A Letter

Head over to Nourish Motherhood today to see what I have to say.

Dear friend,
You just found out you’re expecting. I know now is not the time you hoped this would happen. This isn’t what you planned...

Keep reading here.

The Problem of Halloween

Halloween poses a really big problem.  I'm not even thinking about whether good Catholics (or any Christian) should celebrate this "pagan" day. I'm thinking just about the candy alone.

I don't want to buy chocolate candy and support abysmal labor conditions and even slavery.

I don't want to buy candy that's full of food dye. I'd feel guilty pumping kids full of that garbage.

I can't afford non-candy edible treats like bags of pretzels or goldfish.

I would love to make handmade treats like cookies or popcorn balls.  But that doesn't fly in today's world for fear that I'd be some psycho lacing them with drugs or poison.

I don't want to buy random, practically disposable non-food "treats" because I don't want to encourage our materialistic, throw-away culture. 

Maybe we should all agree that raw sugar packets are probably the best option for Halloween treats.  Okay?

Totally Legit Halloween Treat. Right?

But really. I live in a neighborhood where we get 200-300 trick-or-treaters, many of whom get "bused in" by their parents from impoverished and dangerous parts of the city.  Ignoring them is not a question in my mind.  These poor kids deserve to have some fun.  Many barely even have costume. I think I'll be opting for lollipops or something along those lines this year. 
What would you do?

7QT - Coffee, Exorcised Salt and Unfortunate Flowers

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Can you believe that the last two Fridays I completely forgot it was Friday until the following day?  Yes.  It's true.  And on each Saturday I cried "oh no! Yesterday was Friday and I didn't post my 7 Quick Takes!" Terrible.

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I mostly forgot it was Friday twice in a row because on both of those days we were hosting wonderful house guests!  The first was a newly-ordained friend, and the next week was my brother.  We thoroughly enjoyed both of their visits and they left behind a freshly-blessed house and a bag of delicious Brazilian coffee respectively.  #ittook4yearstogetmyhouseblessed #catholicfail

I really wish I took a picture of our friend in action while he was blessing our house.  It quick, but it was awesome.  I am so pleased that every room in this house has been thoroughly doused in holy water.

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I now have a nice jar of exorcised salt.  #catholicwin

And coffee too!

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Today is the last of Kelly's Link-toberfest posts! Last week she's asked how many Quick Takes we've all posted.  If I've counted right, this post should be my 20th Quick Takes posted over a span of 3 years.  Well, that's a convenient significant number for this post, but of course I wish I'd posted more.  Today she asked about our most popular posts.  I'm not sure any of them really are popular,  but this one from June 2013 has the most hits.

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Number 5.  We really should just have 5 Quick Takes. Amen.

But really...

This happened on the campus of Notre Dame last Saturday:

Landscaping had just installed these lovely red and gold mums and the Basilica just had these lovely red and gold flower arrangements delivered.

All just in time for Notre Dame to play the red and gold Trojans of USC.

Oopsies.

"I just want all the SC fans here to know that these are NOT for you.  They are merely fall decorations. They mean NOTHING."  - Fr. P. Rocca C.S.C. before the Vigil Mass the day of the game.

Thankfully Notre Dame won the game.

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Random fun(?) fact:  Yesterday it was confirmed that my younger son's head is 1/2 inch larger in circumference than his older brother's.  Guess they'll be switching winter hats.

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I have decided to write a couple little posts for the coming week.  So check in over the next few days.  I really do want to get back into the blogging habit.  I don't really even know if anyone reads my blog, so if you do stop by and have a second, would you mind leaving a little comment?  A little encouragement would go a long way for me.

Go read more Quick Takes at Kelly's!

Happy Friday!

7 Quick Takes - Anniversary Edition

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This week marks the 7th Anniversary of 7 Quick Takes!  I can't believe it's been that long.  Or maybe I can.  7 Quick Takes has always been my favorite link-up (except that I will always maintain that 5 Quick Takes would be sufficient).  I've been playing with the blog for the last couple weeks (do you see the updates!?), toying with the idea of coming back. When I saw Kelly's post I knew it was time. 

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My first 7 Quick Takes post appeared June 14, 2013. I'm a little surprised I didn't do one before then. 

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I have to say, looking back it's funny to see how much I have not changed over the past two years.  I still am not a morning person.  I still think yard sales start too early in the morning.  I can always use sleep.  And I may or may not be fudging the time stamp of this post. 

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That being said a lot has changed since June 2013.  Our family's grown since then.  We have two little rambunctious boys instead of one.  The Hubs is in full-blown dissertation writing and teaching mode.  We've helped sell two houses (my grandmother's and mother-in-law's).  We've traveled a lot (of the event-attending, conference-presenting, and family-visiting type) I feel that we are much more established. 

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Number 5.  We really should just have 5 Quick Takes.

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My first 7 Quick Takes featured our next-door neighbor's chickens.  These chickens became a somewhat reoccurring theme in my posts.  Sadly one of the ladies next door has since passed on after being attacked by a dog.  That makes posting the 6 chickens as Quick Take #6 less significant, or should I just consider it a tribute to our feathered friend?

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Well, that brings me back.  I hope I can keep this up.  I certainly don't consider myself a writer by any stretch, but it does me good to write. I hope some reader out there finds some entertainment or enjoyment in this blog. 

Happy Friday!

Linking up with Kelly! 

Not Only to Nourish

Today I'm over at Nourish Motherhood again.

 We are called to nourish others, but we cannot forget that we need to be nourished too. I love the passage in John 13 when Christ washes the apostles’ feet at the Last Supper. The example of Christ’s humility, service, and generosity is so moving. I want to be like Christ! I want to follow Him and wash the feet of those around me. I know I’m not alone in this desire.
I like to skip down to the end of that passage and read: If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.
But there is another side to this message. Remember what happens when Christ reaches Peter?...

Read the rest here.

Marriage and the Cross

Even though I've not been here, today you can find me over at the new Nourish Motherhood site!

Shortly before my own wedding day, both of my parents pulled me aside at different times. “You know,” my father said, “marriage is wonderful and full of so many good things, but marriage is also a cross. Just remember that. Always keep the cross in sight.” When her turn came, my mother’s advice was the same but with a dramatic sigh and flourish: “Sometimes I look at your father, and I just see a giant cross standing there!”
At the time, in the exciting flurry of wedding preparations, I was both surprised and not surprised that my parents had separately given me the same piece of advice – their most important piece of advice, the key to their 35-year marriage, and the key to every marriage...

Keep reading here!

Ecce Ancilla Domini

Ecce ancilla Domini

Behold the handmaid of the Lord

This has been echoing in my mind all day.

Haley over at Carrots for Michaelmas has an excellent post for today: Why Mary Has to Hold the Cards: Thoughts on the Annunciation, Assault, and Free Will.  The title startled me at first, but reading it made my day's meditation all the more clear.  You should read it too.


Ecce ancilla Domini

Have a blessed Annunciation! 

P.S. Next year Good Friday and the Annunciation fall on the same day.  Beautiful.  I cannot wait!

7 Super Short Quick Takes

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Super short Quick Takes this week.  Super short is better than nothing at all, right?

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We have company again this weekend!  Very fun! My brother has arrived yesterday and our favorite deacon arrived earlier today.  We are so happy we get to spend some time with them.

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Peep is obsessed with Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site.  His grandfather gave him a matching game based on the book and Peep is obsessed with it as well.  Excavator is is most favorite machine.  Peep took this picture himself.

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This is Willy the Wooly Bear Caterpillar.  Peep and his daddy found this little guy a few weeks ago and Peep decided to keep him in his bug jar.  Initially I was in favor of this.  Peep is already familiar with the metamorphosis process thanks to Peep and the Big Wide World, so how exciting would it be to experience it in real life? Peep loved the idea too.

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Unfortunately, Willy was ravenous.  I quickly figured out his favorite foods (dandelions and magnolia leaves), but I was not up for foraging for his favorite food every morning.  Also, apparently caterpillars are excellent producers of massive quantities of poop.  Dumping his poop every morning got really old really fast.  Unfortunately Peep was not interested in sharing responsilibty in maintaining his new pet.

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After two weeks I realized Willy's rapid food consumption was decreasing and therefore he probably needed to get to work on making his cocoon.  Either we let him go now or supply him with a cocooning stick/mulch pile and commit to having him in all winter.  So for a few days we repeatedly asked Peep if he was ready to free Willy.  Everyday he said no.  One day Peep and I made it as far as the backyard and were preparing to set him free.  Then Peep broke down in tears.  He just couldn't do it.  He wanted to keep Willy.  Willy didn't need to go make a cocoon, Willy needed to stay.  It was a very piteous scene and the caterpillar remained captive. 

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Then Peep's favorite Uncle showed up for the weekend.  Even though it was still so very hard, Peep took the initiative of  proudly showing him to his Uncle and then, with some coaxing, freeing Willy. We let him out in the grass near where he was captured.  We took lots of pictures with him and said goodbye.  Peep hoped to watch Willy make his cocoon, but Uncle and I explained that it takes too long to watch.  We promised Willy we'd look for him in the spring when he'd be a beautiful butterfly (er...moth).   

 

It's tough being a 3 year old melancholic.

 

Happy Friday!

 Go visit Jen. 

 

Deep dark secret:  I wrote the majority of this on Friday but had to attend a crying Pebble before publishing, so this is getting posted on Sunday.  But you know what? I'm back dating it just because I can.   I don't want to have to rewrite things.

7 Quick Takes - The Rest of September Summed Up

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After resolving to start blogging again, I missed 7QTs two Fridays in a row.  Instead of blogging I was playing way too many rounds of matching games with Peep.   I was also gearing up to have a house full of friends!

But now I have time to type as I sit here comforting Peep who just suffered his first busted-up lip.  There's nothing like a few episodes of Peep and the Big Wide World and Mama's arms to dull one's pain.

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The Saturday before last these awesome people came into town and thus were the cause of great celebration.  We'd planned a nice little barbecue, but then upon remembering that the current grill in this household is about the size of a large book, we downgraded to just brats and hot dogs.  Dinner plans were further foiled when the thunderclouds rolled in, the heavens opened and the men got out of grilling while the ladies did the job on the stove.

Despite the weather, we had a great time!

Party Animals

I'm still impressed by how well the children played.  Peep was very excited for "ALL [his] friends" to come over.  Before the guests showed, we spent a little time roll-playing what to do when his friends wanted to play with his treasures. I was one proud mama because Peep's biggest meltdown was not over sharing but rather the scary lighting and thunder. 

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This past weekend some of the party returned for an encore.  In addition to more fun times with fun people I managed to coerce my sister into running her first 5K!  Notre Dame Right to Life sponsored the race to benefit Women's Care Center. Irresistible!

Now I had not run since Pebble was conceived and barely started running again before that.  The last 5K I ran was high school.  My sister had never, ever run for fun.

With a firm belief (on my part) that this would be a fun challenge and no pressure to compete since "walkers [were] welcome" we signed up.

For having no training whatsoever, I think we did pretty darn good.  Our times weren't stellar, but we came in under my goal.  We ran almost the whole the first half and alternated walking and running for the second half.  My sister seemed shocked when I told her to leave me behind and keep going.  She didn't understand how she "had more energy" than me, the enthusiastic, former runner.  Well, my dear, the fact that there is a decent age gap and I am still less than 6 months postpartum might have a little something to do with it!

We look so confident pre-race. hahaha (photo: NDRTL)

The Sis hanging with her nephews post race.

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Other gems from the last several weeks include the following:

In a most disappointed tone:
"Oh no.  My paper's been accepted."  - The resident theologian upon finding out he's 3 for 3 for conference paper acceptance.

-5-

Question of the week:

Should you frequently clean your preschooler's chair at the kitchen table.  Why yes you should:

Before. Ugh.

After. Ahh.

Will he keep it clean after you scrub it? Absolutely not. He will spill his drink all over it as soon as you take a picture.

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You can't make this stuff up:

Boys playing happily together.  Mama takes advantage of the moment to send a work-related email. 
Sent!  Mama notices a strange reduction of noise in the other room.  Goes to investigate. 

Mom: Where's Pebble!? 

Peep giggling:  I put him in the closet!  He wanted to see my things.*

Mom opens the closet door to find a smiling, giggling Pebble.

Peep:  See! He likes it!

*the numerous toys not scattered on the floor.

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Peep apparently likes locking people in closets.  I came home from work the other day to discover that Peep had locked his father in a closet too.  Thankfully Peep managed to unlock it before the door had to be kicked open.  Looks like I'm next in line...uh oh...


Happy Friday!

Linking up with Jen's 7 Quick Takes.

7 Quick Takes - Of Celebrations, Moving, and Football

Oh September.  It's been almost two months since I last posted.  There are several abandoned drafts, but nothing that's come of them.  So what have we been up to?

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The rest of July and very beginning of August went fairly well - if I can remember correctly.  The dear husband worked on his dissertation, had his first conference paper accepted, and I picked up a few hours at work. 

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As for the rest of August...

For a long time we had planned a glorious vacation to my home state to visit family, friends and some of the many historic and natural attractions of the region. I was so excited!  It would be so much fun and we would come back physically tired but emotionally refreshed and rejuvenated.

Our trip was severely shortened when my mother-in-law was offered and accepted a job not far from us. With such a quick turn around for her, the bulk of the moving process fell to her devoted sons (and me too).

The few days we had in Maryland were delightful (minus a lost/stolen wallet).  Short but sweet. While we did not get to sight-see half as much as I had hoped, we were able to attend two wonderful events in the lives of two dear friends.

While we were glad for all the friends we saw along the way (especially the three sweet babies we finally saw!) the frantic moving process left us more exhausted than we were when we started.

The rest of the month flew by as we settled my mother-in-law into her new place, our sisters came out to their respective South Bend colleges, and we helped my parents finish up the long-standing project of cleaning out my grandparents' house just outside of Detroit. 

 

My packing masterpiece - and nothing broke!

Go West!

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Milestones passed in August included our 5th wedding anniversary, Peep's birthday and a fantastic visit to the B&O Railway Museum in Baltimore, and Pebble learning how to roll over.

B&O!

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Now September is here. Pebble is practicing sitting up and CANNOT wait for solid food. Peep has set aside rock and stick collecting in favor of photography. He spent a good deal of this evening taking family pictures complete with a tripod and specific instructions on how his subjects must pose.

Not posing. Pretending to be camera shy.

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The return of Notre Dame Football has also been a great cause for celebration in these parts.  Peep is delighted he can hear his beloved Irish Band again.

I won't comment too much on our victory over the "Victors" since there's a rather sensitive Wolverine in the family.  But I will say I'm afraid that given his fussiness and tears shed throughout the game, I'm a little concerned that Pebble's loyalties may lie with his grandmother's.  Uh-oh.

Peep & his uncle

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This weekend marks 200th anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore and penning of the Star Spangled Banner.

Fort McHenry holds a very dear place in my heart for a number of reasons.  I wish we could be there to celebrate!

I encourage you all to read all FOUR verses of our national anthem and the story of the amazing citizens and defenders of Baltimore.  I might be a little biased, but I truly believe that the Battle of Baltimore brought out some of the best qualities of humanity and was one of those rare moments where all people regardless of differences stood united.
 

Peep and Grandma on the ramparts of Ft. McHenry in August

O say can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation.
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

PS And this.

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To end on a humorous note, these, my friends, are called ear-strings:

Ear Strings?

Happy Friday!

Linking up with Jen's 7Qts.

7 Quick Takes - The Peep Edition

I decided this week's Quick Takes needed a theme, and what better to focus on than my hilarious goofball firstborn?

 
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As I'm sitting down to write, Peep and his Daddy are preparing  to mow the lawn.

Daddy (mostly to himself): Should I wear my tennis shoes or my boots?
Peep: You should wear boots so you don't get cuts.

Now if only Peep gave such great safety advice. If only he'd pay attention to it before he hops off furniture and stairs, slides like a baseball player, or deliberately trips himself.

"Sometimes it feels good to get hurt."

-2-

Blueberry season has arrived!  We have already gone picking twice at The Blueberry Ranch - the Midwest's largest (and only organic!) blueberry u-pick farm.  Yum.  We just can't get enough.  Peep once loved strawberries, and then he met his true love: blueberries!

 
Peep's love for blueberries is so passionate that in the last two days he has mastered a new skill: opening the refrigerator door. 

Yikes. 

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Over the summer Peep has become a stick connoisseur - carefully collecting and evaluating numerous sticks and twigs.  Often these fine specimens are turned into "beaver dams." Other times Mommy and Daddy surreptitiously stuff them into yard waste bags.  Occasionally Mommy and Daddy distract him from a recent find before it can be brought home. 

A blueberry stick to go with the blueberries

A few of the favs

Feeding the ducks...or collecting sticks?

Fr. Hesburgh up ahead in the library and Peep wielding a stick.

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And then there's the rock collection too:

These are just a few.

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Blueberries, sticks, stones...don't forget the trains.  Any sort of train.  He will do anything for trains.  We've read almost every book on trains we can find in the library.

On Wednesday, before Round #2 of blueberry picking, we met up with one of my co-worker friends and her kids for coffee and a play date at the Chocolate Cafe.  Her kids were gleefully climbing through the large cacco-tree themed playplace.  Peep refused to go up and opted to play in the smaller toddler zone.

"Peep, do you want to come up with me?" his friend asked.

"Umm no. Umm no thanks. I have to go somewhere soon." Peep responded.

You have nowhere to go but up that thing, kiddo.  That is precisely why I brought you here.

Eventually my friend's eldest spotted a model train that rode along a high up shelf from the store area into the play area and back out again through a tunnel in the wall.  The kids oohed and aahed. The moms continued talking.

Suddenly my friend stopped "Is that your son....up there?"

Sure enough Peep, skittish as he was, had darted up to the very top of the tower with her son to watch the train.

"Hi Mommy!  I'm up here!!"

Anything. Anything for trains.

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Today Peep, Pebble and I took a walk around campus. After feeding the ducks, we headed over to the Grotto to light a candle and say a prayer.

As we approached Peep said softly, but excitedly: "There are candles!"

Then he crescendoed: "There are candles! But but BUT they aren't just candles! They're like, like, like  SACRIFICES! SACRIFICES!"

And he started to run full speed to the Grotto yelling "SACRIFICES!!!"




Okay. Who taught him that? Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty impressed and pleased.  That's pretty good theology. (Even if it was rather embarrassing at the moment.)  Surprisingly Dad said it wasn't him.  I'm looking at Grandpa...was it you? Uncles?  But really, what two year old runs around yelling "sacrifices!"  Given the average conversation in this house I'm not that surprised, but I didn't even know he knew the word.

Venite ad Me omnes (with your sticks)

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This last take is the most exciting!

Earlier this week we heard that Peep's godfather, my brother-in-law, has been accepted as a seminarian for his home diocese!

We'd be grateful if you keep him in your prayers as packs his bags and continues to discern his calling.


Happy Friday!

Linking up with Jen.

7 Quick Takes: Mid July

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Hang on, it's Friday?  Again?  I thought I just did this.... This week has simply flown.

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The week opened with the visits of several old friends.  Three unrelated parties, all coincidentally in town at the same time.  It was lovely. 

To everyone else: if you're ever passing by Notre Dame, please don't forget we're still here!  We'd love to see you!

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I really need to start writing down blog ideas as soon as they pop into my head.  Otherwise they just don't stick and I end up looking blankly at a blank screen.

Our copy of Notre Dame Magazine arrived this week.  Over lunch I read the article by Tom Coyne about writing and writers.  I will never consider myself a writer.  Never.

This blog is mostly an exercise to make sure my brain doesn't melt and seep out of my ears by the age of 30.  Don't let it fool you.

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Pebble turned 12 weeks the other day.  He is a crazy kiddo.  If I was the betting type I'd wager he's going to be the family athlete. 

Every morning Mr. Pebble wakes up around 6:00 or 7:00 and goes running.  I kid you not.  Granted he's not actually running, but he lies in bed and pumps his legs up and down like a little marathoner.  He doesn't babble or fuss, he just runs.  He'll go for almost an hour - with some breaks - then he wants to nurse and goes back to bed for awhile before getting up for the day. 

It causes me to lose a good hour of sleep every morning, but it's hilarious.

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Peep has been coming up with some fabulous quotes recently.  It's a shame I don't remember a single one.

He's also an aspiring photographer.  So in lieu of ridiculous quotes and actual pictures of the week, here are some of Peep's masterpieces:

He's obsessed with deliberately taking pictures of the floor.

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I've been waiting for a blog update from my amazing little sister. But nothing's come.  I suppose she's just trying to enjoy the last days of her Parisian internship before coming home.   

You know, some of us just aren't as cosmopolitan...

Thankfully the ND School of Architecture is doing the work for her.  Join me in living vicariously through her and her classmates by reading about their recent visit to Romania here.

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And right about now is when I start rethinking my policy of posting full-face photos of the boys...how easy it would be to just slap some of these cuties up here and call it a night.  I'll just head on over to Facebook and put them there.

Happy Friday!



Linking up with Jen's 7 Quick Takes!

You can find me over at FaithND today.

While you're there subscribe to begin receiving the daily Gospel, a reflection,  prayer, and today's saint.

7 Quick Takes: Stormy Weather

This week has been quite eventful.  Here it is in 7 quick(ish) takes: 

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Saturday we paid a lovely visit to the shores of Lake Michigan at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. We discovered the Douglas Center on the west side of the park. If you have children you MUST visit sometime!  I'll be posting a review of the Center soon. 

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Sunday was a beautiful day. I finished reading Something Other Than God.  Monday was wonderful too.  Monday was a very productive day.  I finally caught up on most of the housework.  Life was good.  I learned only one lesson that day: never put a jar of freshly made strawberry jam on top of the running washing machine unless you'd like to see it smash to the ground.

Finally!  That new normal I was looking for last week seemed to be here!

So the hubby and I decided to take it easy and watch something lighthearted and comical to celebrate the day.

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The chosen film was Airplane.  That classic parody of all disaster films. A bit past midnight, as the final scene came on, we heard sirens.  Seconds later we realized those weren't part of the movie - they were real. 

Tornado sirens.


We grabbed the sleeping boys and ran down to the basement.  We rocked them and calmed them.  Everything was going to be okay.



Suddenly there was a roar like a freight train. Sudden darkness.  We hugged them close and Peep cried. Hail Mary, full of grace...Hail Mary, full of grace...My God, my God...Hail Mary...



Quiet.  Eerie quiet.  It was gone almost as soon as it had come.  There was only the sound of heavy rain.



A dog barked.  A neighbor's voice!  Is it over? Do we still have a house?

-4- 

This is what we saw in the morning:

Most of our neighbors had roof damage.  Numerous trees looked as if someone had bitten off their tops.  These pictures hardly capture the immensity of the carnage.  Upturned trees, smashed cars and buildings. The neighborhood is barely recognizable in parts.

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Clean up commenced immediately.  As soon as the heaviest rains passed we heard chainsaws at 2 AM. The night lead into a grueling day.  For all the devastation it was one of those really neat times where neighbors come out and are actually neighborly.  It gives you a little faith in humanity.

My proudest moment of the day was that despite the heavy clean up and lack of electricity I still managed to bake a birthday cake for a special someone! 

Did you know that a good old-fashioned canner or similar large pot and rack can make a makeshift oven?

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Wednesday night, J went out to a going-away gathering for a friend leaving me behind with the boys and no electricity.  No problem.  Single moms have to put two kids down single-handly all the time, right?  

Oh my. 

Pebble was nearly asleep countless times and Peep would break down into a fit of crying because I wasn't attending to his needs swiftly enough. Over and over.  

I took the tearful Peep aside and sat him down for a little talk punctuated by his sobs:  "Look honey, I know, I know this has been a long day. I need to put your brother to sleep. I know you want the lights on.  I do to.  I know you just want to watch something, but we can't...."

A strange orange glow caught my eye.  It was coming from behind the closed door of the bedroom where Pebble lay. Either the aliens were abducting my baby or....OR.....POWER!!

"IT'S BACK!" I shouted.  "IT'S BACK! The power is ON!" I jumped with delight and gave Peep a hug.

Peep was terrified by his mother's crazed outburst and cried.  Then he realized what I just said.  Choking on his tears he said "I can watch something!"  

"Yes! Yes! You can watch something!"

And so I win the award for Best Media Limiting Mom.  Not.

-7-

The most difficult cleanup task was removing our black walnut tree.  The winds had pushed it towards the house.  And so it (and an awful lot of money) had to go.

So sad.  The yard feels like a blistering desert now.  I'm hoping to replace it.  Does anyone have any suggestions for a good, affordable shade tree that doesn't grow too tall?

Happy Independence Day!

Linking up with Jen.

7 Quick Takes: June 27

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The new normal is slowly emerging.  Of course it is being foiled by the ever-changing sleep patterns of our newborn...and toddler.  Who's children are these who wake up at 6:00am?  There are no early birds in this family.  Someone must have abducted them and replaced them with these terrible early morning-risers.

-2-

The other day a friend asked for tips to keep her three year old from treating the furniture like a jungle gym.  I don't have the best answer for this one, but I do have this little exercise trampoline handed down to me by my parents.  They bought it to answer this very problem when I was a little rapscallion.


Most of the time Peep just jumps to his heart's content, but recently he's decided that maybe it would be really cool to combine the trampoline with the furniture.

Apparently the coolness is further increased by rearranging the furniture and dragging the trampoline as close as possible to Mommy and his nursing brother.
 
So for now I'm settling for him jumping off the furniture onto the trampoline rather than jumping up and down on the furniture.  It's something - right?

-3- 

One of the few glories of my week has been edging the patio and sidewalk.  It's amazing how hard it is for grass to grow on the lawn and how easy it is for it to grow on concrete and brick.

Before

After

 Inches!  Inches of reclaimed patio!

-4- 

Snow boots in summer?  I've heard a lot of kids go through this. 

-5-

Speaking of winter, I felt a little guilty as I logged some Christmas books on Peep's reading list for our library's summer reading challenge.  He found them and we read them. Hopefully librarians don't judge.

-6-

Echoing Amy's post earlier today: "Here I am, former Notre Dame grad, now a completely brain-dead mom...."

After an embarrassingly long time, I've finally cracked open a book that doesn't have a picture on every page.  Fittingly my own summer reading, is Jen's book Something Other Than God.

I've had it in hand for two days, am about halfway through, and hate having to put it down.  Read: This book is AWESOME and without children it would have been finished in one day. 

Amy also reminded me that I actually own A Mother's Rule of Life. I started reading it while expecting Peep, never finished, and until today totally forgot about it.  Oops.  It might behoove me to find it.

-7-

I mentioned the children have been rising early.  They've also been going to bed late.  It's 10:30 and Peep just went to sleep.  Pebble is still up.  Yikes.


Linking to the fabulous Jen Fulwiler!

7 Quick Takes: Selected Thoughts & Finding A New Normal

Over the past several weeks there have been a million thoughts flying around my head, I've wanted to blog about so many of them, but it seemed impossible to find the time or concentration to turn a single one into a coherent post.

My dear husband can only sum up the last several months (and I think he'd be more accurate in saying the last year and a half) as "fighting a war."

We just returned home from our last major planned event - my sister-in-law's graduation. We have "nothing" on the calendar until August.*  

What was "normal" is gone.  Life has changed.  Now we have to find a new normal, and that is no easy task.

So here are 7 very quick takes that have been complied over the last several weeks:

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My lap exists again and I'm happy Peep can sit on it. So is he. I'm also grateful my ankles and feet are not swollen to twice their normal size.

A visit to Holland, MI

-2-

Pebble started smiling at around the time he turned one month.  His full, open-mouthed, beaming face is heart-melting. (Now if only I could get a picture of it...)

-3-

On May 2, I wrote: Parenting two is interesting balancing act.  It is definitely going to take some getting used to.

Riding Lions with Friends

-4-

Recently #4 has grown to: It's not having a baby that's a challenge, it's having a toddler that's the hard part. 

 -5-

It's astounding how different two brothers can be. Seeing Pebble's personality develop is fascinating.  His daddy and I agree that Pebble's temperament seems to be taking after his godfather uncle's.

"Put he in the oval so we can play traaaaiiins!!"

-6-

Peep loves trains, dogs, the zoo, playgrounds, being loud, climbing, bouncing, his aunts and uncles, his grandparents, his brother, and generally being a stinker.  We're not so sure he still loves Mommy and Daddy. 

-7-

If you haven't read my sister's blog you should.

Peep and his Aunt going on a journey

Lastly a question: If I can find the time, should I write Pebble's birth story/saga? Is there any interest in it?


Happy Friday!
Linking to Jen/Kathryn.

*I say "nothing" - but really I mean no "major life events," just heaps upon heaps of the "little" things - the kind that seem so infinitesimal until you're in the middle of them and just want to sleep.