7 Quick Takes (Vol. 37) - We Bought a House! and Lent

 -1- 

We officially own a house now!  We closed on it Tuesday.

It is exciting....I guess.  But mostly just relieving, now that the process is finally over.  I don't think it's fully set in yet that we are homeowners.  I haven't even been into the house since we've owned in.  And at this point, I'm mostly thinking about all the little things I want to add/change in it before our planned moving date in mid-April, and feeling like it will never get done.

I don't have any pictures to share yet, but I'll be spending some time at the house on Saturday, cleaning and getting things ready...so I'll try to take some then.

-2-

I'm pretty happy with the place, overall.  It has four bedrooms, but kind of five (there are two rooms on the third floor, but one is unheated so can't legally be considered a bedroom.  If we want to add baseboard heat in the future, though, it could be perfectly useable) - so there's some room to grow.  It's an arts and crafts style house (sometimes known as craftsman), which means it has lots of wooden beams, a (working!) fireplace, built-in bookshelves, stained glass, etc.  It has a spacious front porch with room for a porch swing (which I already told Tom I want as my only birthday gift this summer), a small back deck, and a small - but existant!!! - backyard.  It will be SO nice to finally have an "outdoors" where I can send the kids to play, set up a little baby pool, plant a few flowers, etc.

The major issues are the small kitchen, and the lack of good lighting throughout.  I have some plans to add a bit more in the way of cabinets/counter space in the kitchen, and am hoping Tom keeps up his end of our deal by installing some more light fixtures for me.

When the inspector was going through the house with us, he kept saying that it was in really great shape, and was one of the best-taken-care-of old houses he's ever seen.  He also told us that to build the same house today, with the same quality of materials would cost almost eight times more than we paid for it (I'm sure this is true of a lot of old houses, but it made us feel like we were getting a really good deal)!

-3-

The woman who owned the house before us was unable to get all her stuff moved out in time (not really her fault - she had some tough circumstances that made it difficult).  She took everything she needed, and told us that we are free to do as we please with everything that remains.  We did account for it during our closing negotiations, and she ended up giving us some extra money to use towards having someone haul it out, clean the place, etc.  But I think Tom and I will be able to get most of her stuff moved out and donated by ourselves, and thus save most of that money.  And then we will be able to afford to have some professional cleaners come in to steam the carpets, maybe wax the wood floors...or whatever else we want done.  I'm looking forward to moving into a freshly-scrubbed place!

Also, she definitely left behind a number of things that we will end up keeping: weed-whacker, hedge trimmers, new iron and ironing board, fans, etc.....So it's hard to mind too much about the extra hassle it will cause.

-4-

We attended a little Mardi Gras party for kids at our church Tuesday morning.  It was just me and three homeschooling moms (which means, though, that there were a LOT of kids.  We had by far the smallest family).  The other women were all a little older than me and have kids who are older as well...but it was good to get to know them all a bit more, and learn from them.

Funnily enough, Sly actually remembered the Mardi Gras masks we had last year (he was only two years old then! - I'm constantly amazed at his memory), and asked me if he could wear one to the party.  I dug them out of the basement for him, and he picked one out.  He seems to have gotten the concept of "mask" indelibly linked with Halloween, though, because he made it clear that he hoped to "scare all the other kids" in his mask.  He spent a lot of the party chasing them around trying to do just that :-)

We ate pancakes and other breakfast fare, listened to a talk (and, randomly, the singing of some Irish songs) by our priest, and the kids made a Jonah and the Whale craft and participated in a felt-board story about Jonah.  Until about a week ago - I am ashamed to admit - I never even knew that story.  But its themes of sin, penance, and rebirth are so perfect for Lent.  I will want to re-visit this story with the kids.

The whale has a party blower as a "tongue" and can spew out the tiny Jonah. see instructions

-5-

Ash Wednesday was a really rough day for me.  It always is.  Fasting always makes me very grumpy.  This year, I wasn't even fasting, though, since I'm pregnant.  I just didn't let myself eat any meat or "junk food" all day.  Unfortunately for me, there was a package of cupcakes I had bought for us to eat on Mardi Gras.  But when we got home really late - and really full from a late dinner - on Tuesday night, we all just went right to bed.  So the cupcakes were still sitting there on Ash Wednesday, just taunting me.  I could not stop thinking about them.

I think I was also in a bad mood because my whole family was going out to dinner to celebrate my brother's birthday, and we couldn't join them.  Tom and I never go out to dinner - seriously, never - because we just can't afford to.  So when someone invites us out, it's a major treat for us.  I really wanted to go, but Tom thought we should go to Mass instead (I know - Ash Wednesday is not a day of obligation, but it's still good to go).  I had mentioned that maybe the kids and I could hit up an earlier Mass and then still be able to go out with my family, while he attended the evening Mass alone....but Tom gave me a hard time about it, saying, "it's just going out to eat!  I think it's more important to go to Mass as a family."  Ugh.  So I felt all guilty and irritated about that.

And Sly was just being really tough to deal with all day.  He was being disobedient, and much too rough with Stella.  I was already in a bad mood, so I ended up yelling at him much more than I wanted to.  After Mass that evening, when Tom took him up to the altar rail to pray, Sly apparently told him that he wanted to ask Jesus "for Mommy not to yell at me."  Oh man.  That made me feel really bad.

And then after the kids went to bed, Tom and I got into a big huge fight over nothing.  I was cranky, which made him cranky, which made me even more cranky, and....you know how it goes.

Anyways, I know it was all just Satan's way of trying to keep me from having a productive Lent.  I may have given into the temptation to get irritated and focus way too much on my own comfort that day, but I am newly resolved to begin again and keep chugging along towards Easter!

-6-

A friend lent me her copy of Pippa Middleton's book, Celebrate: A Year of Festivities for Families and Friends.  It's a big coffee-table-sized book with ideas for celebrating all sorts of holidays and other traditional feasts and gatherings.  She shares some really nice ideas for decorations, food, games, etc.  I really appreciate that most of the ideas seem pretty easy to replicate - even if you're not Martha Stewart.  It's written with a British audience in mind, but I'm pretty sure this version has been "Americanized" in terms of the recipe quantities, etc.    The price is a little high, though, so you might want to keep an eye out for it at your local library.

-7-

Alright, I'm just gonna pull a lame move, and sign out here.  I've already said a lot in this post, and my mind is drawing a blank for #7.  And I just heard Tom come home with a load of boxes, and I know he's expecting my help to start packing.  Until next time!

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary

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

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

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

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

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 17)

 -1-

 Watch this tear-jerking video of the wife of a police officer who was recently killed.  I'm so impressed by her courage, love, and faith.  I doubt I could handle myself with such grace if my husband had just died.

-2-

 I made my first-ever actual crockpot meal this week!  I guess I'm just old-fashioned and like to make things the hard way?  Well...not anymore!

We've had a big cut of beef sitting in the freezer for ages, bought right after we got our chest freezer (most useful appliance EVER, btw).  I've been avoiding it, because I just wasn't sure how to cook it.  Tom kept reminding me about the crockpot,and I finally just broke down and decided to use it. I don't know why it took me so long, because it's insanely easy and fool-proof.

 [The recipe I used was for "swiss steak", but it tasted basically like pot roast (is this what happens with all beef meals made in a crock pot? I worry that it might be).  I think I'll stick with making my swiss steak in a skillet.]

-3-

 So anyways, I decided that this Fall, I will try to do a crockpot meal or a soup (which I could make earlier in the day and reheat very quickly in the evening) every Wednesday, since that's our "late dinner" night.  It will be a great opportunity to try out new recipes.  And I'm excited to come home to a warm and delicious-smelling meal that's already cooked.  Also, that would probably mean I wouldn't have to cook anything on Thursday either, since such meals usually yield a lot of leftovers.  Score!

Also, I want to try out at least one other new recipe (for anything - it doesn't have to be an entree) every week.  [Okay, post-script and a day later here: I realize that this goal is totally unrealistic of me.  I can't even manage to do meal planning for more than a one-week stretch every three months or so!  Trying new recipes definitely needs to be planned ahead, since there's usually one or two ingredients you don't regularly keep in stock.  And I'm already going to be making a new crockpot/soup thing once a week?  Yeah, not happening.  Oh well, it was a nice thought.]

BUT I have a billion post-it note markers in all my cookbooks for things I will make "someday", and my recipe binder is getting too crammed with untried recipes ripped from magazines or printed off the computer!  Need to do something about this!

So many untried recipes!

My overflowing binder.  Notice some of the tabs: "cookies", brownies and bars", "pie', "cake", "cheesecake", "other desserts"....it's clear what types of foods get priority!

-4-

I mentioned at the beginning of summer that I hoped to encourage morning glories to vine all up and around the porch.  Well, we were *sorta* successful.  The vines didn't spread laterally as much as I wanted.  But we finally have a few flowers now.
 

Our dinky and beat-up little "porch" with some dinky vines on it

But there's some beauty on it now!

Looking out at night, with our lanterns turned on

-5-

We've officially jumped on the Thomas Wooden Railway bandwagon - ahhhh

Sly's birthday gift from Nana

But I have to say, they're really well-made toys, and even fun for me to play with.

-6-

 Photographic evidence of my success at getting Stella to take a pacifier!!....for about 2 minutes.

This little girl has an insatiable need to suck.  Which usually means that Mommy has to offer herself as a human pacifier many times during the day (and night).  She will not accept substitutes!  Gahhhh

-7-

'Tis the season for REESE'S PUMPKINS!!  mmm....Tom knows he can pretty much make my day by bringing me home one of these as a gift.  I think it's pretty much as romantic as receiving flowers :-D

yummmm

The pumpkins, in addition to the other seasonal Reese's varieties (trees, hearts, and eggs depending on the holiday) are so much better than regular Reese's cups, don't you think?  Not only do you get a higher ratio of peanut butter to chocolate, but the chocolate is thinner and softer (no pinched hard edges where it molded into the cupcake paper).

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 16)

1. I've been typing out my birth story in small chunks.  Hopefully, it will be done and posted in another few days...

2. After Sly was born, my body went back to looking pretty much the way it did pre-pregnancy within a few days.  Within a week, all my normal clothes fit me again.  [Well...mostly.  Skirts/pants and shirts fit fine.  Dresses were a different story, since they're cut to be fitted over the chest, and were all suddenly comically too small in that area].  I guess it was naive of me to assume that my body would have the same amount of "elasticity" the second time around....This probably sounds dumb, but I was pretty surprised (and dismayed) to see that after Stella was born, I still looked pregnant!

Yeah.  See what I'm saying?

Every day since, I have to ask Tom, "so how many months pregnant do I look now?"  The belly is slowly creeping down.  I'm hoping it disappears enough that I get a chance to wear some of my fun non-elastic-banded summer skirts before it gets cold.

3. I finished Stella's baby blanket!  In the hospital, two days after she was born.  haha.  I was aiming to have it done by her due date, but she came five days early.  I didn't bother blocking it or anything, since I'm lazy about my knitting that way.

I'll soon have to find out how it stands the test of the washing machine.  It'll never look this nice again!

4. A very generous blog-reader, Katrina, sent me some adorable handmade bows for Stella.  I love having a girl to dress up now!!  I can't wait until she has a little more hair.

Bows for many different occasions and holidays!

The little snail is one of my favorites

5. My birthday was last week, and I received a few gifts that I'm pretty excited about. My mom got me this beautiful tapestry that I've been eyeing for months now.  It's hanging it our living room.

Tom gave me a pretty print of a sailing ship, a board game I've always wanted (Labyrinth), and a NoseFrida to use on the kids (Click the link if you've never heard of it!  It's a thrill.  But I told Tom he needs to try it out first, so I can be sure it really really isn't as gross as it looks).

6.  Tom has been trying to turn Sly into a fan of what he calls "good music." So for a couple months now, Tom will act all excited and ask Sly if he wants to listen to "Johann Sebastian Bach!!", to which any toddler would, of course, answer yes.  And Tom often shows him Youtube videos of musicians actually playing the instruments, so that Sly can learn which ones make what sounds, etc. (I think it's a little ambitious, but cute to watch).  Anyways, the other night, Sly indicated that he wanted us to turn on the stereo, which he does often.  Tom asked what Sly wanted to listen to, and the response was "Gock!" [Bach, for those of you who don't speak Sly].  His first musical request.  Tom was so proud. 

And then last night, we were scanning through stations on the radio, and passed the classical station.  Hearing about 0.5 seconds of classical music, Sly shouted, "Gock!!".  It was actually Haydn, but hey - close enough.  It was pretty adorable.  So we put that station back on for him.

7. Stella is getting baptized next weekend, with the traditional Latin rite, which is pretty cool because they do an exorcism first.  So no unclean spirits in my baby - yeah! 

Love!

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 15)

1. Back in January, we were out of laundry detergent.  I picked up a MEGAhuge container of generic brand detergent at Family Dollar for $6 [as an aside, what's the deal with all these places that call themselves "dollar stores", but sell most items for more than that?  One of the only true dollar stores left is Dollar Tree.]  Seven months later, and I still have about a third of the container left.

Anyways, I've been noticing recently that so much of our clothing is just....dingy.  Stains aren't coming out the way I expect.  And things never smell truly "clean" upon coming out of the wash.  I didn't really think much about it.  I guess I assumed that this is the way it goes when you haven't been able to afford any new clothes for several years (a situation I had never had the experience of before).  But I finally made the connection:  It was that cheap-o detergent!

So I checked the circulars on Sunday, and found a sale on Tide.  And oh my.  What a difference already!  Things smell so much better (and it's not just the scent of the Tide.  Like, they actually smell "clean" for the first time in months), and have been coming out looking a lot brighter.  Man.  Tide's not cheap, though.  So if anyone has recommendations for another good laundry detergent (and I might be willing to make it myself, too), please comment!

2.  The other day, I stupidly left out my shoebox full of nail polishes (I had been making my toes pretty and beach-ready!).  Sly found it.  Of course.  Inside was a long-forgotton little bottle of "pixie sparkles."  This picture shows only the concentrated area of the mess.  The rest of it is now ingrained into the carpet all up and down the stairs, and I've been finding little particles of it on everything in the house.

3. Our health insurance company has a special maternity program you can enroll in.  If you meet the criteria for going to your pre-natal appointments, etc., you get a free gift.  We had our choice of either an infant car seat or a Pack n' Play.  Since we already have both those things, I figured I'd just pick one and we could sell it on Craigslist for a bit of cash.  I thought the Pack n' Play (since it was a known brandname) would have the best resale value.  Well, I'm kinda regretting it now.  I've had the post up for over a week now, and have slowly dropped the price...but no true bites yet.  I guess Pack n' Plays must just be a dime a dozen.  There are so many of them on there for sale.  I thought the fact that ours is brand-new in the box might make it more attractive, but apparently not.  A couple people have offered to pay $35 or $40 for it.  But at that price, I think we might be best off just hanging onto it, and giving some friend a really nice baby shower gift someday...

4.  Sorry to talk about sports, because I mostly think they're a big yawn.  But um, have you seen how the Pirates are doing lately?!  It's pretty awesome.  They went from being basically the worst team in the league for years to being number one.  Unfortunately, Tom and I haven't been able to make it to a game since this winning streak started.  We've had a lot going on, but also, tickets keep selling out for all the games (which is really rare for the Pirates).  It makes me pretty mad, sometimes...thinking about all those fair-weather fans  stopping us from seeing a team that we have legitimately supported through thick and thin!  I'm someone who really doesn't care about sports at all, but the Pirates have always had my support.  Baseball is the one sport for which I actually understand *most* of the rules (having played softball for a number of years in my youth).  And baseball games are just so chill and low-key.  You can't beat the experience of sitting back in the beautiful park, munching peanuts and licking ice cream, and just having nice casual conversation with friends!

5.  Sly's not quite two now, and I know I probably have no business letting him watch tv...but about once or twice a week, I put on Sesame Street for him.  As far as I can tell, it's the only children's show these days that isn't completely inane and painful to watch.  And it's nice, because it affords me some time to get in some mid-morning cleaning or laundry without distraction.  Like all kids these days, Sly has become obsessed with Elmo.  I don't know what it is.  I can't even remember Elmo being on the show in my early Sesame Street-watching days (though according to Wikipedia, he's been around since the early 70's - who knew??).

Anyways, the other day, I decided to give Sly a treat (and myself a needed respite from a whiny and clingy toddler...don't judge!), and put on the classic movie Follow That Bird.  This was made in the pre-Elmo days.  The ENTIRE movie, all Sly did was ask for Elmo.  I felt a little bad.  I tried to explain that Elmo "wasn't born yet", but I don't think he quite grasped the concept...

6.  Speaking of the unborn...I'm 36 weeks pregnant now.  Amazingly, still no swelling in my feet!!  I can't believe it.  It's been so hot.  With my first pregnancy, they were ridiculously huge well before this time.

TheBump.com tells me baby is the size of a honeydew melon.  I like having something to compare the size to.  But I definitely have a beef with their size comparison chart.  For example, just last week, it said baby was the size of a coconut.  Coconuts aren't really that large.  And I KNOW there is something bigger than a coconut inside of me!  Week 31 is "pineapple."  Week 24 is "cantaloupe."  Those fruits are both definitely bigger than coconuts!


7. We're heading off this weekend for what is always my favorite week of the whole year - "Family Week" up at our cottage on Lake Erie.  My large extended family will all be up there.  We will actually have to squeeze ourselves into four separate cottages, because there's no way in heck for us to all fit in the main one (pictured below).  It's just a lovely time - so peaceful and relaxing...catching up with family, swimming in the Lake, bonfires at night, sharing our traditions with the next generation...

I'm just praying that the baby does NOT decide to come until we get back to Pittsburgh!!!  The midwives gave me a copy of my pre-natal records, and told me to map out all the hospitals along the way....yikes!

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary

Seven Quick Takes (Vol. 11)

1. Fact: If you put a laundry basket of clean clothes right next to a laundry basket of dirty clothes, the cat will sit in the clean ones every time.

2. We were at the store last night, and picked up our first thing for the new baby!  A pack of adorable little hair bows!  Thinking back to Sly, I know it will probably be awhile before she has enough hair to hold one, but...we couldn't resist!  It was cute to see Tom so excited about them.

3. Speaking of the new baby, we've been trying to prepare Sly.  He's only 19 months old, so I know his understanding of the whole thing is very limited.  We're to the point now where when we ask, "Where's the baby?" he smiles and points to my stomach half the time (the other half the time, he points to his own stomach!).  But I know he's going to be totally taken by surprise the day he finally sees her, and has to accept that he's not the baby anymore.

4. Recently, Sly has been crazy about wanting books read to him.  I know I should be thinking of this as a positive thing.  But I'll be honest - it's getting really tiring!  He would be perfectly happy to sit for HOURS being read to (the same books over and over, of course).  Always, at the most inconvenient times, he indicates that he wants me to read to him, and has a tantrum when I don't.  I understand that a big part of it is probably just the closeness and attention that he's looking for.  I try to give this to him in other ways, but sometimes it just won't cut it.  I think he's just destined to be a book lover, like his parents.  A good thing...but...how many more times do we have to read "My First Word Book" before he can read it himself? ;-)

5. One of the things I'm supposed to be doing during Lent is "going for a walk every day, even if it's short."  Well, with the recent return of colder weather, I've really been stretching this one.  I might go to the grocery store one day and consider my stroll through the aisles sufficient for a "walk" that day.  I'm being too wimpy!  I really need to just get outside!

6. I finally bought a new camera!  For the past two years, I have been saving up every bit of money that I received as a birthday or Christmas gift - because gift money is really the only money that is "mine" instead of "ours"...and "our" money needs to be kept under a very strict budget!  The intention was that I'd keep saving up until I had several hundred dollars, and could buy a nice SLR camera with a huge zoom.  But after reaching $180 the first year, people stopped giving me gifts of cash.  And I began to realize the impracticalities of such a fancy camera.  First of all, I'd have to learn to use it properly.  No more relying on the "auto setting" to take decent pictures for me.  Also, I wouldn't want to lug it around with me.  Since it wouldn't fit into the little pocket in my purse, I'd end up never having it when I wanted it.  I realized it made the most sense to just replace my crappy point-and-shoot with a better point-and-shoot.  So the other day, I took my $180 and bought a Canon Powershot Elph - basically the same camera I used through most of college, and loved (until it died on me eventually).  I'd eagerly awaiting its arrival in the mail!

7. Some friends of ours are getting married in a few months, and want to do pie instead of cake for the reception.  She's asking some of us to bake a pie, and I waited too long to choose a type, so I'm left with peach pie.  I've never made a peach pie before, so I don't have any reliable recipes to use.  I'd like to test out a couple before the wedding, so I know I won't be bringing her a dud!  If anyone has a good recipe, I'd appreciate if you could send it along!

This is exactly how good I look when I'm baking

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 10)

1. I finished my re-reading of all the Little House books.  I had read them in third grade, and really enjoyed them.  I still really enjoy them, and I think I get so much more out of them now as an adult.  It is truly amazing how self-sufficient people used to be.  I think it's sad that the majority of us have lost so much practical knowledge of how to do or make things.  We're so dependent on mass-production.

2. Next up on my reading list: The Omnivore's Dilemma (which I read half of over the summer and really enjoyed, but then had to return to the library, and kept forgetting to check out again), and The World According to Monsanto.  Both are books in the whole "real food" movement, and I would say they also fit the Little House theme.  They discuss how industrialized our society - especially our food production - has become.  And the latter book will give me more evidence for my conviction that Monsanto is a TOTALLY evil corporation.  Should be informative reading!

3. Wednesday night, we were praying the Rosary in the living room, in front of our little altar.  Usually, Sly would use this time finding new ways to be really loud and distracting.  But that evening, he decided a couple times to try to "join in" with Tom (who was leading).

The part Tom was saying for each bead was, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.  Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy whom, Jesus".  Several times, Sly joined in.  Although when Sly said the words, they sounded more like, "Ha hab baba gar ma ba ni ba....Gheee-Sus!"  It was the first time he's ever tried to say Jesus, and it just melted our hearts. 

4. As I was typing up that first part of the Hail Mary above, I thought of something.  I think Tom and I are the ONLY people I know who actually say "amongst" in the Hail Mary with the 'st' sound, rather than modernizing it to "among."  Every time I pray this prayer with other people, such as the Catholic Moms group, I hear myself being the only one in the room to utter that extra 'st' at the end, and then I get all embarrassed, and shrink into myself, and don't say the next few words.  Not that I want to change the way I say it.  But I hate being the only weird one.

5. We've had some unexpected money come our way recently: a larger-than-expected tax refund, my husband got a raise and a bonus from work (!!)....so we've been throwing some of the excess towards my student loans.  That's also where we put all of the money we received as wedding gifts (which was a significant amount, since we didn't register anywhere, and thus hardly received any traditional gifts). It's so exciting to see them getting paid off.  I think I probably had less student debt than a lot of people do these days, but it's been a burden on my mind.  We're going to end up paying it off a lot sooner than we would have.  And once that happens, we can finally start saving for a HOUSE.  Good good news.

6. The other day, I brought Sly to an event with the Catholic Moms group.  This little girl who looked about his age, came up to him and started hugging him.  Sly seemed a little taken aback at first, but then he decided to just go with it, and started kissing her - on the lips.  It was pretty adorable.  But a short time later, I caught him hugging and kissing on another little girl.  Uh oh...we might have a problem here!  haha

7. One of the only real downsides to the place we're living now is that we have no yard whatsoever.  All the houses in this part of town are built right against each other at the sides, and run right up to the sidewalk at the front.  A lot of the other ones have small backyards.  But we're a corner house, so with buildings surrounding us on all sides in the back, we lucked out of a yard.  So far, I haven't minded too much.  But come nicer weather, I think I'll really start missing having our own little patch of grass, or struggling vegetable garden (we're both pretty terrible gardeners, though I can't help but dabble in it each year).

So the plan for this spring is to fill up our narrow little front porch, the stoop, and the walls along the house with potted plants!  I'll create my own little green area to take care of and enjoy.  I think we might even get away with trying a few edible things...herbs are easy to do in pots, and Tom asked for a tomato plant.

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Seven Quick Takes: Christmas Symbolism

1.Holly
The spiked leaves of the holly plant are used at Christmas to represent  Christ's crown of thorns.  Because even as we celebrate His birth, we also remember and celebrate His death, by which we were saved.  

This is also why in art, you tend to see the infant Christ with His arms spread in anticipation of His crucifixion.

2. Christmas colors: Green
 Why do we use evergreens at Christmas?  In our homes we decorate with trees, boughs, garlands, and wreaths.  These undying plants represent eternal life.

3. Christmas colors: Red
Red, as in the berries on the holly plant, or the bows we tie around our wreaths represents Christ's blood, shed for us [and for many, unto the remission of sins -- can't help quoting the Mass here!].

4. Lights
Before electricity, people would place candles on their trees, or a bright flame in each window.  Now we wrap our homes and trees with colorful electric bulbs.  These lights represent Christ, the Light of the World, as well as the bright star which led adorers to the place of his birth.  This is also why a star tree-topper is the most common type.

5. Christmas Bells
I feel like these are a less common decoration than they once were, but Christmas bells are intended to call to mind that church bells that announce Christ's birth, and call us to prayer.

6. Gift-giving
The first people to give gifts at Christmas were the Magi, arriving twelve days after Christ's birth 9Feast of the Epiphany, January 6th0.  For centuries, Christians have imitated this practice.  I have read that in the past, gift-giving was just directed at children.  And they would receive just a few small items - maybe some candy, an orange, perhaps a small toy or coin.  These days, adults have jumped into the gift-giving full-force, and I don't think anyone could argue when I say that it often gets out of control.  People give much more extravagant gifts today than our ancestors would have considered decent.  The consumerism surrounding Christmas is sometimes disgusting, and so opposite of the true meaning of the day.  I know that as soon as I was old enough to suddenly feel an "obligation" to buy gifts for many friends and family members (with my own scant supply of cash), the Advent season took on a definite stressfulness that should really have no place in this time of joyful anticipation.

7. Secular symbols
Santa Claus, reindeer, jingle bells, snowmen, snowflakes....most of these things are tied up with the Santa Claus legend, or the fact that Christmas (in the northern hemisphere at least) falls during the winter.   I don't think there's anything wrong with this side of Christmas, except when it detracts and distracts from the true meaning of why we're celebrating.

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7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 8)

1.  Check out this AWESOME idea for a maternity Halloween costume!

If I was ever "big pregnant" in October, I would definitely consider it!

2. Sly has had a weird rash in his "diaper area" for a few weeks now.  I've had the doctors look at it several times, and they can't figure out what it is. At first, they were thinking herpes (!!), and were asking me embarrassing questions such as, "has he been sexually abused?" and "who watches him during the day?".  It was kinda uncomfortable.  Thank goodness the tests for that came back negative.  The latest theory is that it's some sort of bacterial infection.  He's on another medicine, and the doctor instructed me to boil ALL our cloth diapers.  Oh man.  Good thing I have that enormous stock pot!

3. I know Christmas is still months away, but I'm already starting to think about a particular Advent tradition that I would love to start in our family.  I want to get a lifesize Infant Christ statue in a manger.  The empty manger could be set out all during Advent, and then Jesus would be there Christmas morning!  I've also heard of families having their kids put one piece of straw into the manger each time they do some charitable act, or make some penance, creating a nice soft bed for Jesus before He arrives.  When Sly's a little older, we might consider that.  This is the particular statue I have my heart set on.

Isn't it beautiful?!  It comes in many sizes: 5", 8", 12", and 20".  I would LOVE to get the 20" one because then it would be truly life-life.  It costs $150, though.  I have been slowly slowly saving up a little stash of money from past Christmas and birthday gifts I've received (Tom is so jealous about this!).  I think this might be a worthwhile use of that money.  It doesn't say anywhere that the child can actually be removed from the manger...but I'm assuming it can (?).  And if not, I'll find a way to get it out!


4.  Another item on my "wishlist" recently is a Dust Buster.  Man, it seems like Sly just leaves crumbs and little messes everywhere he goes these days!  It would be very nice not to have to drag the heavy vacuum up from the basement all the time.

5. At my family's cottage, we've always had an enormous oak tree in the front yard.

Last year, much to everyone's sorrow, it had to be cut down.  It was rotting from the inside out.  The tree was probably a few hundred years old.  In anticipation of the sad day, I had spent our week up there gathering a bunch of acorns from the yard.  I hoped - as several other relatives did - to grow some "babies" of our beloved tree.  Once Spring came this year, I planted a number of them in pots.  Only one ended up sprouting.  But it was better than nothing, and I proudly shared my triumph with the entire extended family via Facebook.
 

My little seedling

With the exception of one aunt, no one else had had any luck in getting their acorns to germinate.  As the summer went on, my aunt and I kept each other updated on the progress of our single trees.  Somehow, mine was growing spectacularly!  By the end of July, hers was less than a foot tall, while mine had grown to about five feet!  The entire family was impressed.  I was told by everyone that I needed to get that tree planted in front of the Cottage this year, instead of waiting until next summer as originally planned.

But then my dad was over our place for Sly's birthday party.  I saw him in the backyard, looking at my tree with a doubting sort of expression.  I asked him what was up, and he informed me that this was not, as he'd apparently been suspecting for a while, actually an oak tree!  It was a huge, stupid WEED!  WHAT?! I've been nurturing this dumb thing all summer!  Transferring it to bigger and bigger pots, watering it every day, staking it up!  I can't believe it.  I still haven't gotten up the courage to notify the whole family about my mistake.  They will NEVER let me hear the end of it!

6. It constantly amazes me how much babies can pick up without being explicitly "taught."  Sly gives kisses on request.  On the mouth.  I hardly ever kissed him on the mouth before.  He could only have learned it by seeing Tom and I kiss that way!  Also, pointing at things.  Just one day, he started doing it, and it was clear that it was intentional.  He'd learned just by watching us.

But dancing?  I really think that one's all instinctive.  Even at a very young age, when he would hear certain little tunes, he'd start rocking back and forth.  So cute!

7. Last weekend, after eating dinner at my dad's house, he informed me that "it was time."  Time to clear out all my stuff from my former bedroom.  Even though I haven't actually lived with my dad for years, I've still been using my room there as a convenient storage space for all the nostalgia and trinkets that I either didn't have room for at my current abode, or that I was just too lazy to sort through all these years.  I have TONS of stuff there.  He agreed that I could wait until we've moved before I have to take anything.  I know there will be things I'm fine with giving away, but there are still so many items I intend to keep.  A lot of toys I'm saving for future daughters, drawers packed with old drawings and notes, decorative knick-knacks, books....Ugh.

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