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.

-7-

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. 

-3- 

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.

-4-

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.

-5-

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!