wearing a traditional long white baptismal gown, but it had already been removed by this point.  There's something cool about the gown that I also failed to get a picture of...my mother-in-law will be sending me one soon, though.  So stay tuned for "Baptism part II: the stuff I was too distracted to document myself"

Stella got maybe the coolest baby book ever from her new godparents....

(sorry that these came out so dark)

 It teaches counting using themes from Pride and Prejudice.  Some sample pages...

 Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy

 This page shows "four marriage proposals".  I love the artwork!

Also, Sly got a birthday gift from a great-aunt and -uncle: the CUTEST SHIRT EVER!

Cannot WAIT to put him in this!

And here is Stella after someone thought she would like to play with some Legos...

Also, notice what seems to be nail marks on her forehead?  Notice that they are at an angle completely impossible for her to have made herself?  Yes, I have my suspicions about who did that...

**********

In other news, Tom and I are planning a date night for very soon.  The entire date is going to entail us going to a bar (somewhere, anywhere) and drinking alcohol.  Because we haven't been able to do that since before we had kids!  I'm looking forward to it, especially since it's the time of year when they start serving PUMPKIN beer :-)