In the Bleak Midwinter

Our God, heaven cannot hold him nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign:
In the bleak midwinter stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But only his mother in her maiden bliss
Worshipped the Beloved with a kiss.

What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man I would do my part
Yet what I can I give him -- give my heart.

(photo credit: Nativity by Georges de La Tour, from allposters.com)

Christmas Eve

'Twas the night before Christmas,

(hanging the first decorations of the year, wearing their cutie-patootite matching Christmas dresses from G.A. Terri -- Katie still with her tags on!)

and all through the house

not a creature was stirring,

(the tree is so tall that the star is currently bent over)

(Katie LOVES the Deckowathionz)

...well, except for Mr. Pickles who saved all his wrapping until now,

(we swear we water the tree!)

or Mrs. Pickles who was getting breakfast ready for the morning,

(it's not Christmas without Pulla!)

or Miriam who was up until 10:30 because her nap was too long...

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

(all ready for bed -- and Santa -- dressed in their new jammies, Christmas presents from Mommy)

in the hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there!

(Santa's letter to the girls)

The reason for the season. (note the soft bed of good deeds!)

'Tis the Season to be Frantic...

This is what my to-do list looked like last week.


Next to it is Miriam's list, which she made out while I was making mine. Yeah, I hear ya, babe, sometimes I feel like I do have that much to do! :)

Coming down the home stretch!

Here is Miriam's letter to Santa (along with translation):



I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year, especially since we're having family visiting, woo-hoo!

The Latest in Katish

Katie's developing quite the vocabulary, not to mention the muscle strength to get her mouth around it. Her latest Big Word is "decorations" -- albeit slightly altered in Katish. While going for a walk the other day she pointed out every house that was decorated for Christmas.
CL: "Mommy, ook, deckowathionz!"
Mrs. P: "Yes, those are Christmas decorations!"
CL: "Mm-hmm, Cismas deckowathionz!"
Mrs. P: "Wow, that's quite a mouthful -- now can you say 'antidisestablishmentarianism?"
CL: "Yeah."

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She's really into plurals. She'll double them up just for funsies. For example:
bookthez
O'sez
bearzez
updairzez
dowdairzez

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I love when she says "Oh my gooyeth!"
Or, "Scuze you, Mommy!" when she wants my attention.

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Have we mentioned the fact that Katie is 2? Well, she is, with a vengeance. Miriam was an angel during her 2's (she saved everything up for 3 1/2), but Katie seems to be getting her snarkiness out of her system at the proper age. The trouble is that she's so funny when she gets mad that we find it hard to take her seriously. Whenever her will is thwarted, she'll express her anger by saying, "MMM! My wun!" and then she'll run across the room and purposely crash into something, turn around and glare at us. It is SO hilarious. I wish I could get the camera ready in time. She has the most hilarious mad face. Other favorite mad phrases of hers are, "MMM! My FWOW it!" or "MMM! My go DAT way!" I guess it's a step up -- at least she is expressing her anger verbally -- now we just need to wean her away from the accompanying physical expressions...

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We still have a way to go in language development. While I was sitting here typing, Katie was playing with her "kitchen" -- the partially dismantled old computer desk.
CL: "Mommy, is it? Can't find it!"
Mrs. P: "What are you looking for?"
CL: "The thing."

Oh, THAT thing.

Our Christmas Creche

Per request:

(thanks for the reminder, Theresa -- I had forgotten I wanted to post about this as well!)

Carrying on the B. Family tradition of encouraging good behavior through cheap bribery, I assembled (out of an Amazon box) the stable at Bethlehem, with animals waiting for the arrival of... well, everyone else! You can see one shepherd hangin' out in the hills. The kings are... well, to tell the truth, I have no idea where two of the kings are. Katie got her hands on them (last time I saw them in her hand, they had to use the bathroom, which according to her was behind some books on my religious shelf...) so they could be anywhere. Hopefully they'll turn up by Epiphany.
Anyway, Mary and Joseph are currently traveling to Bethlehem. I got this great idea from Theresa last year -- every day they move to a different location. Right now they're still in the hill country (upstairs), but tomorrow they'll descend into the valley (the basement) before making the ascent to Bethlehem. On Christmas Eve they'll find the stable, and the next morning Baby Jesus will appear, along with the shepherds! The kings of course won't be there until Epiphany.
To prepare the stable for the Baby Jesus, we're making him a bed out of nice warm, soft hay. Everytime we catch Miriam or Katie doing something good, like obeying us promptly, or being helpful, or doing their work w/o being nagged, or being especially nice to each other, they get to put a piece of yarn (straw) in the stable, since being good and obedient girls make the Baby Jesus happy. I considered briefly making her take one out for snarkiness, but if we did that Baby Jesus would be sleeping on the cold, hard floor. It's better to try to emphasize the positive, and catch them being good. So far it's worked pretty well. I'll say things like, "If you get dressed and make your bed all by yourself, you can put a straw in the manger," and Miriam's chores will be done to perfection in record time. She very cheerfully helped us unload the dishwasher yesterday, even offering to do MORE work to help us! I like this. How can I exploit this the rest of the year?
Since Katie likes to do everything Miriam does ("Me, too!" is a refrain often heard these days), she gets to put a straw in, too, for things like putting away her shoes when I ask, or helping clean up her toys.
I'm not sure what the appeal is. I loved doing this when I was a kid, too, but I can't remember what I liked about it either. Maybe it was that I had some contribution to the Christmas preparations, since there was so little else I could do besides help decorate the lower branches of the tree. And there's always the pleasant satisfaction of knowing that you're being good -- and being able to see concrete proof of it.

Overheard

As we were coming in from a walk (with her doll riding in the stroller):

Miriam: *exasperated noise* Dolly, you whined the WHOLE way!

Veni veni Emmanuel...

...because I don't think our candles are going to last another week!

The girls are really getting into the Christmas thing. It's taking us grown-ups a little longer -- I just remembered to pull out the Advent Calendar a couple days ago (although Miriam didn't mind opening 10 doors at once...), and we still haven't made an Advent paper chain. I feel like it snuck up on me, even though Advent started so late this year. To help me feel more Christmas-y I've been playing a lot of Christmas music -- well, to be specific, Wee Sing Christmas music. :) So now I've been hearing garbled versions of Christmas carols from little voices. The other day I heard Katie singing, "We wish you Cismas and Happy Birday!"

Most importantly, I've started on the Christmas baking. Mm-mmm! Yesterday Miriam helped me make our traditional Chocolate Ribbon Cookies. We're participating in a Christmas cookie exchange this year, so this is our contribution.


Of course, we had to sample a few to make sure they were suitable for exchanging. ;)

Another new recipe I recently tried was Ginger Shortbread, which was super-easy and soooooo yummy. It filled the house with delicious smells while it was baking. Mr. Pickles said it made his brain tingle.


I got the recipe from Pleasant View Schoolhouse, one of my favorite blogs these days.

*Ginger Shortbread*

Stir with a fork:

1 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 T. ground ginger
1/2 t. baking soda

Cut in like you would for biscuits:

1 stick butter

Press into an 8-inch round cake pan, then prick evenly with your fork. Bake at 325 for about 35 minutes. The sides will puff up slightly, and it will become firm to the touch. While still warm, slice into twelve wedges, let cool slightly, then lift them out and let cool on a plate. You will love the way they look and taste.

After it cooled it was just like ginger snaps. I think next time I'll use just a little less ginger though -- it seemed overpowering to me at first.

Now I can't wait to make Pulla! It's not Christmas unless you have a slice of Pulla for breakfast.

Once again, the rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated.

As usual, lots of stuff is going on, so I haven't been able to make the time to post anything. Sorry to all of you who have been wasting away from lack of cute pictures and updates! In my defense, this IS Advent-- I mean, the Christmas Shopping Season-- sorry, the HOLIDAY Shopping Season, so we've been busy trying to get everything together so that your Christmas presents will actually reach you sometime before February.
Also, in other big news, I am now gainfully employed! I've started watching a little boy for a few hours, 4 days a week. It's very Providential how everything happened. His parents had become dissatisfied with his daycare situation and were looking for a Catholic home to place him in, preferably a stay-at-home homeschooling mom who was looking for a little extra income.
Meanwhile, Mr. Pickles and I had been talking (due to the influence of some friends) about trying to climb our way out of debt more quickly. We're at that phase now where we've got student loans, home mortgage, new car loan, college savings, and retirement to think about all at the same time. We felt like we were just throwing money at each of those things and not really making any headway on anything. I had just been trying to think of ways that I could ease Greg's burden of being the sole breadwinner when I received from a friend the email detailing this family's situation.
After discussing it with Mr. Pickles, I contacted the mother. We met a couple times and then had a trial run, and after two days I knew it would work out. The little boy is a few months younger than Katie, and has a very sunny disposition. He's so easygoing, and fits right into our family. He's really cute too -- if his parents give permission I may post a picture or two. It's actually been a delight to watch him. Along with Katie he's at that fun stage I love, one of discovery and exploration and budding personality.
He's here 8:30-2:30, which at first seems like a long time, but our day progresses rapidly from activity to activity. With meals and naptime, there're really only 2 hours that I have to fill, and often we spend half of that outside.
This situation is actually going to be very good for me personally, for a lot of reasons. For one, while he's here, I have to focus on the kids. I'd always wanted to spend more time with the girls every day, and less time doing "my" things, but was never able to work out a schedule that worked. But now, all the morning is kid time. While the little ones are playing I can do school with Miriam. There are lots of interruptions of course, but that won't last forever. And Miriam's attention span is still such that she can't concentrate on any one thing longer than about 5 minutes.
Sometimes it feels weird getting paid to play blocks and sing "Ring a Round the Rosy." :) But I'm happy that in a way I'm "forced" to play with the kids. A better way of saying it would be that I can play all morning long and not feel guilty that I should be doing something else more important.
Tied into this is the fact that I'm forced to be more efficient with the spare time I do have. No more wasting hours on the computer! After his mom comes to bring him home, I have 2 hours to get anything done that I can't do while he's here. This includes trips to the library, grocery shopping, running errands, baking, and cleaning the house. I've always worked better with deadlines, so this arrangement really simplifies life for me! And I'll try to make good use of my "day off" -- we'll probably be using that for playdates so the girls can get out of the house to be with friends.
Speaking of which, how are the girls adjusting, you ask? So far, great! Which really surprised me. Well, initially they reacted the way I thought they would -- Miriam acted like a second little mommy by offering toys and making funny faces to get him to laugh, while Katie stood off to the side and frowned at the interloper who kept playing with her stuff. But after about a day Katie accepted him, and laughs at him & offers him toys now too. They've only had a few squabbles about the baby doll stroller. Miriam continues to be my reporter, letting me know when he's getting into trouble. She's also my diaper alert. :) She's such a good helper -- I'm so blessed to have had a daughter like her first! I think if he were here all day it would be hard, but since he's only here in the mornings, they still have me to themselves in the afternoons, as well as three whole days a week.
I have to say again how Providential this was. It just fit my situation perfectly -- I'm home most of the time anyway, and because it's only part time I don't feel like my freedom has been restricted at all. Granted, unless morning activities (like playgroups) are on my day off we won't be able to attend, but this won't be forever -- once my charge is old enough we might go on field trips and to library programs and things like that. The only thing I do miss is the freedom to go to daily Mass, but I hadn't been going regularly anyway.
And to have had this situaiton just dropped in our laps like this -- all I can say is Benedicamus Domino!
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This post has been brought to you by the letters N-A-P and the number 2 (as in, hours).

Eye knowed it! I'se uh grammer ekspurt!

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

Are You Gooder at Grammar?

I credit my homeschooled education for the high score. There's no WAY I would have known the correct answers if I had attended regular school all the way through.

Important Health & Safety Message

Thought this video was a very funny way of getting a good message across, now that we're entering virus season.

HT: Kateri

The Latest Miriamism

"Ooh, that toothpaste stingles my tongue!"
(she's just graduated from tooty-fruity to minty toothpaste)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a quiet Thanksgiving Day this year, which suited us just right. I made a fairly simple dinner since there were only the four of us (half of which ate next to nothing).

The menu:
Roast Rock Cornish Game Hens with sage stuffing
Himmel und Erde (mashed potatoes & apples seasoned w/nutmeg)
Green Bean Casserole (is it Thanksgiving if you DON'T have this?)
a bottle of Riesling
and, of course, Pumpkin Pie w/whipped cream

Simple, but very yummy, if I do say so myself! I would have done a little more, but I threw my back out twice in the last couple weeks, and haven't fully recovered enough to do a full-out feast. Maybe for Christmas.

The girls helped decorate for the day:


(Katie had some help). Miriam's turkey has feet with seven toes, according to her. It's also wearing socks. I thought you should know.

I spent most of Wednesday trying to finish a new dress for Miriam to wear on Thanksgiving, since she only has one winter dress so far. (It's only just recently turned very cold, so she's been surviving on cooler dresses with a sweater.) Unfortunately I didn't quite finish in time -- I quit at 11pm with only the skirt to go. But I finally finished it today:


Can anyone say, "Mary Ingalls"? (I've got an idea for Halloween costumes for the girls next year...)

Now, I'm not normally this horrible of a procrastinator, saving it for the last minute like this -- I would have started working on it sooner if I had been able to do more than lie around and whine for the last couple weeks. :) Although I do find that I work better with a deadline...

Hope everyone had a peaceful holiday!

More Birthday pics

forgot to add these last time:

From Edy both girls received a really fun gift:

wheee!! confetti in a can!! (thanks for the warning beforehand, Aunt Rachel!)

But the girls were very happy to help clean up:



Everybody enjoyed Katie's birthday...

even the balloons.

New Error Message

(with apologies to our separated brethren, but I just found this too funny!)

And now... the post you've all been anxiously waiting for...

The Katie's Second Birthday Blogonanza! Complete with pictures! (speaking of which, sorry it took so long to post about this -- Blogger hates me. More specifically, Blogger hates me trying to post pictures.)

Sooooo.... here is the Birthday Girl in her Birthday Outfit posing for her Birthday Pictures and looking Birthday Cute.

No girl should be without the coordinating purse.

Her true personality shining through.

I'm cute and I know it!

For her cake I made cupcakes and shaped them into...

what else? :)

Blowing out her candles (with the help of the bigger girls).

The Birthday Bear with her birthday bear. She was SOOO excited about this present! She liked them all, actually, but she was the most enthusiastic about ripping this one out of its wrappings once she saw what it was. :)

Katie really enjoyed her birthday -- the cupcakes, the presents, the singing, the balloons -- she soaked up all of it! (Sometimes I still catch her singing "Happy Birthday" to herself.) I just hope that our children always feel loved and special on their birthdays. (One thing I've noticed though -- how come mothers never get any appreciation for the hard labor they went through to PRODUCE the birthday child, huh?? btw, Mom B, thanks for the 23 hours of back-breaking labor that you're fond of reminding me YOU went through 29-odd years ago!) :)

One thing I love about this time of year -- our table is covered w/festive cards! (for those who don't remember or didn't know, I spent our 4th anniversary frantically cleaning the house b/c I was in pre-labor w/Katie -- she was born early the next morning) :)

At what kind of benefit gala do you see...

A man, wearing a tux, and carrying a baby in a carseat?

A fundraising dinner for an OB/GYN practice, that's what kind!

I'm sure most of you have heard of Dr. John Bruchalski and the Tepeyac Family Center. Well Mrs. Pickles is one of the fortunate patients at that practice. Dr. B delivered Miriam, in fact. Tepeyac is an amazing, totally pro-life practice. Their motto is "combining the best of modern medicine with the healing presence of Jesus Christ." A little while back they decided to transform into a non-profit practice, so every year they hold a fundraising dinner to help support the practice. This year the gala was on our anniversary, so we decided to attend. It was a LOT of fun. We saw several people we knew there -- all part of the "Catholic mafia" that's infiltrated this area. :) We actually sat next to people who graduated from the Alma Mater a few years before us. Small, small world! They brought their 2 month old baby girl. In fact, there were babies and carseats everywhere. It was great being at such a formal event where bringing your little baby was EXPECTED.

One of the beautiful things about Tepeyac is that they will take any patient, regardless of risk or ability to pay. Some women are such high-risk pregnancies that other practices refuse to treat them. Tonight we heard about a story of one woman whose membranes ruptured halfway through the pregnancy. (For the uninitiated, this means her water broke over 4 months early and the unborn baby was without the protection that provides -- there's a serious risk of infection.) Doctors from another practice all suggested she "terminate the pregnancy" because the possibility of carrying a healthy baby to term was so slim. One doctor even wrote in her file that there was 0% chance of viability. But the good doctors at Tepeyac took her in, carefully monitored her for infection, and admitted her to the hospital for the last month of the pregnancy. She delivered a baby boy 6 weeks ago, and is expected to be able to bring him home from the hospital any day now. I hope the woman brings her son into the first practice to show him to them, and says, "Hey, remember me? This is that 0% chance baby!"

Because the doctors at Tepeyac will take in patients with severe complications, and they also provide services to the poor, the practice is heavily dependent upon donations, as you can imagine. It costs $2500 just for a normal birth (not including prenatal care). If they treat women with complications, that amount goes up. To raise money the gala included a silent auction, live auction (hosted by a priest), and a raffle. The auction items were some awesome things (vacation packages to the Caribbean, a prenatal massage package, golfing at an exclusive club, fishing with one of the Drs, works of Catholic art) -- but there's no way we could bid for anything until we become independently wealthy. We would have loved to be able to give more -- we were convicted once more of the importance of getting out from under our debt so we can be more generous to causes we feel passionate about.

Tepeyac is a fabulous practice and I feel so blessed to be a part of it. It's been generating a lot of press lately too: Dr. B and Tepeyac were even featured on the front page of the Washington Post (and fairly positively!) a few months ago. Anyway, it was great having a good time and supporting such a beautiful cause at the same time!

Happy Anniversary to us!

6 years and 2 kids later, we still look gooooooooooooood.

Mr. Pickles even got a new suit for the occasion. (Mostly because I told him I wouldn't be seen in public with him in his old one -- at least not at a "black tie optional" affair!)

Happy (belated) Halloween!

Some pics from trick-or-treating last week:

I found the Mr. Potato Head (or should that be "Mr. Pumpkin Head?") at the grocery store and couldn't resist. Since Miriam is too young to wield the pumpkin knife, this was something she could decorate herself.

Katie was a bride, Miriam was the flower girl. It was Miriam's idea -- I asked her if she wanted to be a bride for Halloween, but she said, "No, Katie's going to be the bride, and I'M going to be the flower girl!" (Everybody knows that's the most important role in a wedding. ) Mr. Pickles stayed home to hand out candy while I took the girls out. I wore a purple dress too so I could be the maid of honor. :) (thanks for the idea, Aunt Terri!) Incidentally, the bride dress is one that Nana made for another Katie a long time ago! (I had to hem it up about six feet though.)

We actually had slim pickings this year -- I couldn't believe how many people weren't answering their door. We rang about 60 doorbells, but only a dozen answered. Maybe everyone ran out of candy early, like we did. :) Anyway, the girls LOVED it. We had a nice night -- it had been 70 that day so the evening was very mild. (Miriam did wear a sweater over her dress.) Miriam finally decided she was old enough to beg for her own candy (last year Daddy had to say "trick-or-treat" for her because she was too shy.) She happily ran up the steps to each house while I helped/dragged Katie, and pressed the doorbells. Katie REALLY got into the candy thing. When prompted she said a very enthusiastic "CHICKERCHEAT!" at every house, holding her pumpkin up high. They got lots of comments on their cuteness (and handfuls of candy).

I spent a lot of time thinking about the relation between Halloween and All Saints Day this year, trying to work out how to celebrate them in our family. A lot of Catholic families I know don't do Halloween or trick-or-treating -- they dress as saints and have All Saints parties. A while back we went to an All Saints party at a local parish and it was lots of fun. I'm glad that Catholics are reclaiming the holiday -- Halloween IS "All Hallows Eve" after all, and it's important to remember that the saints were once ordinary people like ourselves. Our pastor gave a great homily about how his family celebrated Halloween as he grew up. They all dressed as saints, and since they were all boys they liked to go for gruesome, so they picked martyrs: John the Baptist with his head on a platter, St. Lawrence with stripes painted on and carrying a grill, St. Sebastian stuck full of arrows, etc. -- sounds like they had a lot of fun.

It got me thinking about the scarier aspects of Halloween -- I'm still grossed out by costumes of serial killers, or blood-soaked shirts, or anything demonic. But I can see how dressing as the scariest thing you can think of gives you ownership over it, helping you to conquer your fear in a way. This can actually be a Christian thing -- since we know that Christ has the ultimate victory, nothing should frighten us, and dressing up in scary or gruesome costumes to earn candy mocks those things. It helps us realized that yes, fear and evil do exist, but they're not the end of the story. After the antics of Halloween night come the celebrations and feasting of the next day, a Holy Day (whose Mass obligation miraculously hasn't been abolished here yet).

Of course, the problem is if people start to glorify the scary or evil things.

I haven't worked everything out yet -- like whether dressing as devils or monsters is forbidden, or dressing only as saints is allowed -- but for now, trick-or-treating is in.

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As I was writing this, the girls came downstairs all dolled up, as they often do, and Katie asked me, "Go chickercheat now?" She's all dressed up, so obviously it must be time to go out and get candy!

Updates coming soon...

...as soon as I can get the computer to register the media card slot again...

Oooohhh... shineyyy...

Well, we didn't finish the basement this weekend as we had planned -- we spent Saturday getting this instead:

A new set of wheels!

Yup, we're officially boring and uncool parents. We traded in our chic and sexy little silver mini-ut (must... contain... laughter...) for a grocery getter. However, it is a brand spankin' NEW 3.8-liter V6 with 244 horsepower, 5-speed Sportmatic transmission, ABS, ESC, TSC, ABC, XYZ, 6 airbags, LATCH, power second-row windows, back-seat MOMSPY (TM) mirror, defrost in the rear SIDE windows (you know, the ones that are always foggy b/c the A/C never reaches them), rear seat climate control, stow-and-go back seat, and about 30,000 cupholders Kia Sedona grocery getter.

We likesss it.

It has lots of other nifty little perks, like a sunglasses pocket, infinitely adjustible climate control, thousands of storage pockets and compartments all over the place, hooks for purse and for trash bags, two sliding doors (not power, though, sigh -- but Miriam can open and close them herself), and tinted windows, not the mention the 10,000 mi./10-year warranty. It's VERY roomy. Even Mrs. Pickles' family ought to have enough leg room when they come to visit. :) The only thing I wish it had is the option to move the two middle seats (which are captain's chairs) next to each other -- something you could do in the Toyota. We happen to be blessed with two children who actually get along with each other, so separating their carseats in the CRV was actually a threat to get them to behave. But now they won't be able to hold hands when they fall asleep in the car anymore. :(

Well, now I need to learn how to park all over again, make wide turns (I've hit so many curbs already), and not peel out when I accelerate (6 cylinders go vroom vroom!).

And, most importantly, it's a pretty color.

*sniff*

Katie seems to be well on her way to weaning. *sniff* Our baby's growing up! It's not by her choice, though -- she still wants to nurse before naptimes & bedtimes, but Mean Ol' Mommy (TM) refuses, and for a very good reason. It's like she's forgotten how to nurse, or else she's teething, but either way it's gotten VERY uncomfortable for me -- she's been leaving toothmarks. So, all done nums! After some initial fussing at being refused, she will settle down and accept conciliatory snuggles at bedtime instead. She's almost two (*sniff*) so some might argue that it's about time -- but I know I'm going to miss that close connection time with her at the end of the day. *sniff* A similar thing happened with Miriam -- instead of weaning according to the calendar I waited until the point where I just wanted her OFF me. It's not fun sitting still and trying to relax when you've got the willies.
But still.... *sniff*

Say What? II

Miriam: "Daddy, could you get the red headband for me? It's on top of Mommy's wedgies!"
[translation: wedgies = scrunchies in Miriamese]

I am not Supermom

What I did yesterday:

Washed three loads of laundry, including diapers.
Made three loaves of bread.
Went to the fabric store.
Read Bible stories to Miriam.
Washed lots of dishes.
Made roast chicken for dinner.
Made dinner for a friend who just had a baby.
Reprocessed a jar of apple butter.

(What I did Sunday afternoon, after I had finally found the local farmer's market!)

You think I'd feel some sense of accomplishment after all that. But instead, at the end of the day I felt disappointed b/c what I wanted to do was all the above plus:
Do more schoolwork with Miriam.
Mop the kitchen floor (which is in a sorry state after two hours of apple butter burbling on the stove).
Clean the bathrooms.
Wash three more loads of laundry.
Vacuum.
Clean off the dining room table.
Play the piano.

I couldn't let go of the things I had wanted to do and focus on the things I had actually done. I'm not sure why, but I think it's related to a feeling of failure if I can't stay on top of all the work that needs to be done to keep a family running smoothly. It's like I'm not qualified for my position if I can't keep a clean house, take care of myself, and raise my children well all at the same time.
I felt better after a cup of hot chocolate and several handfuls of chocolate chips. :)
I also remembered that during the newborn days, I considered it a major accomplishment if I could do ONE non-baby-related thing per day. Whoa, what a multi-tasker! I think it would be easier if I had older children to help out with the housework. A friend of mine once called this stage of life "baby bootcamp" -- it's a very intense stage where I feel like it's me vs. encroaching chaos every day. Soon enough I'll have a couple allies in the struggle (I already have a part-time one in my wonderful husband who vacuums and washes dishes and folds laundry when he's home), but for now I need to learn to live with an imperfectly kept house so I can focus on what's really important --

my daughters.

My Response to a Culture Consigning Itself to Perdition

Reading buddies. (I love coming upon scenes like this!)

Cute and a half. (posing in their new fall duds)

Sleeping beauties.
This was taken on a particularly rough day. I could not WAIT until this moment -- when both girls were OUT of my hair so I could have a few moments' peace! And then, when they were lying there together, so peaceful and innocent, I fell in love with them all over again. It's a good thing kids are so cute (especially when they're asleep) -- every once in a while those warm fuzzy maternal feelings need a jump start.

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Some spoken gems:

Miriam loves "Spinge Bob." She watched an episode at one of the car dealerships we visited, and still laughs whenever she recalls how Spinge Bob got stuck in his chair. So far that's the only detail about the episode we've been able to get out of her.

Miriam also loves "Boy Music" by which she means one of a CD set of kid songs with a picture of a boy on it. She doesn't like Girl Music as much as Boy Music, though, unfortunately for those of us who maxed out on "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" at about the 100th hearing of it. One day after she had requested Boy Music and I had refused to comply (yes, I'm a mean mother) she said, "You'll get tired if you listen to too much Boy Music -- your head will KASPLODE!"
A-men.

Katie is learning her manners rather well. Whenever we give her something, like a sippy cup, she'll say, "Oh, thankyoumuch!" It's all one word, just like that.

Katie's grasp of English grammar is rather tentative. I think that even though her vocabulary has advanced for the most part to Modern English, her grammar is still stuck in Ancient Rome. The position of the words in her sentences seem to be based on emphasis -- she'll say things like "Cheese eat Key all!" by which she means Katie ate all the cheese -- "cheese" being the most important word in the phrase, and therefore appearing first. I have to admit her use of grammar is very creative however -- although she tends not to use variations of the verb "to be", she does use "are" and "is" very precisely: as in "Sis are?" ("where is Sis?") "A-ha, is!" ("There she is!") It is SO fun watching a little person grapple with learning a language!

Some recently heard Katish:
tricky-doo -- "tricky to do"
more lef -- the last little bit left in her sippy cup that she wants me to remove the cover so she can finish
scuze you -- "excuse me"; used whenever she burps at the dinner table, or when she wants me to move out of her way
Meem -- "Miriam"
Maman -- "Madeline"

This is how Katie counts:
one, tyoo, fwee, four, five, thikth, then, eet, nine, ten, weven, four, five!

Katie has an amazing memory. She may turn out to be an auditory learner like her big sis. The other day we were saying morning prayers which consists of a child's morning offering, a simple consecration to Mary, the prayer to one's Guardian Angel, and our family litany of saints. I had noticed that Katie has been making the Sign of the Cross with us, but I was amazed to hear her recite all the prayers! Granted, it was mostly garbled Katish, but it was obvious she knew all the prayers by heart. Katie can also recite "Little Monkeys" (complete with hand motions):
Monkeys jumping bed. Fell off, bump head! Docker said, no mo monkeys jumping bed!
Next stop, Shakespeare, or pi to 1000 digits!

And lest Miriam be overshadowed by so much brilliance from her younger sister, Miriam's biggest accomplishment lately has been her growing competence in kneading bread. Like most young children she loves "helping" in the kitchen, so for homeschooling yesterday (which was heavy on the home ec) she helped me make bread. I wish I had the patience of Mr. Pickles to let her help me more than I do, but I did let her mix the dry ingredients (that I had measured), stir in the wet ingredients, add cups of flour, and do some of the mixing until her little arms gave out. Then I let her knead it until she got tired while I washed the dishes. She did fairly well -- got her own little rhythm down. (Kneading is actually my favorite part of making bread -- it's so soothing. I can't help but wonder why I don't do it more often than every couple weeks!) Pretty soon she'll be able to milk the cow and make butter all by herself too! :)

Show me a culture that hates chastity...

...and I'll show you a culture that hates children.



Idea hat tip to Mark Shea. I followed his links to other blogs about this, and some of the comments left on one were just unbelievable in their hatred -- they thought the ad was funny!! What a sick society we live in.

It got me thinking though, and pitying the people who hate the idea of having children. It reminded me of my childhood pastor, good old Fr. McHugh, and his sermons about the Four Last Things. Briefly, Heaven is an eternity saying "Thou" and Hell is an eternity saying "Me". Those who prepared themselves for heaven consistently tried to love and serve others, while those who prepared themselves for hell consistently thought only of themselves. If the greatest happiness is a life lived in loving service to others (and who knows this better than a parent?), then people who are willingly closing themselves off to loving relationships, because it might inconvenience them, are already living in Hell. What a horrific thing. I mean, what do you say to someone who is otherwise a very nice, friendly person, but who says "I'm NEVER having children and I'm going to take birth control as long as it takes to prevent it"?

Kind of put an abrupt end to my little pity party, and got me thinking about how I could love and serve my family more cheerfully, instead of giving martyr lessons.

What we did this weekend

Well, it doesn't really matter WHAT we did -- the important thing is that we FORGOT THE CAMERA! URRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!!! And this after reminding myself several times to bring it. Well, I guess you'll all just have to use your imaginations.

So... imagine us:
getting lost in a giant cornfield maze;
watching a cannon shoot pumpkins across a field;
sliding on burlap sacks down a giant slide between haybales;
jumping in a barn full of hay (and Katie falling down and getting covered w/it);
eating caramel apples;
the girls bouncing in a bouncy house (Katie hating it and Miriam loving it);
the girls riding pedal tractors (Katie getting bored and preferring the tractor-shaped slide while Miriam has trouble figuring out the steering);
picking raspberries;
and finally, the piece de resistance, Miriam riding all by herself (unless you count the 20 other shrieking kids) in a giant pumpkin pulled by 4 white mice (with help from a tractor).

We went to the annual fall festival at a local farm, Butler's Orchard. At first I thought the admission price ($9 ea.) was a little steep, but when we finally got there and realized how much stuff they actually HAD, I thought it was downright reasonable! Aside from all of the above, they had a live bluegrass band, a petting zoo, hayrides to the pumpkin patch, crafts, face painting, and all kinds of things for the kids to play on. We could easily have spent the whole day there.

Aside from forgetting the camera, the other bummer of the day was that the apple crop was finished. :( So no fresh-picked apples for apple butter this year. :( And we didn't have enough time to pick enough raspberries for jam. (We DID manage to get enough for some yummy ice cream topping, though.)

All in all, though, it was a very fun afternoon. Miriam is still reliving the pumpkin ride. That was the highlight of her life, I think.

"Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10)

Lately I've been suffering from mild anxiety attacks, for varying reasons, like this, and this, and this, and this. I'm also trying to stay on top of homeschooling, finish fixing up the basement, clean the house more than once a month, and buy a new car. I'm still having some female problems from the miscarriage (it looks like I'm going to need a D&C), plus I haven't been sleeping well either. So I guess you could say I've got a lot on my plate right now.

So the other day when I was feeling particularly panicky (mostly about not being able to protect my children from an all-powerful nanny state), at breakfast I opened my Bible for my daily Psalm reading, and saw this:

Psalm 12
Plea for Help in Evil Times

1Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
the faithful have disappeared from humankind.
2They utter lies to each other;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
4those who say, ‘With our tongues we will prevail;
our lips are our own—who is our master?’

5‘Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
I will now rise up,’ says the Lord;
‘I will place them in the safety for which they long.’
6The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,
silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.

7You, O Lord, will protect us;
you will guard us from this generation for ever.
8On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among humankind.


I also find myself often praying the verse in this post's title. These are frightening times to try to be raising a family.

The difference between boys and girls

Katie was very excited when we got a trick-or-treating pumpkin for her from Target today. When we got home, she carried it around for a while, putting different things in it. Then, being thick in the little mommy stage, decided it needed more special treatment.


Here she is shushing it to get it to go to sleep:

"Sshhh, baby punkin..."

Now, if she had been a boy, most likely the pumpkin would have been treated like a soccer ball and kicked around, instead of babied and pushed around in a stroller.

Just an observation.

Fairy Princess in a diaper

Mr. Pickles & I were upstairs talking and Katie walked into our room looking like this:

I think the shades really make the outfit, don't you?

Say What?

Out of the mouths of Miriams:

"Mommy, will you be my toilet paper?"
[by which, of course, she means toilet paper holder]

~~~~~~~~~~

Mrs. P: Hey Miriam, Mrs. Adele had her baby!
Miriam: Ah! She did?! ...How did she push the baby out?
Mrs. P, confused: Ummmm, well, what do you think? [classic parental stalling answer]
Miriam: Did she push it out the hole in the middle?
Mrs. P, thinking this a perfect opportunity for a little sex ed.: Yes, and what it that called?
Miriam, thinking: Ummmm, Eucharist?
Mr. and Mrs. P: Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!

~~~~~~~~~~

Scene: driving in the car.
Miriam: Ooh, Mommy, look, a convertible!!! [suddenly very quiet and thoughtful] How do you get a convertible?
Mrs. P: Well, you go to a car store, and you give them a LOT of money, and they give you a new convertible.
Miriam, again thoughtful; then: Daddy says he has a lot of money in the bank!!
Mrs. P: Ha ha, not that much.

We love Ikea.

Mr. Pickles found this at our local Ikea this morning:


I thought those of you who know me well would get a kick out of the name.

They are VERY tasty, too. Those Swedes know how to bake!

Whoever said money can't buy happiness...

...never bought a Winnie-the-Pooh umbrella for a four-year-old.

St. Francis Festival

This past weekend we visited the ol' Alma Mater (and accompanying families) for a fun weekend of partying, Medieval-style! :) Because it's a Franciscan School, they throw a big shindig every fall around St. Francis' feastday. This was the occasion for Miriam's medieval princess dress.

The girls were angels on the trip. They did a fair amount of this:

What, don't you like to fall asleep chewing on a gumby mouse?

I packed the car with snacks, books, and toys, plus we kept driving past fields with cows, so they stayed well entertained for the 6 hour trip. We also stopped halfway at our now traditional stopping-place, a Burger King with a playplace! Woo hoo!

We got lots of good family time. Miriam and Edy attached at the hip the instant they saw each other. We had to surgically separate them before we left.

Two beautiful princesses.

The festival itself was quite fun -- or at least, it would have been if it hadn't been drizzling the whole time. Various Households had booths set up with food, games, crafts, knick-knacks, all kinds of stuff. They even had games like "Kiss the Leper and Earn a Plenary Indulgence" and "Baptize the Heathen with a Water Balloon". Only at Steubenville!

There was even a petting zoo set up on campus, with teeny-bopper owners hovering about protectively. Miriam promptly dropped her guinea pig. Then Katie tried to grab one and it started squeaking. So we left.

I swear this is not painted on.

Later she did better with a kitten.

Painted ladies.

The highlight of the day:

Pony rides!!! Both Edy and Miriam sat very well on their horses. I thought it was cute that Edy kept trying to hold the reins and steer the horse. She knew EXACTLY what to do.

When we got too cold and soggy we went inside the student center for the living chess game. I wish I had gotten some good pictures -- I learned halfway through the game that it was Middle Earth vs. Narnia. Some of the costumes were very clever. One of the black rooks was a guy dressed as the wardrobe: he wore a big piece of cardboard with doors painted on it, and did battle with coat hangers. The other black rook was Mr. Tumnus, wearing what looked like a furry rug and carrying an umbrella. He also had ears that I'm guessing were made out of paper towels tubes. The black king was Professor Digory, played by... one of the professors! When he did battle he read out of a huge book that he carried, then whapped his opponent with it. It's good to see that the professor who taught me Greek & Roman Mythology hasn't lost his comic edge. On the side of Middle Earth, there were quite a number of elves (with bandaids for flesh-colored pointed ears) and hobbits. My favorite, however, was one of the rooks:

Barad-Dur. (At first I thought it was a rocket ship!)

After the game was over, the White Witch of Narnia gave Miriam her crown and scepter, which of course she shared with Edy.

Best friends forever!


Whenever we return from vacation, one of the things I like about unpacking is still smelling the place were we visited on our clothes. While unpacking Miriam's suitcase I held up her pajamas and told her to sniff. She inhaled deeply, smiled, and said, "Mmmmm, it smells all Haroldy!"