Who is the most fearsome pirate on the seven seas?
Snotnose, that’s who!
Arrrrrrgh!
No, Ari – do a pirate face, not duck lips.
What, Mom?
No, Ari – don’t be super cute. Be super fearsome!
Like this, Mom?
Not exactly.
Wait, I got it!
Close enough, Snotnose.
What do you do with a daredevil 16 month old when Mom needs a bathroom break?
There are two options:
1. Leave said toddler free to roam the house, where she will climb every available surface, open every available drawer and tease every available pet. But at least you will be alone in the bathroom.
2. Bring said toddler into the bathroom with you, where she will try to climb into your lap, pull all the toilet paper off of the roll and take every bottle of soap out from under the sink. But at least you will be able to witness and potentially intervene in any mischief.
So…which path do you follow when nature is calling?
Bonus Option (which I wish I had thought of earlier this morning): Corral said toddler in either a playpen or crib, where there may be lots of shrieking and screaming and other frustrated vocalizations. But at least you can be alone in the bathroom AND feel secure that the garbage hasn’t become a buffet again.
Yep, that’s the one.
Ah, Valentine’s Day. A day filled with gorgeous blooms, gourmet dinners, sweet confections and fine wines. Oh, and love.
Maybe your day didn’t have any of those. Maybe you don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. Maybe you don’t have a special someone to lavish gifts on even if you felt so inclined. Maybe the lovely souffle you painstakingly slaved over fell flat. Or burned.
But just because the day wasn’t fabulous doesn’t mean you should turn to drink. You won’t find the comfort you seek in the bottom of a bottle. In fact, you will likely make things worse.
Still need convincing? Here are several reasons NOT to pick up the bottle tonight.
You may find yourself unsteady on your feet.
You may care less about your appearance, even to the point of losing articles of clothing. This can be embarrassing in public.
You may have trouble forming complete sentences, or slur your words.
You may find yourself feeling drowsy, and fall asleep in an inappropriate place.
You may find you are becoming more and more dependent on the bottle, and have trouble controlling when and how much you drink.
All good reasons NOT to drown your sorrows in booze this Valentine’s Day.
But drown your sorrows in chocolate? That’s another story.
I can’t believe it’s already been a year since this little bear arrived. She has been such a blessing for our family, a true gift.
Happy Birthday, Ariadne!
I think we all know that the more children you are trying to photograph, the harder it is to get a picture where they are all simultaneously looking at the camera, not to mention smiling.
Which is why I’ve dubbed this photo, A Small Miracle.
All three girls have had the same infant hair (albeit in different shades).
This is Veronica at about three and a half months. See how it does that sweep to the right? Her right. Your left.
And again at about five months. Still doing the sweep.
On another note, have you ever seen a chubbier chubbikins? I thought not.
Jacinta at about five months. Although a couple strands escaped downward, it still goes mostly to the right.
Here, at six months, you can see it is clearly sweeping.
“Mmmmmm, these fingers taste great!”
Which brings us to Ariadne. Or Ariad, as Veronica likes to call her.
True to form, she has the rightward sweep going on. I don’t fight it. After a bath, I just comb things they way they want to go.
But the other day I wanted to try something different. Something…radical.
What happens when you make right-sweeping hair go left?
Bump it!
Ariadne’s got her style on.
1.
Pork Chops with Garlic and Wine by Ree Drummond
I made this earlier in the week. It was very easy and very tasty. You should try it.
2.
I also made a first attempt at homemade flour tortillas recently. They weren’t perfect, but I didn’t expect them to be the first time around. It will take some practice to get them right, but I think this is the start of a wonderful new relationship between me and Mexican food.
3.
I hadn’t been able to get a picture of Ariadne in the bath because she usually cries the moment her “delicate” skin touches the water. But the other night she was pretty chill so I even got to style her hair before snapping a few pictures.
“Love the hair, Mom.” *fistbump*
4.
Jacinta was “helping” me bathe Ariadne. She can’t resist the camera.
5.
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned I was methodically cleaning and organizing our house. I did the master bedroom first, then moved onto the laundry room. This is week two in the laundry room because we’ve had some other things going on that have made it a little difficult to do much in there daily. But it is easier to move around now and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m torn about whether to keep working in there until it’s “done”, or move to another area next week.
6.
The Renaissance Festival starts tomorrow! We are very excited to be going again this year. It’s really become a fun family tradition. I won’t be able to wear my garb this year but Paul and the older girls each have something. Ariadne and I will be stuck in the 21st century I guess.
7.
The casting of The One Ring into Mount Doom, as told by Veronica.
Happy Friday everyone!
1. I discovered FlyLady a couple of years ago, and while I haven’t really adopted her day to day cleaning plans, her methods have definitely influenced the way I clean my house. So as I looked around at the various disaster areas in our house recently, I decided I would just do one room at a time - spending a week in each - until things are cleaned up and organized. So this week I’ve been in the master bedroom (which just happens to coincide with where FlyLady is, too). It’s not perfect, but the piles of clothes are off the floor, along with the random bins of baby stuff I’d been meaning to go through. I haven’t decided if I’m going to do the girls’ room next, or the laundry room. Yikes!
2. Jacinta has been very interested in books lately, but she doesn’t really want to read them, just point out things of interest to ask what they are. Which is really cute, but also mildly aggravating. The problem? She will follow me around the house with a book and doesn’t seem to understand “Please wait,” or “I’m getting something hot out of the oven,” or “I’m up to my elbows in raw chicken right now.” So that leads to some frustrated squawks on her part when Mom fails to immediately identify the object in question. Oh, my ears.
3. Veronica’s version of this is, of course, the ubiquitous litany of why. She asks why about EVERYTHING. And she also will follow me around the house to peg me with questions. Does anyone else find it hard to cook or clean and also answer small child questions at the same time? Because my brain just can’t seem to handle it. I want her to feel like she can ask me questions, but…phew! Sometimes I need a break.
***After I posted this, I remembered this article by Rachel Balducci earlier in the week on Faith and Family. In it she shares her favorite parent answers to why questions, including “Because I said so.” My own personal favorite, which fits a lot of the why-is-it-like-that type questions Veronica is constantly asking: “God made it that way.”
4. Following in her sisters’ footsteps, Ariadne has almost grown out of the 0-3 month clothes now. She’s nearly 8 weeks, and getting chunkier and cuter by the minute. And smiling a lot. I love baby smiles. If only I could capture one on camera…
5. Even though it’s still a little chilly, Paul has been wanting to do some gardening with the girls. So he got a little seed starter tray and they picked out some flowers. And tomatoes. And green beans. They planted them in the tray and also in some pots we had lying around, and they are now basking in the sun in the dog room. Or would be, if it wasn’t overcast today. He is hoping that having them indoors will give them a chance even though technically it’s still winter. We’ll see!
6. Ariadne has been a lot more congested than either of the other two girls. I find myself needing to suction her nose to get the big boogers out. Jacinta came in the bedroom while I was doing this the other day, and of course Ariadne was not a happy camper. She was doing her angry cry, and Jacinta got so freaked out that she’s afraid of the suction bulb now. I offered to let her hold it to try and put her fears to rest, but she looked at me like I was waving a chainsaw at her. Then she turned and ran.
7. The girls had a play date with their cousins last week, where this gem of a conversation took place.
4 y/o Nephew: Who is the oldest one in the house?
Me: I think it is probably your mom.
Nephew: How old is she?
Me: I don’t know, you’ll have to ask her.
Nephew: I think she is in her sixties.
Gotta love kids!
I often find that while there are many things I’d like to blog about, my time to sit and write is seriously lacking. So I’ve decided to give this a try, in the hopes that more of the things I’d like to share actually make it up here! Even in abbreviated form. So here goes:
1. Last night Veronica didn’t want to eat her dinner because she was “too hungry and too tired.” Since I suspected she was angling for another food option, I told her that her only choice was to eat what was in her bowl. So she says, “Can you put some apple in my bowl, please?”
2. I am surprised her excuse wasn’t “I’m not hungry”, since she was “helping” me bake yesterday. And to Veronica, helping = tasting each and every ingredient that goes into the bowl. And, of course, licking the utensils afterwards.
3. Ariadne has settled into the wake and eat, then fall back to sleep pattern at night. Hallelujah! Here’s to hoping that it continues.
4. Jacinta is such a ham for the camera. I tried to sneak some pictures of her putting a burp rag on her head, but the moment she noticed the camera she busted out one of these huge, squinty smiles and said “Chee!”
5. With the help of Fr. Parks at St. Tim’s, we were able to pull together a baptism for Ariadne before her godparents, my brother Brian and his wife Bridget, had to go home. Which was wonderful, since Brian will be headed back to Afghanistan in a couple of weeks. Thanks for the help, Fr. Parks!
6. This morning I found out that Fr. Santan Pinto, a very good friend of our family and the priest that married Paul and I, died in a car accident while visiting home in India. What a terrible loss for us here on earth. We will miss you, Father! But I know who I will be asking for prayers and intercession now.
7. And to end on a happier note: Sweetness!
