When the four-year-old parents

"So, Meghan," says Matthew as he plops himself down on the floor next to his 8-month-old sister, "let's talk about college."

Overheard

Joseph was in the entry hall taking off his snow clothes when the doorbell rang.
"Matthew!" Joseph said in an annoyed voice, "Just come in!"
The doorbell rang again.
Joseph opened the door and in his best Jeeves voice said, "Yes, Sir."
"Hello, I'm fire. I've come to burn down the house," said Matthew.
Joseph, continuing in his Jeeves voice. "As you see, we have a large supply of water for putting out fires and also we have twelve fire extinguishers right over here."
"Well, then, I want to flood your house," tried Matthew.
"Sorry, sir. To keep away floods, we have a large supply of fire, and if there is a flood, we simply put the fire in the water and turn all the water into steam. And then we open the door and let all the steam out."

Operation Rice Bowl

It's become a family tradition to participate in Catholic Relief Service's Operation Rice Bowl. CRS provides a calendar we can use during Lent with suggested offerings and sacrifices.

One of the more talked about aspects of Operation Rice Bowl in this household is the suggested menus for each Friday. They are meatless dishes from different countries around the world and some are quite unusual. You can find them on the calendar. Our children still talk about a certain dish we tried years ago from one of the African countries (I think) that had peas and bananas as the primary ingredients!

The ORB site has some other items like a World Awareness Quiz that might prove educational. Check it out.

Time for a new bed

Meghan has outgrown her bassinette.


Last week when I went to get her up from her nap, I found her trying to sit up in it.


I wish I had abs that strong!

So we re-arranged our room again to replace the bassinette with the Pack and Play. We had to move the bed over another couple of inches so it would fit, but it's the best option we have to allow me some sleep along with the convenience of being near for nighttime nursing. Sometimes Meghan gets scared when she wakes up and can't see us (day or night). From the Pack and Play, she can still at least see my arm, and often my face, if I'm facing the right direction while sleeping, so she feels secure and peaceful in there.

No more crunches, though. It's a shame. They were pretty cute.

7 quick takes

1. I have succumbed to the pressure from my local and college friends to join Facebook. Maybe I'll be more successful at keeping up on Facebook than on Twitter. The whole thing seems a little high-school to me. Maybe because I only have 4 friends. Or maybe because I am suddenly keeping count of my friends. Very high school. In a Napoleon Dynamite sort of way. Or a Judy Gibbons sort of way. Or something.

2. On to things that matter: Meghan now has 8 teeth!

3. Patrick went to a high school basketball game today. I think it's the first time ever. Then he and his friends were planning to watch Jeeves and Wooster episode 1. I can't wait to hear what they think of it. We love them. (thanks to Dan and t for introducing us to them :-))

4. Matthew still calls his cousin Claire "Claire-y Dairy Strawberry" when he talks about her. That was a silly thing the kids called her for one day 2 years ago (the last time we saw the cousins). I'm not sure how to gently change his habit before we see the cousins again this summer. She definitely won't get it.

5. Dinner tonight is at the club. It's a holiday. And I'm still resting on my laurels from the delicious (if I do say so myself) cherry pie I baked yesterday. :-)

6. I finally emptied 2 months worth of photos and videos off my camera today. Let's see how long it takes me to do something with them on the blog.

7. Katie has been asking for a dollhouse, but we haven't gotten her one. So she and Joseph have taken matters into their own hands. They are building a doll house out of kleenex boxes. It's pretty amazing. Curtains, rugs, pictures on the walls cut from old calendars.

Instructions

We always wished our babies came with instructions.


Meghan did. :-)




Happy St. Valentine's Day with love from all of us.

:-)

Good out of bad

Catholic author Amy Welborn's husband, Michael Dubriel, passed away suddenly last week. He worked for Our Sunday Visitor publishing, and for the rest of the month, they will contribute double the amount of what would have been the proceeds of his books to the children's college funds.

Go buy a book!
https://catalog.osv.com/lp.aspx?code=F92BBH63#

Outside...

it is still light at 5:05 p.m.!

Okay, so the streetlights are on, but John just came in from work, and I was surprised because it was still light out.

Relief from winter darkness is on the way!

Now I will have to start looking at the clock in order to know when to cook dinner.

It's a problem I'm happy to have. :-)

Meghan eats

applesauce
avocado
bananas
butternut squash
carrots
grapes (seedless and peeled--yes, I peel them, but she only eats about 1 at a meal anyway, and I'm not giving her any more because they don't agree with her, even though she loves the taste)
oatmeal
pears
rice cakes (brown rice)
rice cereal
sweet potato

So far, I've been able to find almost all the foods she needs in the grocery stores. We haven't had to buy any baby food other than the first rice cereal. I'm hoping to keep that up. It just seems so much better to give her fresh foods that I steam and mash myself.

Next week....she's moving up from mashed to eating small chunks with her fingers. She already does this with bananas and soft-cooked pears, rice cakes, and sweet potato, so it should be an easy transition. Bring on the bibs with sleeves!

Things I don't want to forget

Matthew calls the art easel a "weasel."
As in, "Mommy, I want to draw on the weasel now."
It is so hard not to laugh.

Sounding worse, feeling better

The coughing is loud and repetitive, but the headaches and earaches and sore throats are gone.

John went bravely back to work on Wednesday.

By Friday, Matthew was the only one who still had a fever. Today, he's much better, playing without tears so far.

Time to do all the chores and errands on my list from last Saturday when this first hit me. I can almost convince myself that we never missed a day. ;-)

Ever have a really great idea of something to write while you're doing something else and then when you sit down to write the idea is totally gone?

Me, too...

Advil nation

Over the past several weeks, during our bout with whatever this scourge is that has been visited upon us, most of the non-nursing members of this family have taken some form of Ibuprofin (who knew there were so many?): Children's Motrin liquid suspension, Motrin Jr. chewable tablets, Advil tablets, Kirkland Ibuprofin caplets. Not to mention Infant Tylenol drops delivered at just the moment that Meghan's tummy gave out and up came all her dinner. Purple medicine, milk, and bright-orange butternut squash cascaded down her furry, pale-pink sleep sack. Which brings to mind the Extra-strength Tylenol Rapid Release Gels--two, thanks, with the coldest water you can pour.

Last night, after Meghan fell asleep, I checked on Matthew. His temperature, which had been hovering around 100F all day, was 104.5! I am not kidding when I say that the digital thermometer was blinking a warning. I woke him enough to drink some Children's Motrin and a cup of water. An hour later: 98.8, where it stayed all night. Praise God!

Last night, and tonight, and for many nights hence, when I turn to my journal to list the 5 things I am grateful for from the day, the first on the list is going to be Ibuprofin (with Tylenol thrown in for good measure, despite the butternut squash).

Dominoes

Saturday...Judy...click

Sunday...John (again--he must not have really had this the first time around)...clack

Monday...Matthew...thud

That's everyone. Please God, spare us from a re-run.