Paul hears the sound of a large truck coming from outside. He rushes to the front door to check it out.
He comes back to the living room at full speed, obviously to transmit a life-and-death message. "It's a trash truck!"
Wildly careening, Paul hurries back to the door, not to miss a minute of this important event. Suddenly, he runs back to me. Panting, he gasps, "It's green!"
An unfortunate combination of pinkeye and very rainy weather has kept us housebound for the week, necessitating the creation of new forms of entertainment to prevent the natives from getting too restless. So we attempted a few crafts beyond coloring. Maybe not my best idea.
The pumpkin painting went fairly well. Then we put the pumpkins outside to dry. That night the rain began. We used washable paint - for obvious reasons. Sadly, Paul's artist work has been lost for posterity.
The next day we decided to make a "leaf wreath" by gluing leaves onto a cardboard frame. The glue didn't work so well so I pulled out the stapler to help us out a bit. The stapler proved to possess an irresistible fascination for Lucy. While I attempted to keep it out of her reach (as well as the glue bottle which also looked pretty good), Paul caved to his irresistible temptation to touch the scissors...
And use them. In a failed attempt to "snip" at Lucy's foot. Luckily, Paul's eye-hand coordination is poor. Lucy escaped with just a minor scrape on her foot. My couch has a slightly larger scrape, i.e. hole, in it.
We finally hit pay dirt with our last craft - making a huge bishop's miter for Paul. It required only paper, tin foil, and duct tape. I really like duct tape. Safe, effective, cheap. Future crafts will be limited to projects that can be completed with duct tape.
Rudy continues to employ a suspended priest who has been accused of molesting teen boys. The grand jury in the case found sufficient evidence to indict the priest, but could not go forward because the statute of limitations was expired.
Here's an inspiring article on the joy of motherhood by one of my favorite bloggers, Rachel Swenson Balducci, over at Testosterhome (as the name of her blog implies, she's the mother of 5 boys). Moms, check out the article for a little lift. Everyone else, check out the blog if you are every in need of a laugh, information on Chuck Norris, or new ideas for extreme sports activities.
*Footnote: Smiling and drooling like it's her job, Lucy has been playing peek-a-boo with me using the door of the computer cabinent as I wrote this post. Anyone who doubts the joy of motherhood has obviously never played computer peek-a-boo.
"Hip Hop" Lucy
and my personal favorite...
"Work Out" Lucy
Some of my current musings on the Republican presidential primary...
1. Catholics Against Rudy now has a petition up on their site that you can sign here. I have already signed it and strongly encourage everyone to do so as well. Both as Catholic and as a socially conservative Republican, I think it is extremely important that we work diligently in the primary to prevent Guiliani from getting the Republican presidential nomination.
2.If Guiliani gets the Republican nomination (God forbid), I'm thinking maybe Ron Paul could be a good third party option. Here's an interesting article, Theology, Not Politics, by Ron Paul on JP II's legacy. While I certainly don't agree with him on everything, he is very supportive of life issues personally and would be excellent on all our life issues at the federal level. Plus, he already has a enthusiastic (to put it mildly) base, a campaign organization up and operating, and a decent amount of money. He attracts other sectors of the electorate besides pro-lifers - libertarians and anti-war activists - that could help him actually get a double digit percentage of the vote in the general election. If I am forced to vote third party in the next presidential election, I want to send the strongest message possible to the Republican Party that pro-choice candidates are unacceptable, and more importantly to the RNC, are losers. I think the best way to do this is to amass the most votes possible in a third party pro-life candidate.
3. Still, the best thing to do now is work to prevent Rudy's nomination. So go sign the petition.
4. I'm taking down the "Run, Fred, Run" link on the sidebar. I don't want to give the impression that I'm solidly in Thompson's camp - though I did want him to enter the race. However, I've been disappointed with Thomas' campaign thus far. He seems unenthusiastic about life issues (as documented here and here), unorganized, and too flippant. For someone whose major qualification for President is his communication skills, they have been lacking thus far. Plus, I think Hillary would take him to the cleaners in a general election. The Clintons do one thing well - win campaigns. They are hard-hitting, hard-working, take-no-prisoners campaigners. I think they would bulldoze right over Thompson. He simply can't run the kind of campaign someone needs to run against the Clintons. Still, I'm not ruling out supporting him. I would certainly support him if he turns out to be our best option to avoid a Rudy nomination.
5. Not sure who I really want to get behind. Huckabee seems to be doing a bit better after some dismal fundraising figures. Lots of things I like about him, some I don't. But he seems to have the Clintons' ability to deliver real sucker punches while coming out smelling like a peach. Mitt Romney has been growing on me considerably, though. He is a hard-working, serious campaigner who has a solid life record since his infamous switch. And he has actually competently and successfully been an executive outside government which I find very attractive.
6. I find myself entering the new "security mom" voting block they talk about these days - something I never thought would be. I tended to be in the "those who give up freedom for security deserve neither" crowd. Things change. While life issues are still of utmost importance to me, security is becoming more and more essential. I have children now. I live a mile from the Pentagon. My husband works a block from the U.S. Capital. I can't help but fear a terrorist attack. As much as I like Thompson, his folksy talk doesn't make me feel secure. While I have not completely sorted out exactly what kind of national security policy is the best, I have a strong desire to have someone in charge who is serious, competent, and 100% committed to working hard as President. I get this vibe from Romney, not Thompson.
"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. " - Mother Teresa
Paul begins to complain that his plastic lion is too dirty and needs cleaned. A busy Momma absently tells Paul that the lion can take a bath with him later. As Momma continues with her work and Paul walks away, she hears him muttering to himself:
"Hold on. I have a water fountain."
Never good words to hear from a 2 year old boy.
I'm not much of an online quiz person, but this one my friend Christine at Good Company posted was a bit intriguing to me. Probably because Andrew and I were watching Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader a few days ago, and the reality of the contestants' stupidity on the show never fails to amaze me.
Anyway, this quiz tests you knowledge against high school seniors. A bit tougher. But check it out and see if you really deserved that high school diploma. And give me back some of my faith in the American public.
85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!
Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Create a Quiz
Check out this way-too-cute post with pics of Lucy and her sometime suitor, Gregory. Lucy's Daddy is very proud of her.
When I first saw the title of today's column by David Brooks in the New York Times on Rod Dreher's Crunchy Con blog, I thought it was referring to the young parenting years. You know, the ones when you are figuring out which minivan to buy and end up deciding on a Honda Odyssey because it is so reliable. (Guess what kind of research I've been doing lately?)
After a few sentences, I realized I was just a wee bit off. Brooks is describing a new phase in American life which he terms the odyssey years, the decade of wandering that frequently occurs between adolescence and adulthood. Sorta the very opposite of my initial reaction. I found it a bit ironic.
In the comment box on the article over at Crunchy Con, one poster pinpointed some of the major causes for the new odyssey years:
1. Economics. It's near impossible to get out of high school, get a job, and start a family in much of America. It's very hard to do the same with even a college degree. I'm sure there are people here who live in rural America or some place where you can raise a family on an entry-level salary but in any metropolitan area the cost of living is such that settling down in your early 20's is near impossible. And, I'm not talking about living large with expensive cars and such, I'm talking about simple living. Not saying you can't do it, and God bless those who do, but it's tough.
2. Empire of Self. Ours is a society that has devalued marriage to such an extent that the concept of marriage is very far off the radar of most 20-somethings, and many 30-somethings for that matter. Combine that with a contraceptive mentality where kids are to be avoided or seen as a negative outcome, then raising a family can be avoided all together. Men, who have a ready audience of contracepting women, can fulfill their needs without having to think about marriage or being a father. Finally, even when children are welcome, it's a common argument that kids will come once a series of self-seeking activities [education, career, hiking in Nepal] have come first. I'm not sure that mentality existed 50 or 100 years ago. Mind you, there are often very, very valid reasons for waiting to have kids, but many people, given the choice, choose not to. In the end, that's their decision, but this plays a huge roll in the Odyssey years.
3. Lack of faith. I bet almost every person here heard their parents, and for sure their grandparents tell stories of embarking on some life adventure, or just doing the normal things like having kids and saying, "Oh well, we were young and dumb and knew God would take care of us." And they REALLY believed it. Not so sure this is a common attitude today. People are very calculated today, some to a fault. Economics, as mentioned earlier, is a big driver for this. But at some point one must take leaps of faith that only God can provide answers and solutions. Absent faith in the providence of God, life becomes a big chess match where you're constantly weighing every opportunity and risk until you're paralyzed, and living at home with Mom and Dad at 30.
So I know I may come across a little OCD, but the Christmas shopping has begun. I am really striving to get organized this year because I'm going to be very, very pregnant come December and definitely don't want to have to participate in or even witness the unsavory side of December Christmas shopping (you know, shouting at folks in the mall parking garage, fighting over the last Tickle Me Elmo in the store, choosing between Hanukkah or Kwanzaa inspired wrapping paper, the list goes on...).
* A Catholic mom of six shares her story of taking RU-486 during a miscarriage. Poignant, heartbreaking, and beautiful, this woman's experience makes one really wonder why our society thinks something like this could ever be in the best interest of a lonely, confused teenage girl. (HT: Et Tu?)
* Great post over at And Sometimes Tea on the possibility of a real third party candidate in the next presidential election if Rudy wins the Republican nomination. You have to check out that hysterical (and sadly true) descriptions of the two major political parties! And she totally hits the nail on the head on this issue.
Paul must have sensed that today is the Feast of St. Francis. Here's a little snippet from our conversation at the park today.
Paul, swinging vigorously, looks at the tree in front of the swing set: "Apples in tree!"
Momma: "No, Paul. There are no apples in that tree."
Paul, emphatically: "Maybe!"
Momma: "No, Paul. That is not an apple tree. It is a maple tree."
Paul seems to accept reality: "Maple tree."
Momma: "Yes, Paul, there are lots of different kinds of trees."
Paul ponders this new information for a few minutes. He responds: "Like flowers."
Momma: "Yes, Paul, there are lots of different kinds of flowers and lots of different kinds of trees. Jesus made them all. Jesus made them for Paul."
Paul smiles: "Thank you very much, Jesus."
Ron Paul raised five times more than Mike Huckabee in the latest fundraising numbers out of the Republican presidential primary! In fact, he raised almost as much as McCain and probably has actually more cash on hand than McCain.
Crazy. Putting aside the sad fact that it looks like it's over for Huckabee, I certainly was not expecting this kind of strength out of the Ron Paul campaign. I like Ron Paul for his ideological consistency, commitment to small government, and real pro-life chops, but never thought he had one chance in a million of winning the Republican nomination. Still don't. But if he continues to show this kind of strength, I would bet real money he'll run third party in the general election if Rudy would win the nomination. Now that would be really interesting.
I happened upon this examen on poverty from Fr. Thomas Dubay's book Happy Are You Poor over at the blog, Civilization of Love. I have not read the book yet, but have found the examen extremely helpful and thought-provoking, especially as Andrew and I continue to work together on our family finances. I have discovered that I often become just as or even more attached to material realities when they are lacking as when they are in abundance. Instead of focusing on being more frugal with money, I think it's time for me to approach finances from a deeper spiritual perspective - more focus on living a life of simplicity and spiritual poverty and less on paying of law school debt or growing the savings account. Not that paying off your debts and having a savings account aren't very good things; they definitely are. But I'm seeing more and more clearly that the issue lies deeper than just our family account book. My motivations need to be purified.
