Friday's Quick Takes

Back for more quickies, huh? That is all I have time for right now, anyway! There is so much going on in life right now that I would truly love to write about, but it seems that every time I sit down... oh well, the story of a mama.

~~~~~

Anastasia LAUGHED! She has been doing a big-smiled "ha" for a little while, but just the other day she let out a big, multi-syllable "hahaha!" The most precious sound to Mama's ears, for sure. So since then she's been making a liar out of me by not repeating.

~
This morning as I was getting dressed I heard the usual running commentary from Bella. "Mama's socks. Mama's shirt. Mama's slippers." Then I pulled out my pants - "Dada's pants." Ouch.

~
A week of Feasts, that's what we've had. Of course St. Patrick's Day is a great opportunity to celebrate, as it's also my hubby's feast day. I had planned to make a shepherd's pie but after the day we had I was thrilled that my mom brought over Cajun Red Beans and Rice instead! Now that's a celebration! We drank Smithwick's in honor of the Irish. Yesterday was one of my favorite feast days, the Solemnity of St. Joseph. Why? For starters, it's also Patrick Joseph's feast day. Also, who can complain about a major Church Solemnity in the middle of Lent? Bring on the brownies! Of course, there was no Gloria at Mass which made me miss FUS a lot, but at least the priest gave a really great homily on our foster father. Lastly, it also is the anniversary of the day that Patrick proposed to me. It's awfully convenient that it's so easy to remember.

~
I am almost ready to post the next stage of our project! Remember The Project from way back in the spring? No? That's ok, if it weren't for the giant mud hole of a backyard I've had I wouldn't either. The Men-folk have been working hard out there, and I'm SO excited to see it taking shape! Not too long and I'll be serving BBQ in the fresh air!

~
I must be more disciplined about Anastasia's nighttime feedings. She is becoming worse and worse at sleeping during the night, and I dare say it has something to do with me falling asleep nursing her. Every time. So instead of "eat and back to bed" it's "nurse all night long because the bacon's cooking in the bed."

~
I adore singing toddlers. Well, really I love toddlers anyway, but there's something about their sweet little singing voices that brings a smile to my face. Bella loves to sing, and has her little song medley repertoire. "Twinkle Twinkle" can easily lead into "No more monkeys" which seems to remind her of "Row Row Row your boat" bringing her to "Frosty the Snowman" or "Bushel and a Peck." She "knows" SO many songs that her singing voice can be heard at any time of the day. Just the other night she sang along with her lullaby. That was a first.

~
I have a 3rd child. There's Isabella, Anastasia, and Baby Doll. Everywhere we go we cannot forget any one of them. Each has to be kissed, rocked, diaper checked. All need to be tucked into bed. And Bella is quick to remind us of our duty to each should we dare to slack.

~
And how's your Lent? I am feeling a little spiritually dry these days, which is great for growth and really tough on motivation. Unfortunately I have a tendency to get caught up in the "why" of my sluggishness instead of how to conquer and move on. I am really focusing on my vocation as wife and mother this week, and what that means in terms of detachment from self. Oh, sure, it's a easy concept that motherhood leads to selflessness, but it's another thing to let a whole week go by without an uninterrupted shower or more than 5 minutes to read by yourself, and to be joyful about it. Some weeks are just really rough emotionally, and this seems to the the week that God wants me to work on that, regardless of what I want. But that's the name of this detachment thing, isn't it.

~~~~~
Be sure to visit Jen @ Conversion Diary for more cool Quick Takes.