HappyMama

The big part of our Christmas celebration is over. We will continue to light white candles on our wreath until the feast of Epiphany on Jan 6th. I will try to find ways to keep a spirit of extra celebration within our home until then!

This Christmas I shared with our family & friends the news that we are expecting our 4th child. It is always a joy to share this type of news - “I’m having a baby!” “I’m getting married!” “I got a promotion!” People always say congratulations. In my own mind and soul, I know that my role bringing a new life into the world is one of the most amazing, noble, and worthwhile things I could possibly do. Like all human endeavors, however, nothing is simple. My pregnancies (like those experienced by many women) are marked by many unpleasantries - most notably, perpetual nausea. So even as I’m sharing the good news and receiving congratulations, all I’m really feeling inside is an urge to vomit.

Life outside of heaven is marked in every moment by contradiction. I know that God did not intend the bliss of new motherhood to be marred by nausea. I’m learning with every passing year of my life to recognize how many contradictions there are now, to accept them as sufferings to be endured, and to try to see them for what they are. The current season of my life involves a lot of time on the couch and food in the fridge that I just can’t bring myself to cook or eat. I know that this season is passing, and before long we’ll be holding our new little one in our arms and getting back on the road to strength and energy once more…

<>”I want something sweet to eat!”  I hear this a lot from my kiddos.  I guess they get it from me.

<> To celebrate Gaudete Sunday last week (the 3rd Sunday of Advent,) we tried our 1st gingerbread house.  The icing that came with the package was broken open, so I had to throw it out.  I made a batch of icing and scooped it into my own frosting bag, but as I was trying to squeeze it out, that bag burst and icing flew everywhere.  So, the project wasn’t quite as much fun as I had hoped - for me.  Of course, the boys could care less.  Building, frosting, candy - what more do you need?

Wishing you all a blessed Christmas!

Amy shared this interesting site:  Giving Cart.com   It allows you to shop on-line (amazon, etc.) and earns commissions that go towards your favorite Catholic charities. 

I have done most of my shopping on-line this year.  I have been getting Mindware catalogs for years, “brainy toys for kids of all ages” but have never ordered anything until last week.  We just got the game Quoridor today, and it is very good.  (I’ll bring it home to play with my siblings over the holidays!)  My almost 5-year-old loves it, though granted he can’t beat me… yet.  I also ordered Quirkle, but it hasn’t come yet. 

Suffice it to say, I’ve been a bit preoccupied lately…  I always have many things to write about, but it’s usually the middle of the night when I find myself writing in my head, far away from the computer.  (Been having trouble sleeping lately.)  When I do have time, I’ve been posting on a blog I’m sharing with some other moms, where we share all the ins & outs of specific eduational materials that probably aren’t of interest to the general public…  But I would like to take a minute now to talk about my soon-to-be-3-year-old.

2 is evidently a hard age to be.  For example, you might get overly-excited, throw a toy, and accidentally hit the window, which partly due to the below-freezing temps outside, is not happy about it:  (we’ve made a large advance on his future allowance money…)

And if you try to make bread with a 2-year-old, remember that as soon as he sees you sprinkling flour on the counter-top, he will assume that flour is supposed to be sprinkled all over the kitchen.  But when that isn’t met with approval, he will decide to sit & eat dough instead:

But for all the foibles, being “almost 3″ reveals to me a clear transition from very young child to small thinking person.  It is why Montessori pre-schools begin at age 3, not 2.  I am so excited to begin more formally introducing Montessori materials to this child next month.  (I am preparing now by cleaning out & rearranging our learning room.)  His capacity for absorbing information was clearly demonstrated recently when he sang the “States Song” - the 50 States, in alphabetical order - and only skipped one. 

I keep a book of cute things the kids say, and lately this particular child has been contributing the most.  Some examples:

• I asked him to stop doing something recently and he replied, “okay mom, I will not cause any more mischief.”  Then he went directly to his older brother and asked, “what does mischief mean?”  [I think this might be a word he picked up from our beloved Minarik books-on-tape.]
• He was watching a man plant a maple tree with red leaves in the neighbor’s yard and said, “look mom, it’s a sumac.  It’s all red.”  (good guess!)  Then when the man took the root ball out of the plastic container he said, “see mom, there are the roots!”  I have not taught him these things; he just overhears me talking about these things with his brother.
• After different discussions on the Eucharist and fire safety, he synthesized the information by saying to me, “If there’s a fire in church, Jesus will have to come out of the bread and run outside to be safe!”
• And finally, out of the blue he said, “Jesus is in heaven, in Mother Mary’s heart.”

Yes, dear little one, just as you are always in my heart!