Outside My Window
It's a wee bit chilly:-). I have discovered fleece sheets. We love them. Love, love, love them. But it is a good deal more difficult to get my children out of bed in the morning.
I am Listening to
Slightly wheezy breathing coming from my littlest girl. This is a great improvement over the horrible sounds of croup last week. Sarah had the worst case of croup I've ever witnessed. And I've seen a lot of croup in the last 22 years. It was a very intense week, one that leaves me a bit wary of the winter to come.
I am Wearing
Jeans and a sweater and makeup. As I was getting dressed to go out last weekend, Katie commented that I really did look "much better" with makeup. Yesterday morning, I timed exactly how long it would take me to look "much better" every day. Four minutes and fifteen seconds. That includes tinted moisturizer, blush, eyeshadow, eyliner, mascara, and lipgloss, followed by a hand washing and putting in my contacts. FOUR minutes! Six, if you add teeth brushing to the time. In four short minutes, I can look "much better." Why not?
I am so Grateful for
Nebulizers. Just breathe, baby, breathe.
Fleece sheets.
The women at St. John's mothers' group so made me feel so welcome when I showed up to talk on Friday morning after three sleepless nights in a row.
The folks who staff the bookstore at the Shrine. They filled the "lull time" during the book signing with lively, intellectual conversation. And I'm really glad that I'm neither a canon lawyer, nor married to a canon lawyer;-)
Mary Chris, who assembled a wardrobe when all our shopping plans were foiled by croup.
Nebulizers :-)
The tincture of time.
I'm Pondering
"The friendship is not a reward for our discrimination
and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by
which God reveals to each the beauties of all the others." --C. S. Lewis.
More on this quote later this week, when my column is published. And, I'll be talking friendship with Lisa Hendey and Mary DeTurris Poust, author of Walking Together: Discovering the Catholic Tradition of Spiritual Friendship on a Faith and Family podcast. Be sure to check back here for the link on Thursday evening.
I am Reading
Walking Together: Discovering the Catholic Tradition of Spiritual Friendship
Actually, I'm not reading it yet, but it's on its way and I plan to binge on Wednesday:-)
I am Thinking
That Karoline really needs a haircut. With the exception of the trim Katie gave her a couple of years ago, she's never had a haircut. All those fine, baby curls tangle so easily and hair washing a brushing are traumatic and gut-wrenching--for whichever one of us is the washer and brusher. She doesn't want to cut it and truthfully, neither do I. But...
I am Creating
A few new St. Andrew Christmas Prayer chaplets before the devotion begins November 30th. More details on making chaplets can be found here.
On my iPod
Fingerprints. I'm exceedingly annoyed when small children with grubby fingers leave their marks on my iPod. Argh.
Ooooh, and speaking of iPods, I saw the Kindle version of Small Steps on someone's iPad last weekend. Very, very nice. Made me want an iPad and I'm not prone to technology lust. Looks pretty cool on a Kindle, too.
And that brings me to my question: someone I love, who spends lots of time on an airplane, has a birthday next week. Half my tech-savvy children consultants think I should get him a Kindle. Half do not. There's no chance I'm buying an iPad. So...what do you think, the Kindle linked above or no? Comments are open;-)
Towards a Real Education
We had a most amazing day of art history two Saturdays ago. We met my "Art Aunt" downtown and she talked us through the From Impressionism to Modernism exhibit. Then, we wandered over to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and took in Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Then we went upstairs and had a lesson in landscapes.The children were enraptured. They took in every word she said and throoughly enjoyed their time. Nicholas literally cried when it was time to go. he brightened considerably though, when we headed towards Chinatown and Wok 'n Roll for a late lunch. It was a really beautiful day and we're looking forward to doing it again soon. In the meantime, my kids have undertaken a project of choosing a painting a week from my aunt's collection website and writing to her about it. This is a habit I'll happily help them cultivate.
Towards Rhythm and Beauty
We got totally off any rhythm but the rhythm of the nebulizer last week. This week will be a little crazy because Mary Beth dances in a Christmas performance at the end of the week, so her rehearsals will dominate the schedule.
I have been thinking about both rhythm and beauty and how they are woven into the first point of Ann's 10 Point Manifesto for Joyful Parenting: Today, I will make our home a house of prayer. I will pray at set times. And I will invite our children to come move into an interior space that lives with God. I've written before about an intentional effort to make every room envelope us in the presence of God. I showed you bits of that at work in my living and dining rooms. Beautiful art, tasteful religious reminders, are like treasured photographs of dear family members. They bring them to mind and we instinctively begin an interior dialogue with the saints. My "style" is to mix icons, paintings, and statues with natural elements, crafts or toys or beautiful objects taken from God's creation. I think that adorning our homes with God's creation is a natural outgrowth of our appreciation for Him in the artistry that is His created world. And when we bring those elements into an atmosphere that already celebrates the presence of God and His holy saints with tanglible reminders, there is a seamless tapestry of beauty that lifts us automatically to prayer.
We're having a Kind Conversation about
Eek. I really don't know. I've been away the last couple of weeks, just focused on keeping conversations kind here at home. i hope to go catch up soon.
To Live the Liturgy
I truly hope to be able to put up a post this week to help you find some of the things you've been searching in the past couple of weeks. There are lots of searches looking for specific advent and Christmas ideas. Often, the search will dead-end because of the simplest typo. So, I'll try find those pages for you. In the meantime, almost all the advent and Christmas links are gathered here. And there is a tab on the navigation bar just beneath the banner.
I am Hoping and Praying
For my husband, as he makes some big decisions.
In the Garden
Someone please tell me if it's too late to plant pansies in northern Virginia?
Around the House
Contemplating decorating for Christmas when Paddy is home for Thanskgiving. Otherwise, he'll miss it and the thought of that really breaks my heart.
From the Kitchen
It's been so long since I last posted a daybook that the menu for this week is nearly as it was the last time I posted a menu.
Spicy Mexican Squash Stew (I think this is in Moosewood Cooks at Home?)
Pumpkin Muffins (Cooking for Isaiah-these are gluten free and really good)
Golden Rice Pie (p126 Vegetable Heaven)
Spicy Green Beans
Good Shepherd’s Pie (Laurel's Kitchen 268)
Tomato Soup
Grilled cheese sandwiches
Green Potatoes (Laurel's Kitchen)
Salmon patties
Caesar salad
Cranberry squash (Laurel's Kitchen)
Butternut risotto
Salad
Rustic chicken
One of My Favorite Things
My new lip gloss from Bath and Body Works. It's heavily "minted" so that it freshens your breath. Pretty colors, stays on a long time. Of course, just after I bought this lipgloss (taking full advantage of the "Buy 2, Get 1 Free "deal, in a conversation that was totally about gum and had nothing to do with lipgloss, my beloved informed me that he hates spearmint and is a strictly wintergreen man. I guess that when he returns from the west coast, we'll learn whether that's just a gum thing or it's a kissing thing, too.
Sarah Annie this week
It's been a rough week. It's so hard to see a tiny child struggle with every breath. The sound of severe croup is heart-wrenching. Sarah has been attached to me 24/7 for the last week, with the exception of Friday morning when she slept on her Daddy's chest while I went to my talk. The thing is, as hard as it is to see them sick, I think we both enjoyed cocooning together. She is such a dear, sweet little darling.
A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week
Ballet rehearsals every night this week. Performances on Saturday and Sunday. See below for details if you're local.
Last week of fall soccer, first week of basketball practices (that should work well in the rhythm department).
Stephen has one last tournament this weekend.
The countdown begins for Paddy's homecoming.
Picture thoughts:
