Happy St. Patrick's Day/St. Joseph's Day!

Happy Feast Day to all the Patricks and Joes out there!




"Vir fidelis multum laudabitur et qui custos est Domini sui laudabitur"
(anyone with more recent experience with Latin care to translate?)

This is such a cool prayer -- I'd never heard the whole thing before:

St. Patrick's Breastplate
-----------------------------
I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever,
By power of faith, Christ's Incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan River;
His death on cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the Cherubim;
The sweet 'Well done' in judgment hour;
The service of the Seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death-wound and the burning
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
salvation is of Christ the Lord.


This was a great feasting weekend, wouldn't you agree? Since Mr. Pickles IS half-Irish, we lifted our Lenten abstinence to enjoy some corned beef on Saturday (yum!). Then yesterday being a solemnity, I made beef & broccoli stir fry. Mr. Pickles was very excited to see the beef frying when he came home last night! :) I was going to make St. Joseph's cream puffs (from A Continual Feast), but didn't have the time. So we had pudding with strawberries & chocolate chips instead. It's amazing how simple desserts become so much more special when you go without for a few weeks!

I think the abstinence was starting to get to Katie -- I caught her reading this the other day:

reading material


close-up
(In case anyone's worried, no, we're not making the girls abstain -- Katie especially needs the protein.)

On Saturday I got a GREAT recipe for Irish Soda Bread, in case anyone's interested.

Mrs. Beatty's Irish Soda Bread
1 c. wheat flour
1 c. white flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
heaping 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
1 stick butter
1 egg
about 3/4 c. milk
6 tbsp. white vinegar

Preheat oven to 375. Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in butter. In measuring cup, break egg. Add milk to make 1 c. Add vinegar & mix. (The milk will curdle -- it's supposed to do this.) Add to dry ingredients with a few strokes -- don't overmix. Pour into pan (I used an 8" round pan) and bake for 40-45 minutes, turning heat down to 325 after a couple minutes.

I made some this morning and it came out very yummy. It's a good Lenten bread -- not sweet. (although it does have all that butter...)

Picturefest II

Some cuteness from the last couple months (I've GOT to start uploading pictures more often!):


baby Jekyll


...and Little Miss Hyde


do we REALLY want to know what's going on in that brain?
...probably not


Express Delivery -- surprise!
Do you remember being that small and flexible? Later Miriam and Mr. Pickles turned this long box from a bookcase into a slide by leaning it against the stairs. During my Mary Kay party I kept hearing thumping and "wheee!" from the basement.


I know this is supposed to go on here somehow...
Have we ever mentioned how independent Katie is?

I loved this shot of the girls working together.

the creative juices are flowing!

I tried SO hard, on several occasions, to get a shot of Katie's "mad face." It's adorable. This was the closest I got -- at least you can see her frowny eyes, if not her pouty lips.

Mama, they're not cooperating!


I can wear big-kid pants, too!
Katie loves big sis' undies. (although she usually prefers wearing them on her head...)


Dad: protector, provider, recliner


two lovely dolls
Miriam is very attached to her Dolly, not to mention very possessive of it -- she gets very upset if Katie messes with it, so poor Dolly usually ends up staying on top of tables or behind doors where Katie can't get to her.


Mystery Lump


a-ha!


I love pillows!


I can do it all by myself!
This was the first time Katie figured out how to climb onto the couch. I don't think she's done it since -- though not for any lack of trying! Usually I keep the stepstool next to the couch so she can climb it, step over the armrest, flop onto the couch and roll onto the floor. She will do this over and over. She is seriously into the climbing stage. (She is currently climbing a box, stepping into my lap, sliding off the other side, walking around behind my chair, and repeating the process, all the while humming to herself.) Now that she can navigate the stairs without trying to kill herself, we leave the baby gates down. She insists on going downstairs facing forwards & holding the railings, instead of backwards on her tummy like most normal children. She would get REALLY mad whenever we insisted, "Tummy!" -- she would throw herself onto the floor and roll around and squeak. (It's HILARIOUS when she throws a tantrum.) We finally gave up and let her come down face first, thinking she would learn when she toppled down head over heels -- but she never did. She's got really good balance. Future Olympic gold medal gymnast in the making, I'm sure! :)

Miriamisms VI

Random conversation (is there any other kind when a four-year-old is involved?) in the car yesterday:
Miriam (out of the blue): Soup is for spoons, and noodles are for forks!
Mrs. P: What are knives for?
Miriam: Cutting.
Mrs. P: What do we use to eat cereal?
Miriam: Spoons!
Mrs. P: What do we use to eat sandwiches?
Miriam (without missing a beat): Fingers!
Mrs. P (searching for something interesting, but coming up with): What do we use to eat potatoes?
Miriam (again, without missing a beat): I don't like potatoes. They're asgusting.

I blame

--------------

Miriam's latest intentions during family rosary every night:
"I'd just like to offer dis rosary for my dolly that she brought, and for just Thanksgiving Day, and God bless Martin's wedding, and the spring, and it's 'posed to snow tomorrow. Amen."

What are YOU doing May 19th?

A great idea from Barbara Nicolosi's blog:

DVC "Othercott" Reminder - Spread the Word!

[This brilliant idea is the brain child of Jan "the Maven".}

WHAT ARE YOU DOING MAY 19TH?

May 19th is the date the Da Vinci Code movie opens. A movie based on a book that wears its heresy and blasphemy as a badge of honor.

What can we as Christians do in response to the release of this movie? I'm going to offer you the usual choices -- and a new one.

Here are the usual suspects:

A) We can ignore the movie. ........

The problem with this option: The box office is a ballot box. The only people whose votes are counted are those who buy tickets. And the ballot box closes on the Sunday of opening weekend. If you stay home, you have lost your chance to make your vote heard. You have thrown your vote away, and from Hollywood's point of view, you don't count. By staying home, you do nothing to shape the decision-making process regarding what movies will make it to the big screen.

B) We can protest. ........

The problem with this option: It doesn't work. Any publicity is good publicity. Protests not only fuel the box office, they make all Christians look like idiots. And again, protests and boycotts do nothing to help shape the decisions being made right now about what movies Hollywood will make in the next few years. (Or they convince Hollywood to make *more* movies that will provoke Christians to protest, which will drive the box office up.)

C) We can discuss the movie. We can be rational and be ready with study guides and workshops and point-by-point refutations of the lies promulgated by the movie. ........

The problem with this option: No one's listening. They think they know what we're going to say already. We'll lose most of these discussions anyway, no matter how prepared we are, because the power of story always trumps the power of facts (why do you think Jesus taught in parables?!). And once again: rational discussion of history does nothing to affect Hollywood's choices regarding what movies to make.

But there's a fourth choice.

On May 19th, you should go to the movies.

Just go to another movie.

Save the date now. May 19th, or May 20th. No later than Sunday, May 21st -- that's the day the ballot box closes. You'll get a vote, the only vote Hollywood recognizes: The power of cold hard cash laid down on a box office window on opening weekend.

Use your vote. Don't throw it away. Vote for a movie other than DVC. If enough people do it, the powers that be will notice. They won't have a choice.

The major studio movie scheduled for release against DVC is the DreamWorks animated feature Over the Hedge. The trailers look fun, and you can take your kids. And your friends. And their friends. In fact, let's all go see it.

Let's rock the box office in a way no one expects -- without protests, without boycotts, without arguments, without rancor. Let's show up at the box office ballot box and cast our votes. And buy some popcorn, too.

May 19th. Mark your calendars now: Over the Hedge's opening weekend. Buy a ticket.

And spread the word. Forward this e-mail to all the Christians in your address book. Post it on your blogs. Talk about it to your churches. And let's all go to the movies.

Note: check out Over the Hedge's website to view the trailer. It's made by the same people who did Shrek, so if you liked that, you'll probably enjoy this one. If you found your intelligence insulted by the vulgarity in Shrek, however, pick a different movie.

Happy 4th Birthday, Miriam!

Well, today's the day we commemorate the 12 hours of uterine contractions and noises like a sumo wrestler that were required to bring our sweet little girl into the world. Ha ha, just kidding -- we all forget about MOM'S labor in order to let Miriam be princess for a day (of course, one might argue, when is she NOT?). Miriam had a great birthday. We didn't have a party this year, mostly b/c we thought we'd be travelling to Steubenville soon so we could celebrate several birthdays with family. At least, that's what we've been telling everyone. The REAL reason is that Mrs. Pickles just didn't have enough energy to plan anything big this year. Fortunately Miriam's not old enough to care. She's just excited about being four. For the last several weeks we've had to listen to: "I'm tired of being three! It's HARD being three! I want to be FOUR!" So now she's reached the happy land of fourness. When she woke up this morning, she told us, "Now I'm four! Am I bigger?" And of course we told her that she was SO much bigger than three that we couldn't carry her downstairs anymore, she had to walk like the big girl she was! She wasn't sure what to make of this. She was very proud of the fact that she was bigger, but wasn't sure she was willing to give up being carted around by Mom & Dad. (We'll still carry her of course -- she only weighs two more pounds than last year, after all!)

Last night we got together with some other families from our church for a pot-luck St. Patrick's Day celebration, so I brought a cake so Miriam could get sung to by a bunch of kids. She was happy, the kids were happy to get cake, everybody wins! (Mr. Pickles made FABULOUS bread pudding with whiskey sauce, so the parents were VERY happy too!) :)


strawberry/chocolate birthday cake (picked by Miriam)

Miriam in her birthday dress, with flowers she picked from our garden.

birthday girl
I've had the fabric for this dress for almost a year, only just now got around to making it. I like the idea of making dresses for the girls for their birthdays. Miriam was VERY excited about it -- when I pulled the fabric out last week and explained what it was for, she asked if she could try it on after her nap -- I can't work THAT fast, kid! The whole week has been an agony of waiting for her. I would let her try on little bits at a time -- like the bodice, then the dress sans sleeves, then finally the happy day when it was all done! She enjoyed watching it get put together. I have so many fond memories of sitting next to my mom while she sewed for me. It's neat to be able to pass that on.

Present time!

VERY excited about the purple gluestick!
(I thought Grandma E. might like to see this one.)

She's such a girl -- she LOVES her new clothes! (Mr. Pickles provided the prop...)

anyone for tennis?

So as far as Miriam's concerned, her birthday is complete: she got sung to, she had cake, she blew out candles, and she opened presents. She hasn't opened all her birthday gifts yet, actually -- Mommy and Daddy still have to give her something, the schmucks (like she noticed -- she was so excited about the birthday dress I don't think we really feel obliged to get her anything else!); plus two more packages are at the Post Office. Will post more birthday cuteness as it occurs.

So finally, after a great weekend, at the end of the day we heard this from a tired birthday girl: "I don't want to be four anymore! I want to be FIVE!"

The Very Hungry Katiepillar

(true story)
One bright morning, there awoke a tiny and very hungry Katiepillar. She started to eat breakfast.
First she ate one big bowl of porridge with applesauce, but she was still hungry.
Next she ate two handfuls of Cheerios, but she was still hungry.
Next she ate scrambled eggs with cheese, but she was still hungry.
Next she ate some buttered toast, but she was still hungry.
Then she ate some Kashi flakes, and she decided she was all done ("unnnn!").
Now she wasn't hungry any more, and she wasn't tiny anymore. She weighed one whole pound more than last month!
(Hooray! I'm a good mother!) :)

"This Joyful Season"

Christ in the Wilderness by Ivan Kramskoy

Have you noticed that that's how Lent is described during Mass? The phrase struck me in particular last week, the first Sunday of Lent, as I was looking ahead to 6 weeks of deprivation. The last couple years we've abstained from meat during all of Lent. It's always so fruitful for us -- and makes that Easter ham all the more glorious! I think it's been more of a sacrifice for Mr. Pickles, at least personally (he's the one who craves steak every Friday) -- for me the challenge has been planning & preparing interesting & satisfying meatless dishes for 6 weeks. (One gets tired of beans verrrrrrry quickly.) Fortunately I've got a great Catholic cookbook, A Continual Feast, that has lots of really yummy ideas for days of fasting & abstinence.

It's amazing how difficult the first few days of Lent are! You don't realize how much you've become dependent on something, like snacking, or sugar, or butter, or sausage, or meat in general, until you try not to do it for one day. This year I'm also trying to observe the Ember Days, the first of which were this past week. I just about died. Ash Wednesday was hard enough, but three days of fasting in one week! It's been three years since the last time I'd fasted (I was nursing Katie full-time last year, and pregnant the year before -- both reasons for exemption from fasting), and I'd forgotten how hard it could be. So after a couple days of mentally smacking my hand every time I wandered into the kitchen looking for something to munch on, and wondering how much longer I was going to last at this penitence thing, I hear Lent described as "joyful." Ummm, okay. Our pastor gave a great homily this morning. At least, I think it was great -- I spent most of it reading to Miriam. The one great thing I DID hear was about the gospel chosen for today, the Transfiguration. Father explained that because the Church understands how difficult Lent can be (especially in the good ol' days when everyone gave up meat & dairy!), in Her wisdom She chose this gospel for today to encourage us, as many of us are ready to give up the whole thing after failing the very first week, just as Christ gave his disciples this glorious vision to encourage them in their despair over the crucifixion. Hold fast! Stay the course! Just be faithful and trust, and God's glory will be revealed, in good time.

On the other hand, I have really been looking forward to this 6-week-long personal retreat! Lent is like the Catholic version of New Year's resolutions: the opportunity to grow closer to God and become more the person you want to be. Each time I feel a hunger pain, or experience a frustrated craving, I'm reminded of what's really important -- my relationship with Christ -- and realize all the distractions I've put between myself and Him. Of course I expect it's going to be painful, as all the little comforts and securities -- the things I've been clinging to -- are pruned away. But I pray that I'll be faithful to my resolutions, so that I can grow and really enter into the drama of Passiontide, and enjoy the glories of Easter (not to mention the sausage on Easter morning, and the Cadbury eggs, and the chocolate rabbit, and the Easter dinner ham, and the leftovers, and the Easter week barbecue and steak and roast chicken and seasoned pork loin and pot roast.... [wiping off drool])

/sermon :)

Fun survey

I recently received another of those "what's your favorite salad topping" surveys from several friends, but I found their answers so interesting & fun that I decided to respond as weel as post my answers here. Some of you have already received the email, so you can skip this post. :) I do plan to blog more soon -- maybe the next time the girls miraculously nap at the same time? Here's hoping!

1. What time did you get up this morning?
Ugh. Do you mean WAKE up, or GET up? Miriam & I ended up trading
beds last night, so I was roused by Katie jumping up and down in her
crib and throwing her rattle-babies around at some ungodly hour
("ungodly" = earlier than 7:30). I finally admitted consciousness
(after Miriam came in and gave me a kiss, awwwww) somewhere around
8-ish. So I guess that's sleeping in for me? (We usually get up
around 7.)

2. Diamonds or pearls?
Oooh, tough call. I always used to prefer diamonds, but pearls are
growing on me. Can I have both?

3. What was the last movie you saw?
Horatio Hornblower! (for my FRC comrades -- did you know there are 8
episodes?? They're all good -- and Horatio is sooo cute!) :)

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Well, since our TV lives in the basement where we don't get any
reception, we don't watch it. Before the TV's banishment from family
life, though, it used to be Alias. One of my secret dreams is to be
a cool spy chick. :)

5. What did you have for breakfast?
Pancakes (courtesy of the hub) and scrambled eggs w/cheese.

6. What is your middle name?
Catherine.

6b. What is your Confirmation name?
Margaret, after St. Margaret Mary.

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
"Cuisine"?? With two small children I'm not up on haute couture!
But I do enjoy Italian. (who doesn't?) Right now for Lent though
we're going all vegetarian so no meatballs or chicken parmigiana,
sigh!

8. What food do you dislike?
Squash. Texture issues.

9. What is your favorite chip flavor?
Tortilla with lime. My mouth puckers pleasantly just thinking about it!

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Definitely the soundtrack from the new Pride & Prejudice. I want the
sheet music!

11. What kind of car do you drive?
A silver Honda CRV (one of those cars that wants to be an SUV when it
grows up). We're going to have to upgrade to a minivan before we
have any more kids, though -- can't fit 3 carseats in the back!

12. Favorite sandwich?
Ham & cheese melt with interesting mayo -- hubby's specialty.
Although PBJ will do in a pinch. Sometimes I just get a weird
craving for them.

13. What characteristic do you despise?
Self-centeredness.

14. What is your favorite flower?
Hands down, Easter lilies. There's nothing more wonderful than their
smell. I had lilies in my wedding bouquet. Close second is
gardenias.

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
Hm. That's a tough one. If we had a personal tour guide who spoke
12 languages and knew all the best lodgings and restaurants around,
Europe. If not, then New Zealand. (I admit it, I'm a LOTR geek!)

16. What color is your bathroom?
Oh, I'm so proud of this one: our master bath is a sponge-painted
beige on cream. It took me about 3 hours but it was worth it -- I
love how it looks! Our main-level "powder room" is pale yellow with
a horizontal burgundy stripe. This bathroom is a story unto itself, as readers of this blog know!

17. Favorite brands of clothing?
Are mothers of two allowed to have favorite brands of clothing? Oh,
stupid me -- Motherhood Maternity and Motherwear, of course! :)

18. Where would you like to retire to?
Someplace tropical. I'm not picky. Welllll, actually, near my
grandkids, wherever there is the largest concentration of them.

19. Favorite time of day?
In the evening right after the girls have gone to bed (assuming of
course they actually decide to STAY asleep).

20. What was your most memorable birthday?
I've had a couple -- the one where a couple friends & I went
horseback riding (can't remember the year, maybe 21st)... 22nd, when
my sweetheart flew 2,000 miles to visit me... 7th, when I got my
first bicycle...

21. Where were you born?
Inglewood, CA

22. Favorite sport to watch?
If I had to? I guess high school football. I loved the Steubenville
games. Close second is baseball. Go Dodger Blue!

23. Who do you least expect to send this back to you?
my mom :)

24. Person you expect to send this back first?
Do I have to answer this one? Does it really tell you anything about
me? I mean, honestly!

25. What fabric detergent do you use?
Cheer. Again, the smell thing. I LOVE the smell of Surf, but it
wasn't very good at getting clothes clean, sigh.

26. Coke or Pepsi?
Root beer.

27. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Definitely night owl. This was a major source of contention between
my morning-person hubby & me when we were first married! He didn't
believe in one's sacred right -- nay, one's DUTY -- to hit the snooze
button as often as necessary until one felt awake enough to face the
cold, brutal world. He actually ENJOYS getting up at 5am, the weirdo.

29. Any Pets?
Um, do spider crickets living in the basement count? I suppose not,
since the first thing I do when I see one is try to squish it. We
have an empty rabbit cage though that needs an occupant -- we miss
Juliet the Honeybun. The problem with us getting pets is that we
travel so much that making arrangements for them is a pain. Maybe
after we have so many kids that we can't afford to fly anymore....

30. Any words of wisdom you'd like to share?
Secret to happiness: eat dessert first.

31. What did you want to be when you were little?
A school teacher and a ballerina and a mommy.

32. What are you doing today?
Well, I hope to be going to bed soon -- but today I spent the morning
juggling whiny children while hubby had hockey practice and got a
haircut, then I put Katie down for her nap, then I took Miriam to the
pediatrician at noon (ear infection), then took her to the drugstore
to get her Amoxicillin, then brought her home and put her to bed.
Then I had lunch (at 3pm) and some precious quiet time while hubby
took Katie grocery shopping, bless him. When he came back I put
Katie to bed again (she's getting over being sick too), fixed a
snack, then woke Miriam up so she would actually go to bed at a
reasonable time tonight, then watched a cartoon with Miriam until
Katie woke up, then I gave Miriam an early bath and juggled whiny
children again while hubby made dinner. Then I read to Miriam while
he gave Katie a bath, then we prayed a family rosary and put the
girls to bed. Then the hub & I had some popcorn, and now here I am,
checking email! Any spare time I had I spent reading various materials lying around the house -- The Magic Years (great book!), or the latest Family Foundations, or Playful Learning (about preschool at home).
Is this a typical day, do you ask? I answer: no. Usually I clean
and cook too.

33. What state do you live in?
Confusion.

All right, all right, I know that's an old one. But I don't live in
a state. I am blessed to reside in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia. As you can learn from the Secretary of the Commonwealth's website, "the Commonwealth is distinguished from, and superior to, a mere state by the greatness of the people of Virginia." Sic Semper Tyrannis!

34. What is the farthest this E Mail will travel to?
California, I assume.

35. If money were no object, what is one thing that you would like to do?
Pay off our student loans! After that, buy a house with a larger
yard. I'm sure that, given time, I could come up with something more
grandiose, but for now my dreams are humble. :)

36.Who is the person(s) who inspires you to greatness?
My husband. He's too good for me. I'm still trying to be worthy of him!

Miriamisms V

I forgot to add this one: Miriam came up to me, holding a purple lollipop, and said, "This one looks like it sounds like grape!"
I guess we're still working on naming the five senses.

Miriamisms IV

Miriam is really into story telling now. She found a sheet of paper the other day and pretended to read Katie & me stories from it. This was one of them:

Miriam: This story's going to be very funny. Do you like spooky?
Me: Mmm, sometimes.
Miriam: Okay, once upon a time Miriam went to the Spooooooky Old Tree and she went in and fell and then an alligator ATE her!
[long pause, as if story was over]
Me: And THEN what happened?!?
Miriam: And then her Mommy looked and looked for her. She was in the water. And her Mommy rescued her, and took her home, and put little bandaids alllllllll over her.

-----------------

Some backstory for the next Miriamism: in order to encourage good behavior and cooperation, we've been using sticker charts w/Miriam for her morning and evening chores. If she gets dressed, puts her jammies away, and makes her beds in the morning, or gets her jammies on, puts her clothes away, and brushes her teeth and hair in the evening without a fuss, and without being nagged, she gets a sticker. If at the end of the week her chart is full, she gets to choose one of three rewards: a movie, a trip to Dairy Queen, or a game from the toy store. After four full charts we'll take her to the Mall to ride the carousel or play in the giant play tower (this hasn't happened yet -- so far she's up to three full charts out of about 8 or so). It's a pretty good system -- works well for us, anyway.

Well, she got a full chart last week, so on Monday I took her to Toys B We to pick out a preschool game. They had about 3 preschool games in the entire store, none of which taught anything useful like taking turns, concentration skills, or numbers or colors or counting. They mostly involved whacking things with various implements, or had the words "electronic!" or "talking!" splashed across the box. NO thank you. So as a consolation prize I got the Sleeping Beauty story disks for Miriam's Viewmaster. We have a Disney picture book, which Miriam has really enjoyed reading lately. After she got over her disappointment that I wouldn't buy her a new baby doll, she was really excited about the disks, and spent some time clicking through the story while I made her lunch. She was very interested in the bad fairy.

After she had time to digest the story, she said, "Is the bad fairy going to say 'I'm sorry'? I think the bad fairy's going to say 'sorry' and then the princess will say 'I forgive you' and then she will be nice!"

A little missionary in the making.

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Yesterday after morning Mass:
Miriam: I'm hungry. I think I want some breakfast. Can I have a lollipop after breakfast?
Me: No, lollipops are for after lunch.
Miriam: Ah. ...I think I want some lunch.

----------------

I had just poured Miriam a cup of milk:
"Mmm! What a good wife."