Sweet Tooth

Chocolate chip banana bread

Ok, ok, I know it's Lent and I shouldn't be baking delicious things.

But, in my defense, the bananas were going to go bad if I didn't do something with them right away.  And after finding about ten black, shriveled bananas in the back of the freezer one time (hehehe), Tom has banned me from ever again freezing them.

Also, it's the Thursday between Ember Days!  Come on!  Fasting and partial abstinence yesterday, fasting and total abstinence tomorrow, and fasting and partial abstinence again on Saturday.  I need something to get me through it!   :-)

my lunch today

Sweet Moments Back Home

1. For Lent, my husband and I have started praying a daily Rosary.  We had been really good about it for a long time, but when we moved to the new place in October, it just threw our schedule off, and we never picked it back up.  Lent is always a good time to renew your prayer life, so we've finally started this good habit again.

The other day, while we prayed, Sly insisted on sitting in my lap.  He was facing towards me, just sorta talking to himself most of the time.  When we reached the "Hail, Holy Queen" at the end, and spoke the line, "O Clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary...", I struck my breast three times, as you do.  Sly's eyes got wide, and a huge, delighted grin lit up his face.  Mommy was punching herself!  What fun!  He then began beating me with his own fists and laughing, which of course just caused me to crack up too.  Tom valiantly tried to keep leading his family in prayer, but I just couldn't get any more words out.


2. A couple nights ago, Tom had fallen asleep before me, as usual.  I was caught up in my re-reading of one of the Little House books, and couldn't put it down.  When I finally turned out the light, I slid over to snuggle my soundly-sleeping husband for a bit.  I was filled with a sudden gratitude for this wonderful man God had put in my life.  I just began thanking God for him, and realizing how amazing it was that He had made us both, and then brought us together to love each other.  As I'm in the midst of this rapture of loving feelings towards him, Tom suddenly snaps angrily, "Can you move over?!  I have, like SIX inches of the bed!!".  It was as he'd struck me.  I quickly rolled over to my side, trying very hard not to cry.  Of all the times that he had to be mean!

I was upset about it that night...but the next day, we were both laughing about it :-)

Dealing With Other People's Kids

Okay, so this is something I've been wondering about for a while now, and I thought I'd throw the question out to some more experienced moms....What should I do when other kids are "misbehaving" towards my son, and the other kid's parents don't notice?

Scenario 1: I give Sly a snack, which he's eating happily.  A bigger kid comes over and grabs it away.  Sly holds out his hands saying, "eh eh", asking for it back.  Older kid says, "no!  it's mine!" and walks away with it, leaving Sly looking sad and confused.

Scenario 2: Sly is at a playground, and blocking the path another kid wants to take.  The older kid shoves him down, yelling, "MOVE, baby!"

Both these things have actually happened, as well as various similar incidents.  And most of the time I just sorta stand off to the side, watching uncomfortably, unsure how to react.  Half the time, the offending child's parent will have noticed, and they come over to correct them.  But what happens when they don't?  What am I entitled to say or do to the other kid??

Sly playing with other kids at the pumpkin patch last October (no incidents occurred that day)

One thing - besides my natural shyness - that makes this a difficult situation for me is that I only feel equipped to deal with kids who are Sly's age or younger.  Sly is eighteen months old now, so through experience with him, I feel like I have a pretty good handle on where kids that age are developmentally.  I know what things they should understand and react to.  If there's an older kid involved, though, I just feel like I'm at a loss.  I don't know what "works" with them.

Would other parents be offended if I somehow corrected their child verbally?  If I physically took back some object the kid had grabbed from my son? I have a feeling they might....But can I just sit back and let it happen?

How much of a difference does it make if I know the other kid's parent?

Sometimes I think maybe I shouldn't even intervene, as long as no one's getting hurt?  You know, let Sly develop a tougher skin and learn how to navigate the complex world of social interactions himself.

Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.

Mad Men

I hardly watch any television - I gave up on letting myself become attached to any particular shows years ago.  It just became too stressful when I had to miss an episode, and I hated how I was starting to organize my life around TELEVISION programs.  Dumb.  But from time to time, I do like to watch certain series once they have been released on DVD.  One of these is Mad Men - Tom introduced me to it, knowing I'd enjoy it.  And now I'm way more into it than he is.  I just drool over the 60s costumes and decor.  I love period pieces!  The story lines are well-written and dramatic, and the acting is high quality.

So, ever since my friend helped me finish making my silly "vintage" dress (from a 1957 Vintage Vogue pattern)...

and my mother-in-law gave me the awesome vintage "atomic" aqua and gold glasses...

which happen to match my vintage "atomic" aqua and gold chip-n-dip bowl...

and since I know Tom has his own appropriate 60's-esque attire...

I REALLY WANT TO HAVE A MAD MEN PARTY!!

The next season premieres in March.  And AMC is even offering a chance to win free "party packs" to help you host one (which look pretty cheesy, but there might be a few cool things in there).

But I have two problems:
1. We don't have cable.  So we can't watch it here.
2. NONE of our friends watch Mad Men!!

Bummer :-(

Our Homemade Valentine's Day cards

Tom and I both started working on our cards the night before Valentine's Day, at 10:00 pm.  I worked upstairs in the office, and finished a little after midnight.  Tom finished around 12:30am, and then suggested we go downstairs, drink a bit of wine, and exchange them right away...seeing as how it was technically Valentine's Day already anyways.

I know, it was stupid to stay up so late, but it was a sweet little moment.  Tom gave me my card first.

Pittsburgh - where we met, fell in love, and hope to remain living for the rest of our lives (at least if I get my way) - is famous for its inclines, which carry people up and down some of our many hills.  Tom cut out pictures of us on our wedding day, and made us riding towards each other on an incline.  Cheesy, but cute...


Then I handed him his card.  We're both huge Frank fans (that's Frank Sinatra, of course), so I decided to write the lyrics to one of his classics, Fly Me To the Moon, using little drawings in place of some words.  I wasn't sure if Tom would be able to decipher what all of them were, so each picture is actually a flap you can lift to reveal the correct lyric underneath.  He didn't need to use it, though, since he knows the song so well.

Fly me to the moon

let me play among the stars

let me see what spring is like

on Jupiter and Mars

in other words, hold my hand

in other words, baby, kiss me

(here's where I took a shortcut and just wrote out 

most of the words)

I. love. you.

We decided this will become our new Valentine's tradition.  A nice, thoughtful, and simple way to celebrate!

Valentine's Day

 Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.  I don't think Tom and I have ever really celebrated it before, beyond perhaps exchanging cards.  I just feel like there are so many other "more legitimate" holidays during the year for which we're already getting each other gifts or going out to spend money...my birthday, his birthday, our anniversary, Christmas...and now Mother's Day/Father's Day (because Sly is still too young to do anything for us himself). 

I did spend yesterday afternoon with some lady friends, making chocolate-dipped strawberries, Oreos, and pretzels.  My boys have already devoured them, so I didn't get a chance to get a picture.

We decided a few days ago that we would just make each other homemade cards this year.  I was seriously just expecting to break out the construction paper and glitter, and make the same sort of creation I would have made in elementary school.  I really thought that would be sufficient.  But then Tom started asking me mysterious questions about where my scrap fabric was kept, and where certain electronic parts were....so now I feel some pressure to do something a little more original! 

Tom's working from home today, so I don't really have much privacy to sit and work on my card.  I think tonight after the toddlerman's in bed, I'll have to barricade myself in the office and come up with something...I will try to share our creations on here in a few days.

Home

Home again, home again!  And oh, does it feel good.

I need some time to get things in order here.  It's been two months since I've vacuumed, or mopped, or put away...anything.  But soon, I hope to resume a more steady posting schedule.  I hope to finally finish the little room-by-room "tour" of our no-longer-new home.  Thanks for the patience.  And all the many many prayers which have been doing such good.