What I Wore Sunday and What You Should Do

Hello Sunday. This is how we spent you today. I wore this blurry ensemble to Mass:

Shirt: Target
Skirt: J Crew via consignment
Shoes: NEW from Target

The kiddos were decent. Paul has yet another runny nose and is miserable. I'm pretty convinced its allergies because it has lasted this entire month and no one else has been sick. Sigh, allergies. Dangit. So other than needing some extra love to fall asleep during the homily, he was great. And Hannah was pretty good, just a few loud bangs on the pew with her feet. But pretty easy other than that. Both get an A-.

After several weeks of borrowing our friend's Mac I finally remembered that Macs have Photobooth. I knew Hannah would love it and she does. We've been snapping some Mac selfies every day since. And of all the funny and strange effects you can do, her favorite is....wait for it......

Black and White.

The only effect that is completely devoid of all effects. Even color.

But it cracks her up. Which cracks me up.

These pictures were taken shortly after her first haircut today. I really loved how long it was getting but I did NOT like spending 15 minutes washing it and brushing out the tangles. So I parked her in front of Barney and snipped away. I didn't realize it until after I started cutting, but I laid a baby quilt down to catch the hair and keep it off the carpet. The blanket was mine and was made by my Grandma Rose. She cut my hair when I was really little and had a beauty shop inside her house. I have so many great memories in that shop, so it was very appropriate and pretty special that I gave Hannah her first haircut over Grandma's baby quilt. We took a picture to commemorate, but of course we can't upload it. (Don't worry mom, I'll bring it home to show you.) I must say, I did a pretty dang good job. So much fuller. The curls are tighter. And there wasn't as single tangle to bring her to tears after her bath tonight.

The rest of the evening is calling. Ted is up next for a haircut and mine desperately needs it as well. And Paul has a single little hair that has somehow grown longer than all the others. So I guess we're all four getting haircuts today.

Thanks for a great day, Sunday!

And now, for what you should do. Anyone who follows this blog knows I'm a big fan of House Unseen. I first e-met Dwija when she emailed me and asked if you could substitute fels naptha for oxyclean in diaper detergent. I thought, "What is fels naptha and what is a dwija?" When I checked out her blog I couldn't believe I hadn't stumbled on it before. If you follow Dwija's blog, you already know how hard she is fighting to save her little unborn baby's life right now. If you are die hard Dwija fan or if you have never heard of her, please go check out this post by Cari at Clan Donaldson and found out how you can help Dwija and her little baby!

Linking up with FLAP again. Because I love a good linkup.

Quick Takes

-1-

I am the smartest woman alive. My extreme love of sleep has led me to discover a method of nighttime diapering that doesn't cost a fortune and lasts for 13 hours. I nurse Paul when I put him to bed, then again when I go to bed, then (usually) once during the middle of the night. And the kid is a peer. As in, one who pees. Not a person who is the same age. He soaks through the cloth in just a few minutes sometimes. And the disposables weren't making the cut either. I don't mind semi-waking up to nurse but I really mind completely waking up to change a diaper of a screaming baby.

That's where my smarts come in. One regular and one hemp diaper insert.....inside Hannah's size 4 diapers. He soaks through the first insert, then the second, then saturates the disposable. The whole thing weighs several pounds in the morning but I don't have to change a diaper in the middle of the night! He doesn't mind. The sheets stay dry. It's just the best.

-2-

Thanks to this new diaper invention, both kiddos now sleep in size 4 diapers. Hannah's only in them for naps and nighttime and it's usually dry after naps. If it is, I just leave it on the floor and put it back on for bedtime. The other day one of her used but dry diapers made its way into Paul's room. So I used it for his nighttime diaper. When I was putting it on I thought, "How cute, they're already sharing....."

If you think that's gross, you probably don't want to be my friend. That's not even the half of the level of gross I'm perfectly comfortable with.

-3-

I mentioned last week that I was sore head to toe after just two workouts with Jillian . I've managed to keep it up about every other day and, to my incredibly great surprise, am no longer sore. Or even very winded from it. I've only done the workout a total of 5 or 6 times and I can already tell that I'm in better shape. I had no idea my body (or any human body really) was capable of improvement that quickly. I might actually move to Level 2 at some point in this exercise experience.

-4-

I'm cheating and writing these Thursday night. Ted is watching the last game of the NBA Finals. I think San Antonio is going to win but I'm rooting for the heat. But really, I don't care at all.

-5-

My current mission in life is to make all of our dinners without turing on the oven. It is so, so, so hot. Even if I crank the air down, the stove and oven heat the kitchen up so badly that I'm getting light headed and weak (partly the fault of the giant nursing baby). So far this week we've used the grill or crockpot every single day. And the crockpot must be in the garage. Inside is not an option. Pulled pork, grilled meatballs, hamburgers, barbecued chicken, and kabobs. All without making me sweat :)

-6-

I think we're close to making a decision on a new laptop. We are taking (likely) advantage of my sister's generous offer to give us her 2006 MacBook and paying to get it up to shape. It needs a new battery and power cord and the software needs to be updated. But other than that it runs great. I'm hoping it's a good choice, because it'll be way cheaper than getting a new laptop that has everything we want (namely, a built in webcam that Hannah can't yank off when we Skype with family). When we get it I'll finally be able to upload all my photos and videos. These crappy cellphone pics are getting old.

I only have two pictures from the cellphone this week. One of them is Hannah sitting on her little potty typing on her leaptop. Adorable. But only aunts and grandparents got the privilege of seeing that one.

This one was taken at 10:00 in the morning when I was sitting in the shade and sweating like LeBron James at the end of this basketball game. Several friends had us over for pool play dates this week and Hannah was loving it. I might even get to sign her up for swimming lessons with a friend and I can't wait.

-7-

In bloggy news, my favorite blogger just moved to Patheos. She's still writing for the National Catholic Register too. So much goodness, I don't even know if I'll be able to keep up!

Have a great weekend everyone! Join Jen for more quick takers.

A Therapeutic Lamentation

As good as last night's big girl episode went, today's nap was equally horrible. No. It was 300 times more horrible. She won't stay in her bed. She cried so hard she was hyperventilating. I gave up after an hour and a half and the rest of the day pretty much sucked.

Add that to the fact that I accidentally ate a fun sized Snickers on Friday and now Paul is anything but fun. Poor, poor baby is hurting so badly and it's my fault. Hannah and I got sorbet and I made the fine people at Coldstone show me the ingredients so I could be positive there was no dairy in it. Then I turned right around and added a snickers. Because I'm a genius. Tomorrow is Day Four of dairy detox, which is usually the worst. Anyone out there who thinks I'm crazy for believing my kids can't have dairy can just come on over and hold my sweet little Paul while he screams and naps in 30 minute increments tomorrow.

FYI, it is impossible to try to keep a toddler in her bed while a baby screams in pain in the next room. There is no laying down with her, putting her back in her bed, reading a book by the door while she peacefully falls asleep. Even if I could do those things, she would scream anyway. I have no idea what tomorrow's plan is. Praying and crying didn't cut it today.

I refused to call Ted and ask him to come home early. I'm a big girl and I should be able to handle this myself. But when he offered I said, "Yes! How soon can you come?" Praise God for his wonderfully flexible schedule and his desire to rescue me.

And now I'm just in a funk. Not so much because Hannah didn't nap and probably won't nap in the foreseeable future, but because being a mom is hard. And it's never going to get easy. And I can get all the advice in the world but no one or nothing can tell me how exactly to raise my children. I have to figure it out myself and I just.dont.want.to. I want to relish every second of motherhood and enjoy my kiddos to the fullest everyday. Not barely make it through the day alive. But that's just not reality. Sometimes (often times) I have to white knuckle through it and pretend I'm actually good at this. Fake it til you make it, right?

It's a hard reality to accept. That no matter how hard I will it, no matter how hard I try, motherhood is a struggle and I can't magically make it easy. I can't force her to be obedient 100% of the time. I can't make Paul stop arching his back and screaming (but I can stope eating Snickers...). It's something that I've wanted it my entire life and now that's it here I just want to hand it back for a few hours and take a nap.

Motherhood. Not always what's it's cracked up to be.

Father's Day Ramblings

I'm typing this from the hallway outside Hannah's bedroom where she is asleep in a big girl bed! How can we possibly have a child old enough for this? After some awesome advice from last post's comments, we moved her naptime back to its original earliness and she did much, much better going to sleep. Last night, however, she crawled out of her crib and hurt herself. She is fine! But that made the decision pretty easy that we had to get her in a regular bed.

She was super excited about it...until she realized she was actually expected to stay put. When we were setting it up I asked her, "Where do you want to put it?" and she smiled and yelled, "In my room! This one!" And later I asked her, "Whose bed is this?" and said said, "Me's!"

Pronouns. They're tricky little guys.

She watched me quietly as I tucked her in and left her bedroom. And it took her about .4 seconds to crawl out and open the door. Then a half hour of yelling, crying, trying to do a handstand, playing in her kitchen, and peeing in the potty. Then a break for a snack (agh! Why didn't I make her eat more at dinner??) Then back to bed. I laid with her and rubbed her belly (her choice) for a few minutes and then left. And she actually stayed in bed! She rearranged her covers for 15 minutes, which is typical. But she stayed in! And she fell asleep! We told ourselves that midnight would be a success but she was out by 8:30! I couldn't be more proud of her. Hopefully this will help the transition of staying at our families' and hotels when we head to Missouri.

Fingers crossed. And crossed some more.

But about that Sunday....

We actually celebrated Father's Day yesterday with a family trip to the mall. Ted wanted to spend some birthday money and I needed new flip flops. What seemed like the worst idea ever was actually pretty fun! The mall near our house isn't very busy so it wasn't stressful like most malls are (I hate malls!). We spent over an hour in Sports Authority but Hannah was excellent the entire time thanks to the giant display of soccer balls. And checkout took forever but she entertained herself by rearranging the candy. She didn't want to actually eat any of it. She just wanted to tell me what color it was and then put it in a "better" place. Oh her OCD. It really comes in handy sometimes.

We got "ice cream" (sorbet) and played with the train set at Barnes and Noble. It was awesome to get out of the house and walk around but not sweat our butts off and get eaten alive by mosquitoes. I think we might actually try to go more often. Weird.

Today was pretty low key with a solo trip to Costco by me and a team effort of rearranging Hannah's entire room to fit her bed and find an outlet for her entourage of electrical items (nightlight, bunny awake/sleeping light, video monitor, white noise machine, and CD player) (I constantly wonder how people raised their kids before these things existed.)

"Paul and Hannah" gave Ted a Dr. Pepper, some accessories for the grill, and the opportunity to hang out with them while I left the house for three hours to get groceries and go to a baptism.

A win for everyone.

And because my day would not be complete without a crappy cell phone picture of my outfit...this is what I wore Sunday.

Shirt: Target, 8 or 9 years ago.
Skirt: NEW! From Burlington Coat Factory. I actually bought something!
Shoes: Some big shoe store.

I hope I looked as good as I felt in this. Because I felt tall and slender and feminine. I want a dozen of these skirts.

Despite the fact that both kids were excellent today, I have no idea what the readings were about. I took Hannah to the bathroom during all three readings and spent the homily patting Paul to sleep. But they both get A's. In the middle of Mass Hannah pointed to the statue of Mary and fake whispered "Mary! Hair! Brown hair. Hannah brown hair!" I guess that makes her more like Mary too. (That was a horrible pun. I am really bad at puns.)

And even though I am making NO claims that I know what I'm doing with a toddler in Mass, a few people have asked how we manage to do it. Sometimes, she really really awful. But most of the time she's pretty good and I think I have somewhat of an idea as to what works for her. If any of this is helpful to you, then give it a try! If not, well no one is making you read this.

1. We go to 8:30. It's hard to get out the door but it is worth it. She falls apart if we go at 10:00. Earlier is much much better for her.
2. We give her free range within the pew. She can sit on the kneelers, stand on the pew, face backwards, whatever. Ted and I sit pretty far apart and keep her between us. This works so much better than trying to get her to sit still and in one place the entire time.
3. We bring nothing. Nothing! The diaper bag stays in the car and if Paul has a blowout we will simply have to deal with it. No water. No snacks. No toys. Nothing.
4. We let her talk to us as long as she tries to whisper. I just don't think it's appropriate to expect a two year old to be quiet for that long.
5. We tell her when things are coming up so she knows what's about to happen and how much longer Mass will last. We tell her "we're about to say peace", "you're about to go up and get a blessing" and "just one more song and then bye-bye".
6. If she misbehaves we give her to the count of three and then take her to timeout outside. We try to make it as miserable as possible by forcing her to stand in the corner and turning our back to her. As soon as it's over, we go back inside and try again. We've had to do it multiple times in one Mass, but not for very long.
7. We sit in the front. Just do it.

This might sound like a lot of freedom, but she does well with it. As she gets older we'll obviously expect her to step it up. Kneel when we kneel, not face the back, etc. But for now, I'm just happy that she's somewhat quiet and stays in the pew. And just by being there she's picking up so much. She sings along with parts of the Gloria and the Alleluia. She sometimes joins in on an "Amen". And she says cute things about Mary's brown hair. It works for us. For now at least.

Happy Father's Day! I'm off to read today's readings. Better late than never.

Linking up with FLAP and Grace again this week!

Quick Takes

-1-

After two days of Jillian I could hardly move. I was so sore that I seriously doubted my ability to care for my children. Squatting down to help Hannah on the potty was agonizing and I felt like I was going to drop Paul all day. A wise and trusted friend suggested I scale back to every other day until I can handle it. And you know what is super weird? I was kinda bummed when that meant I couldn't work out yesterday. Who am I??? Will this last?? Will I ever make it Level 2?? Stay tuned.

-2-

This is the only quick take about sleep this week. I promise. But what good is a blog if you can't ask the advice of hundreds of strangers on the internet? I usually get better advice than when I ask individual friends (even though I have awesome friends) because it's more likely that someone reading this will have gone through a similar situation.  All that to say.....help.

Hannah is miserable when we put her to bed. For months and months she laid down peacefully in her crib, talked and played for a while, then fell asleep (don't hate us. we endured torture from months 3-13). Now she yells and cries for up to two hours. I'm pretty sure that she just cannot figure out how to calm herself and relax. She's so much like her mama that she gets bored if she lays awake for more than 30 seconds. She climbs all over her crib and swings her legs off the sides because she can't sit still. We've tried music in her room. No good. The light-up sleeping bunny that reminds her it's time to sleep. It helps with middle of the night wakeups, but not at bedtime. We give her books to read and baby dolls to change and she throws them out because "boots no bed" and that's not where books belong in her organized little mind. Earlier bedtime? Even worse. Later bedtime? Nada. What do we do oh vast internet readers?

Is it time to move to the dreaded big girl bed? Will that magically help somehow? We're leaving for a way-too-long trip to Missouri pretty soon and I am dreading every second of trying to put her to bed. Should we try to get into the big bed before we go? Or banish her to the pack-n-play that she's all but outgrown?

If you made it through that entire quick take, I really hope you have the answer I'm looking for.

-3-

Isn't the library amazing? Every time I go I feel like I hit the jackpot. All these books get to come home with me? For months? For free??? I've been using our library website to reserve all the books I want and then all I have to do is pick them up at the desk. But I still love browsing the shelves and finding hidden treasures. These are our favorites right now:

Grumpy Goat

Or "Dumpy Doat". Which is way cuter.

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

So cute to hear Hannah tell the pigeon "no no no". I just noticed on Amazon that there several other books that forbid the pigeon from doing things. We'll have to check those out next time. For free.

-4-

Still haven't decided on a computer. Because it's a big decision and I'm overwhelmed so I just do nothing. That means no pictures still. And man we got some cute ones of Paul in the tub last night. This is the only cellphone pic from this past week.

Despite the fact that he's the happiest baby ever, he's not a smiler. In fact, he's pretty much scowling for about 95% of the day. It's his game face. He's practicing early.

-5-

I haven't been on Pinterest much since Paul was born. And my life is the better for it! I need to venture back on to look for some good car activities for Hannah. Our Missouri trip will be two days of driving and even she doesn't love Barney that much. Anyone have any great idea for keeping a two year old happy in the car for an eternity? My only idea so far is lots and lots of food handed to her in tiny, tiny increments so it's takes her over an hour to eat a muffin. 

We're fully expecting Paul to scream for most of the trip. He doesn't sleep well in the car. We're bringing ear plugs.

We've only driven home once since we moved to Florida a year and a half ago. We're taking a different route this time that will take us through Atlanta and Nashville and along the base of the Smokey Mountains. I'm so excited (except for the fact that I'm dreading it with every fiber of my being) because I've never seen mountains. Ever. They better be worth the hype.

-6-

Apparently the readers of this blog are much deeper than the writer of it. So many commenters managed to turn my dumb thought into a beautiful reflection about Mary praying for Jesus. They're so right, I bet Mary repeated the words of the angel Gabriel over and over in her head for her entire life. If God sent an angel to tell me something that profound, I would certainly replay the scene a time or two to relive it.

-7-

In addition to my parents' 30th anniversary this past week, it was also my sister's and Ted's birthdays! Jackie turned 25 and Ted turned 27 (yes, I married a younger man. 10 months younger to be exact.) Is it just our family or are most people born in early June? It's not like nine months before June is anything special. A quick Google search was inconclusive as to whether August or September are the most popular birth month (I didn't technically click on any of the articles...) but I say it's June.

Happy Father's Day Weekend! I linked up with Jen for my quick takes, as usual. And this post has affiliate links because, hello!, I've made $2.94 so far and can almost buy something. Thanks so much!

Deep Thoughts

I've lamented the fact that I don't do much reflecting on the blog anymore. Too much energy. Too much effort. Not enough brain cells. But tonight's reflection will more than make up for it.

As I was patting and shushing Paul for the third time tonight I silently prayed a Hail Mary to keep myself from getting frustrated. I thought about how grateful I am for my little boy and how huge he looked laying in his pack-n-play. How it's such an honor to help my sweet son fall asleep just like Mary must have done. And then, the deep thought....

I wonder if Mary prayed Hail Mary's over Jesus at night.

Blame it on the mommy brain, the exhaustion, whatever you want. Those who know me know that sometimes, I'm just.that.dumb.

Sucking It Up Instead of In

I realize I'm not an overweight person. Not even close. I'm scrawny and teeny and weigh much less than the average adult. Even pregnant. But. This doesn't mean I'm in shape. Or healthy. Or happy with the way I look.

And that's what really matters right? That I'm actually healthy and able to do some basic physical activities without getting winded? And that I feel comfortable in my clothes without having to wear control top underwear and sucking in for pictures? That kind of thing is fine for a while postpartum, but I'm over it. I'm tired of not having energy for my kids in the morning or my husband in the evenings. And I'm coming to the sad, sad, sad revelation that I'm actually going to have to work for it.

I have always eaten whatever I wanted and been very, very small. In high school I worked in an ice cream shop and ate my weight in ice cream. I also drank at least 50oz of Pepsi each shift. (Felt really great about that decision later in life when I found out excessive dairy and caffeine contribute to endometriosis and all my cramps.) I never had to give a second thought to what I put into my body. I was a size 0 and had a beautifully flat tummy with defined abs from cheerleading. (No, it is not a sport. But it did give me a six pack.)

And I know that a postpartum mother of two isn't supposed to have that body anymore. I don't even want that body. I don't want to look like my 16 year old self, but I do want to look better than I do right now. And, more importantly, feel better than I do right now. But I really hate working out. And sweating. And doing anything that requires self discipline, of which I have very little. But reading blogs  about other women actually working out every day will make you feel pretty dang lazy for sitting on your butt and complaining about your pouchy tummy. I've read numerous accounts of Grace and Ana and Hannah sweating their butts off to Jillian Michaels and living to tell the tail. But it wasn't until I read Jen's account that I decided I need to suck it up and start working out. I mean, if a work-at-home, homeschooling, mother of six can do this, surely surely I can find the time.

I went with Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred. Mostly because it was only $1.99 on Amazon Instant Video. And because Jen made a playlist for it that I might utilize in the future and I liked her choice of Eminem paired with the Litany of the Saints. I remember some friends of mine in grad school used to get together and watch The Biggest Loser every week and work out together. I also remember thinking they were nuts and that I had no desire to join them. But here I am. Paying money for the Biggest Loser coach to yell at me and tell me to keep going. And although I have no desire to "lose 20 pounds in 30 days" I do want to tone up, shape up, feel better about myself, and avoid having to buy new clothes.

So while the kids were both napping today (woot!) I turned it on and sweated my butt off. I did Level 1 and forced myself to do all of it when I really really wanted to quit halfway through. In complete honesty, I was sweaty and out of breath during the warm up before she even said "Let's get started". I made it through though. It was hard. And my legs still feel like jello eight hours later. I was honestly worried about picking Paul up out of his crib because my arms were so wiggly when I finished. And I didn't even use weights! (any idea what I can use in my house for weights so I can avoid buying some? Don't say cans. There is no way in heck.) Thankfully, he slept long enough for most of it to wear off. When Hannah woke up we made a smoothie. That just seemed like the type of thing someone who works out would do. And I'm doing to do it again tomorrow. Dangit. I really hope I can stick to this.

And while we're on the subject of working out: I can't do a sit-up. At all. Ever. I physically cannot make my body do it and can't make my brain tell the muscles to move. I've never been able to do them. In a physical education class in college we had to pair up and count how many sit-ups we could in one minute. I did zero. I spent the entire minute trying to figure it out. And this was when I was in shape! I bring this up to ask anyone reading this blog, Can you do a sit-up?? If the answer is "heck no!" and it's not because you're pregnant, please comment and tell me that I'm not alone! Thanks in advance for helping me settle a long term argument with Ted about being the only person in the world that can't do a sit-up. I think it has something to do with my long torso and weird back curve, but he says I'm full of crap.

And please know that I am NOT seeking affirmation to make myself feel better or wanting anyone to say that I don't need to work out because I already look fine. I really do suck it in for every picture and am too vain to post anything that's remotely true to life. Embarrassing, but true. I also want to note that I'm not obsessive about this nor do I lack perspective about what a healthy body should look like. I'm fine, really. I'm just sick of not being in shape.

And (#3) this post contains an affiliate link. Because I decided to stop caring if anyone thinks I sold out and just take whatever free pennies come my way. Go buy the DVD through my link and help me get rich beyond my wildest imagination.

30 Years!

Happy Anniversary to my mom and dad today! 30 years together and they still act like newlyweds. The most important example they've shown to me and Ted is how to be each other's best friend. They truly enjoy each other and love spending time together. They may bicker from time to time, but I can honestly say I've never seen my parents fight (they probably waited until I was in bed...)

Thanks for your commitment to marriage mom and dad! An inspiration to many!

Sunday Funday

Sunday evening is my favorite time to blog. Probably because Sundays are generally semi-relaxing, spent with my husband and kids, and full of simple, everyday memories I want to record. Today was no exception. Allow me to document it in details that only I care about.

We haven't set an alarm clock for Mass in months because Hannah always makes sure we're up in plenty of time with her screams. But this morning, she actually slept in! Which gave us only 40 minutes to eat, nurse, change, and drive to Mass. We managed to walk in during the processional song. Not too shabby. I had about .3 seconds to pick out an outfit so I grabbed an old favorite rather than trying to come up with something creative.

Just turn your head to the left. There. That solves the problem of me having no earthly idea how to rotate this picture with my friend's Mac. It's really better this way, the vertical version of the picture makes me look really frumpy (someday I will teach my husband how to take a picture without squatting down and somehow making me look shorter than I really am.) (and another day we will finally buy a computer so I can upload pictures from our good camera instead of texting them to my email from my non-smart phone.)

The clothes:
Shirt: Kohls. Probably 8+ years ago.
Skirt: Charlotte Russe via consignment. The zipper's broken so I can't tuck my shirt into it.
Shoes: Maurices. Also forever ago.

Kid's behavior:
Hannah: A. Please, please, please let her always be this good in Mass.
Paul: A+ He sat happily in my lap until he fell asleep.

I needed something I could nurse in today because I had to work in the nursery immediately after Mass and it stretched into Paul's lunch time. Since we have Paul on a pretty consistent "routine", I'm usually able to wear whatever I want to Mass since I'm about 95% sure he wont need to nurse. Neither of those last two statements were particularly relevant to this blog post.

Some actual noteworthy tidbits from our day include:

Baking a blackberry pie.

Reading Good Dog Fergus at least seven times in a row. Ok, that's not noteworthy either.

Eating breakfast for dinner because we didn't have anything else in the house. It was amazing though. Homemade hash-browns with potatoes we grew ourselves. Fried in lard that we rendered ourselves. Homemade pancakes. Three varieties actually. Blueberry (picked ourselves). Blackberry (picked ourselves). And banana (purchased at the store by, yes, ourselves). And to balance out all the homegrown, homepicked goodness, some sausage in plastic wrap from Publix.

I'll try not to mention how badly I was craving a giant glass of raw milk.

Bad. Really bad. I miss dairy really really badly.

And now, a poop story. I know that most of the readers of this blog have their own hellacious poop stories and probably think they don't need to read mine. But how many of your poop stories end with absolutely no poop on the baby's clothes and tons of poop on your boobs???

Paul pooped in his swing while we were eating dinner and I was unaware of this event. After dinner I scooped him up and and grabbed the pacifier that had fallen into the seat. As I'm walking across the room with Paul I simultaneously patted his butt as I placed the pacifier into my bra. (The pacifier always sits nicely between my cleavage. It's the only safe place from the paci-obsessed, germ infested two year old.) When I sat down to nurse him I realized that my hand was covered in poop. So covered that it was in every crevice of my wedding ring. When I patted his butt I must have squeezed poop all over my hand and his pacifier. I then shoved the poop covered pacifier into my bra with the poop covered hand. After I cleaned myself off, I changed Paul and was astonished that not a single dab of poop had graced his clothing. I, on the other hand, had poop on my hand, my ring, my t-shirt, my undershirt, my bra, my nursing pads, my neck, and my boobs!

And no time for a shower because were headed out the door to do this.

"Tie-ats!" Our friends keep them at our house and told us we could take them out whenever we wanted. We finally took Hannah tonight and she loved it. She wouldn't stop talking the entire way there. "Kayaks on roof mommy's car! Hannah go kayak in lake! Go beach! Row row boat!" (or "Tia-ats on woof mommy's tar. Hannah doh tie-at in yate! Doh beats! Woah Woah boat!")

They just paddled around the lake near our house (lake. beach. same thing to Hannah.) for a few minutes while I nursed Paul and took pictures. But again, these cellphone ones are all I can do for now. Ted said she just kept saying "Go faster!" ("Doh dasser!") and "Daddy find gator!" ("Daddy nine day-dor!")

When we were about to leave a lady pulled up and got out of her car with a turtle. She told us that she just "rescued him off the highway from getting hit by a semi" and told us she wanted to help him get far out into the water so he wouldn't get run over by the trucks near the ramp. Ted offered to paddle him out into the deep so she put him on the kayak. She then watched to make sure Ted actually took him far out and didn't just drop him off by the ramp. She struck up a conversation with me (and Paul) and somehow we got on the subject of my family in Oklahoma and Missouri and she asked if they were near the recent tornados. I told her that they were very, very close to the damage and she immediately asked, "Are their pets ok???"

Yes, lady. Their pets are ok. Now go back to your PETA meeting.

The turtle fell off before Ted got it very far out but she seemed satisfied enough. Hannah's first kayak trip and rescuing a turtle all in one day.

It was a good Sunday.

Annnnd, because I'm selfish with the knowledge of the awesome readers of this blog, two questions. Anyone have a good fake tanner they recommend? One that is very cheap and won't make me look orange. I told Ted I wanted to get some for my awful white legs and he said "I don't think you're that vain." But I definitely am. So give me your suggestions to make this Floridian look like she actually gets out in the sun.

Number two. Does anyone know if a device exists that allows you to put an SD card into a laptop that doesn't have an SD card port? My sister has offered us her old Mac (!!!!). We would have to upgrade a few things on it and buy a new battery and power cable, so it's not free but still cheap. But it doesn't have an SD port and I really need it for uploading pictures because it already takes long enough without having to plug a cord in every time. Do the good folks at Apple make a USB/SD card stick thing? If they don't, they should. And give me royalties for the idea.

I linked up with Fine Linen and Purple and would have linked up with Grace if she had posted her Sunday Best before me.

Sleepy Quick Takes

-1-

Since I mentioned Paul's sleeping habits exactly two weeks ago, it took a sudden and dramatic turn for the worse. He's a little better now (and still nowhere near as bad as Hannah as a baby) but am still kicking myself for ever mentioning it. Why did I test fate? Why?

-2-

And even though Paul's sleep isn't terrible, our evenings are still filled with frustration over a child that refuse to sleep. That would be the two year old I'm referring to. Why does my sweet girl who used to just play with her stuffed animals in her crib until she fell asleep suddenly take TWO HOURS to fall asleep every night? She won't stop taking off her pajamas and diaper (not night trained yet). She even magically figured out how to get out of the backwards footie pjs we used as a straight jacket for so many months.

It just sucks. This part of parenting sucks. Listening to her scream and yell because she refuses to just lay down and sleep. It ruins our evening. I don't want sleep to be a battle. I don't want her to cry every night because we refuse to give her an 80th drink of water. I don't want to keep changing her sheets because she gets naked and pees all over herself.

Blah.

-3-

Blueberry picking was awesome last week. I was so excited to snap some cute pictures before I realized I forgot to put the SD card in the camera. So low quality cellphone pictures to the rescue.

We mostly just hung out in the shade and watched

She was in blueberry heaven

Boo-bewies!

About two minutes in we realized Hannah was completely incapable of putting blueberries anywhere but her mouth. "Hannah, just eat one and put the rest in your mouth." All of them went into her mouth. "One in your mouth. Then one in the bucket." Two in her mouth. "Put that in the bucket. Do not eat it." It went into the bucket, only to be plucked out and eaten immediately. She could.not.do.it. It reminded me of a study I read once where they put marshmallows in front of kids and told them that if they could wait to eat them they would be given even more marshmallows in a few minutes. The kids who were able to wait were found to be more responsible adults with better self-control and a host of other good qualities. Hannah would fail the marshmallow test with sinking colors. We just gave up and paid a few extra bucks for the blueberries in her belly.

We picked a gallon and have been eating them all week. I made a pie that is divine and have to talk myself off the ledge of inhaling the entire thing when I'm home without Ted all day. And Ted picked blackberries off the wild bushes near his office today. I see another pie in our future.

-4-

We had to move Paul into his own room. I'm both elated and heartbroken. He outgrew the cradle that fit snuggly next to our bed (Hannah was in it until she was seven months old!) and the pack n play doesn't fit. So he's alllllll the way across the hall. It's too far. But I do love being able to turn the bedroom light on again and talk to my husband at a normal volume before falling asleep.

Sigh. He's already growing up too fast.

-5-

Four takes in and sleep is beating blueberries 3 to 1.

-6-

We still haven't bought a new laptop. Because it's a big decision and I'm lazy. But I have a ton of pictures that need to be uploaded and shared with the world (or just the grandparents) so I need to get my act together. Another cellphone pic to the rescue.

All my blankets are pink and purple and I like it like that.

-7-

I know I'm probably way behind, but I'm watching the 4th season of Parks and Rec on Netflix while Hannah naps. I can't for the life of me get their naps to coincide, so Paul and I hang out and watch TV and make faces at each other for an hour. My favorite character on the show is April because she reminds me so much of my youngest sister. She's moody and sarcastic and hates attention. My sister Haley is pretty much the blonde version of April. They even dress alike. A lot of people might be offended by being told that they are just like April, but when I told Haley she said something like, "That's the best compliment anyone could ever give me," in a nonchalant matter with just a hint of a smile. Just like April would have said it.

.......my children's sleeping habits just won today's quick takes with 4 points. In case you lost track.

Join Jen for more!

In Which I Post Some Pictures Instead of Actually Writing About Something

My brain is mush. Mush. (And the wine probably isn't helping.) (Do I make myself seem like a drunk on this blog?) A coherent post is not in the works. But thankfully, my sweet friend Summer snapped a few pictures of my cuties at the zooseum this morning. Their faces are better than any words I could muster up. And I'm just nice enough to share their cuteness with you. Thank me later.

A bus! Perhaps the highlight of her 28 months of existence? If only we had been able to break in...

I just want to kiss that drool right off his chin.

Check me out. Sleeveless ;)

And still miserably hot.

Weekend Recap

It's Sunday evening and you know I'm in the mood to write a What I Wore Sunday post. They're probably my favorite. But alas, no picture. I write the WIWS post in my head every Sunday (stop laughing) but rarely get around to actually taking a picture so I can, you know, write the post. We go to 8:30 Mass. And it's 20 minutes away. And we don't wake up early before the kids to get ready. (We also don't shower....) So a before Mass picture is out of the question. And despite all my good intentions, I just cannot stay in my Mass attire for more than 15 seconds when we get home. There's the nursing of the baby and the doing of the dishes that were leftover from breakfast and the hungry toddler and the naptime routine and, well I just don't want to be dressed up for any of it. It's hot. Almost 100 this week. So I strip down to shorts and a t-shirt almost immediately and get to work on all that crap that didn't get the memo that Sunday is supposed to be relaxing.

It's really too bad. I wore my favorite favorite favorite skirt today. And up around my waist with my shirt tucked in for the first time. I felt like I was falling in love with it all over again. And Hannah was the picture of Southern perfection in her hand-me-down smocked dress and giant pink bow. Ted and Paul coincidentally wore matching white polos with gray pants and I soooo wanted to get a picture before he spit up all over himself. But it didn't happen. Just imagine us all looking really awesome. Cause we did.

So no linking up with FLAP today. But, if I mention the kids' behavior in Mass I can still qualify for this link-up. So on to bragging about the two best kids in Mass today. Not sure why. I don't ask questions. But Hannah was wonderful. She tried to sing along with the Gloria, only tried to grab Paul's paci a handful a times, was thankfully unsuccessful in unclipping the back of the carrier Paul was happily sleeping in, and entertained herself for almost the entire Mass by counting to "nen" (skipping five of course).  Paul slept on me in the Beco carrier and woke up at the end of Mass just in time for everyone to tell me how cute he is.

Both kids get A's. Link-up rules met.

Grace even mentioned me in her inaugural post, so I can't not participate. And I admit that when I read my name and realized it was me she was referring to I told Ted, "I have arrived". The sleeveless clothes in Mass discussion has been great. So great that maybe I'll even find the energy to actually reply at some point. In short, my takeaways are this: For the most part, sleeveless in Mass isn't appropriate. There are times when this rule doesn't apply (like when you have a baby strapped on your shoulders anyway). And that it's not a hard, fast rule. Some dresses are definitely modest even if they have no sleeves.

Is it possible that my black and white sense of morality is becoming a shade of gray? Could it possibly be?? On the bigs things, no. Never. Abortion=always wrong. Euthanasia=unacceptable. Wearing sleeveless shirts in Mass=eh, I dunno. Probably not but maybe sometimes?

If you know me at all, you know how hard it is to admit that.

Next up on the ramble train,

We had a great homily from our priest. At least the 60% or so that I heard was good.  He quoted St. Justin Martyr (whose feast was yesterday!) who spoke about the Eucharist in the 2nd century (because today is the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ!)

This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed down to us. For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Savior being incarnate by God's Word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the Word of prayer which comes from him, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus.

I had a thought while listening to the quote. Our Church is so rich and blessed by the writings of the early Saints and Doctors of the Church, that if all priests immediately stopped writing original homilies and all theologians suddenly ceased their studies and Catholic speakers stopped speaking and Catholic writers stopped writing, we would still have enough amazing reflections and teachings on our Faith to last us until the end of time. Priests could simply read from the great Saints that have gone before us, especially from the ones who lived in the early days of Christianity, and we would probably never hear a repeated homily. And although I am grateful for the many Christian books and talks that come out all the time, nothing beats going back to the beginning. Nothing beats finding out what the original Christians said about Jesus. Pastor so and so can say all he wants about the Eucharist. What does St. Paul say? What does Justin Martyr say? That's what really matters. It made me once again feel blessed to belong to a Faith whose roots are so deep and members are so wise.

Annnnd because as soon as I finish this post I have to get up and do dishes, I better add a few more unrelated bits of information.

We had a joint birthday party for Ted and our friend Summer today. I'd show you a picture, but oh my I cannot figure out this Mac. It has no Right-Click! How can you save pictures off facebook or correct a misspelled word with no Right-Click?! Do you know how many times I had to re-tyrp the word inaugural because I had no idea how to click on the little red line below my failed attempts? (silver lining: I can now spell inaugural)

A few of Paul's NINE MONTH clothes are too tight. And he rolled over from his stomach to his back. Before his third month birthday. Who does this kid think he is? (imagine cute picture here)

Go read these.

And check out the amazing hair on my friend's new baby.

And pray for this mama and baby.

And have you seen this? So funny. (But say a prayer for that family while you're at it.)

Ok, I'm stalling. Dishes.

[Update. Two fingers on the keypad+clicking the button=Right-Click. I'm a genius for figuring that one out by myself. Pictures successfully saved off facebook.]