Seven Quick Takes: Friday, February 27--Around the House

The quiet beauty of the morning before the kids were up. I love tulips.

 1) This week I have resolved myself to February and a lingering winter. We have been mostly at home because we have not really had any place we had to go. I have been tackling projects that I meant to do last February, like put curtain ties on the bedroom windows (instead of clothes pins) and getting some extra wall decor up. I have also been taking on some chores that I usually neglect because of the effort and time they take. And my nesting has led me to do things like order baby diaper covers and make a registry of things this baby is going to need. So, these quick takes are mostly about the house.

2) I had a little date with my double oven and Norwex cleaning products. I could not get every spot, but it is much better and shiny:

I then took on the rest of the kitchen deep cleaning. I think I need to work this into my weekly schedule, like doing one kitchen chore a week so that I don't put it off for six months and then wear myself out in a week trying to get it all done.

3) My father's father was a photographer, and last winter I spent an evening with two of my aunts going through photographs and taking my favorites home. I have been meaning to hang them for awhile. We don't have a lot of common area wall space (that is not in the play room), so we only put two things up for now.

 The first is a picture of an old man reading in a really nice room. If you want to see the photograph well, you are going to have to come over and see it yourself.

The second is a series of photographs of a house that seemed inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. It is probably near Los Angelos somewhere since that is where my grandfather got his art degree. We are really enjoying having some original and good art on our walls, and I like that it is done by my grandfather.

4) L asked for a painting of her name patron saint for Christmas to hang in her room with her name cross stitch (made by her aunt). G was given a Romanian style painted glass icon of her name patron saint at birth, and it has been hanging with her cross stitch for years. For L, we found a poster print of a painting, and finally hung in her room the other week. With the plan for the bunk bed, we decided to put all four framed items on one wall. I think it turned out really well, but you will have to come see it for yourself.

5) To add to Lent for the children (in addition to our Lent wreath and stational churches) we decided to do a bean jar for charitable deeds and a crown of thorns for sacrificial deeds. Since they are all below the age of reason, we have to remind them of it and tell them when they have done something worthy of it. They also look nice.

A certain girl likes to have her saint statue "talking" to Jesus or Our Lady.

6) The girls and I planted some basil seeds this week. It is supposed to be ready to harvest in 60-90 days which will put us in April. My thought is that we could transplant the basil to the garden after the last frost, and then start another set indoors to have for next fall and winter. Gardeners, does it matter how old basil is when you plant it outside?

The basil pots are covered in plastic until the seeds sprout.

Our mini rose bush and parsley are thriving. We have been using the parsley on various dishes, and it is acting the same as our parsley did last summer. The more you use it, the thicker it grows.

7) I will leave you with a few gems from the girls:

G (almost 6) at the end of quiet time the other day: "I was just finishing up my prayer time. It took me longer than normal today. I said a Hail Mary, an Our Father, a St. Michael, and then made up some prayers to Jesus."

L (4), when I brought her toys into her quiet time (after her "sleeping time"): "I was singing about when I should get my toys. I was also singing Jesus songs. I sang a song to the monsters about how Jesus died on the cross so that we could go to Heaven."
Me: "What did the monsters think of that?"
L: "I don't know. They did not say."

F (2) all the time: "I have to go potty. No, I don't have to go."

Linking up with Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum.

This Season in Girls: Winter 2015

 I realize that I should do these more often, but I guess that is part of the season of life. I also am neglecting to photograph my children. I should get the camera out once a week, probably, even if we are just at home.

My only photo of all three since the New Year... L, G, and F

G: You are turning six next month, and are thrilled to tell everyone about the Ides of March. You are more and more capable everyday and can even put a pair of tights on alone (trust me, this is an impressive feat). You are finally happy to do reading with me now that we have finished our 100 "EASY" lessons, and have moved on to library readers. We finished a rag doll together that we made with our Little Flowers group, and I think that you really like having a doll that you made. You ask probing questions, like "What happens to someone's guardian angel who goes to Hell?" and what song lyrics mean. You try so hard to be helpful, even if your impatience to play instead sometimes gets the best of you. I felt like a real grown up when you lost your first tooth, and you have been waiting so patiently for the current loose one to fall out. You are growing into a sweet and intelligent girl, and I look forward to seeing you grow more!

L: Let's just say that four years of age is interesting. Mood swings seem to be a key part of it, but generally you are happy and playing nicely. You and G like to play Legos in your room for long stretches of time (without your little sister), but then other times you and F play happily together doing who knows what while G and I work on school. I think that you are content to be the middle child, taking joy in and loving both of your sisters. You are by far the most interested in the new baby, happy to talk to my belly and sing little songs. Pre-school "work" is not your thing these days, but you are full of imaginative pre-school play. You opted to write out all of your valentines rather than trace letters like you used to. You ask to wear a bun most days and look very cute in it. You would rather not take out toys at all then have to clean them up at the end of the day.

F: Oh, age two. Your potty training seems to have taken, though accidents are not a thing of the past. So, we use two diapers a day (nap and bedtime), and that is about it. You love your baby dolls these days and just about anything you can push around in your stroller as you fluctuate between screaming to be with me and playing happily without me. You surprise me with such grown up sounding phrases like, "Oh, I see!" And strongly dislike when we cannot understand what you are trying to say. You still love your crib and have not attempted to get out of it during nap time or bedtime, which means the transition to the toddler bed will wait. You love listening to music and request your favorite songs whenever you think of it, and then you sing along. You draw a lot of phrases from lyrics like when you said that G was wearing her "stars in the sky" shirt. It has been nice to discover that a lot of two year old traits are actually just "two year old things" and not "being supplanted by the new baby things." I wonder what the new baby things will be...

Ash Wednesday: A Little T.S. Eliot for You

Ash Wednesday

by T.S. Eloit

Because I do not hope to turn again

Because I do not hope

Because I do not hope to turn

Desiring this man's gift and that man's scope

I no longer strive to strive towards such things

(Why should the aged eagle stretch its wings?)

Why should I mourn

The vanished power of the usual reign?

Because I do not hope to know again

The infirm glory of the positive hour

Because I do not think

Because I know I shall not know

The one veritable transitory power

Because I cannot drink

There, where trees flower, and springs flow, for there is nothing again

Because I know that time is always time

And place is always and only place

And what is actual is actual only for one time

And only for one place

I rejoice that things are as they are and

I renounce the blessed face

And renounce the voice

Because I cannot hope to turn again

Consequently I rejoice, having to construct something

Upon which to rejoice

And pray to God to have mercy upon us

And pray that I may forget

These matters that with myself I too much discuss

Too much explain

Because I do not hope to turn again

Let these words answer

For what is done, not to be done again

May the judgement not be too heavy upon us

Because these wings are no longer wings to fly

But merely vans to beat the air

The air which is now thoroughly small and dry

Smaller and dryer than the will

Teach us to care and not to care

Teach us to sit still.

Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death

Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

You can read the rest here or in a book.