Naming. A Favorite Thing.

Recently, a blogger Mommy likes to read had a little post about naming babies. And this is one of Mommies favorite topics. Favorite. In college, she named the couch, a sleeping bag, and a several vehicles with her best friends. The naming obsession is a sickness that has been constructively channeled into naming children. Mommy's eagerness can overwhelm Daddy at times in this department so maybe the sickness is alive and well? Without further ado, we share the name stories.

Miriam Joy

When you're pregnant for the first time and you open up the Billion Baby Names book it's a little bit MUCH. Where to begin? Luckily, Sarah's aunt emailed a list of her favorite Biblical names. She prefaced the email with something like, "Here are the names I always liked but never got to use. I won't be offended at all if you don't use them." Thus narrowing down the list from a Billion to about ten. Whew. Miriam was plucked from the email with little debate; we both liked it. That middle name, however, went round and round. Mommy wanted Violet. Daddy was fine with that. Everyone else frowned when they heard it. After chewing on it awhile, we decided on Joy. Daddy suggested it because he always liked the saying, "Live a life of JOY. Jesus, Others, and Yourself." The crowds were delighted. It's pretty and relatively unique, Biblical and perfect for our little Squeaker. And if she were a boy: Jacob Paul...which is now ridiculously popular and we're probably not touching it with a ten foot pole.

Vivian Therese

Mommy really, really wanted Violet. Daddy wasn't very comfortable with it. And the crowds were frowning again. In the middle of the name debate, we had a dinner party and a priest friend was there. We asked what he would name a baby if he were ever given the chance. "Therese," he answer without hesitation. "As in the Little Flower." So Therese entered the running. Vivian became the "compromise" name. Both Mommy and Daddy liked it, wasn't very common, sounded nice with Therese, and the meaning: Full of Life was lovely. Full of Life is exactly what she is, too! Her name would have been Elijah Paul if she'd been a he...but now that one is climbing the ranks and we know TWO baby Eli's! So probably not picking that one up again either.

Felicity Grace

Mommy wanted to get to work naming baby #3 the moment we found out we were expecting. Daddy, however, begged that it wait until around 20 weeks. Why the rush!?!?!? So Mommy made a list of her favorite names, a column for girls and a column for boys, and left it on the kitchen table in case Daddy ever wanted to pick it up and discuss them. Pretty quickly, we came to an agreement about a boy's name. With two girls already, we were probably having a boy this time anyways. Right? So Simon Paul. (And you'll notice the boy's middle name is always Paul. Tim's nephew, Tim's dad, and Tim all share the middle name Paul.) The girl name waited. Mommy wanted Cecilia. BAD. Daddy kept getting hung up on the song. (Can anyone convince him that peers in this generation will not know the song!?!?!?! Please!) Going into the hospital, there was still no girl name. While Mommy labored, Daddy whiled away the hours contemplating names. He was almost sold on Cecilia when the nurse came in. They talked and then she said, "Did you know there's a song called Cecilia?" Straw, meet camel. Cecilia was off the list (for this child, at least). But we could happily agree on Felicity Grace. And a couple hours later, Felicity, not Simon!, was born.

10 Months

Felicity is suddenly BIG. Every time she wakes up from a nap, we check her paws because they're growing! At least, we thought so...and then the lady in Gymboree guessed that she was six months old. Well, okay she's still a small 10 month old. But she is getting bigger!

She had a pretty happy month. The run down:

• Sleeping really well at night by the end of the month
• Took a trip to Canada and only cried horribly for maybe an hour of the billion hour drive
• Naps are improving (longer than 45 minutes most of the time!!!!)
• She plays peek-a-boo with her blankies and the shower curtain
• STANDING. And even takes three or four steps!!
• Loves to watch the dryer and playing in the snow with her sisters
• Can climb onto Vivian's bed (bottom bunk)
• Starting to sit and listen to books
• Feeds herself...it's a meeeeeeeeessssssssssssssss but she REFUSES all food on a spoon from her mother (but will occasionally allow Miriam to spoon feed her)
• Can open cupboard doors and is really into emptying out everything
• Third tooth came in (on top this time)...another will be popping through this week
• Firmly attached to her mother and wants to be held allthetime.

Seriously! Look at those hands! They're huge!

Lessons from the Grocery

Let's preface all this with: Before we even left, I had to explain that under no conditions were our mouths to touch the shopping cart!!! At what age do I get to not say that anymore?

This morning I, Mommy, took the three little babes to the grocery (don't tell Miriam I called her little) because we have another big, ugly winter storm coming and I'm not running out of bread (again). There we were facing the mass of people needing those last few supplies to help them survive the next two-ish days. The parking lot was covered in about two inches of ice and the girls were instructed to hold onto my hands because if we were going down, then we were doing it together!?!?! Brilliant.

Did we move to Canada when I wasn't looking?

When we did get into the store, I started piling everyone into the cart when an older man wanted my attention. "Can you wait here just a minute? My wife and I have something for the children. Please can you wait?" he asked.

Sure, I could wait. He seemed nice and normal enough and we move REALLY slowly as a rule. There's no running into the store for a second with three small children. What's another minute out of the day? His wife hustled in the sliding doors a moment later with a tote bag full of little quilted purses that were machine embroidered with "JESUS LOVES ME". Each of the girls, even Felicity, got to pick one out and the man handed them each a coin as "seed money", while they explained, "God put it on our hearts to make these. We think little children are so special. Do you go to church?"

"Yes," I answered with a sinking feeling. Here we go.

"Oh, we don't. Too many of those churches don't do what they preach."

Insert perfect opportunity for me to invite them to my Church. Nope. I just smiled and sincerely thanked them again for being so kind to my children. More often than not my gaggle of very little people attracts trying-to-be-funny/unkind comments. Anyways, should I just write the Pope and say he can go ahead and count me out on all that New Evangelization stuff? Geez.

Lesson #1: Time to take the course How Not To Be a Wimpy Catholic 101.

And then we got to shop. But instead of reading the list and getting what we need, I behaved as if this were the first time I'd ever been in the grocery with three children. Meandering. Forgetting things and going back down half the aisles at least twice. Asking what they thought we should get. Not like, "Do you want bananas or clementines?" but more along the lines of, "Hummm. Do you girls think we need these cinnamon rolls?" This got to be a ridiculously long trip; Vivian was getting antsy and smashing the egg noodles, Felicity was getting hungry, and I still didn't have everything we came for. But I did get a deal on refried beans.

Lesson #2: Stick to the list for crying out loud! (Learning this for the 1,184,897,321st time.)

And finally as we were leaving, I saw a man pushing a little boy in a cart with no coat, socks, or shoes on. It was perhaps 15 degrees. And for once in my life I didn't judge. Maybe I have finalllllllllly been humbled enough by my children. Who knows? Perhaps this little boy refused those items of clothing and the dad said, "Fine. Be cold." Maybe the dad made a threat he had to follow through on. I've said before that I really have to watch myself. I truly try to follow through when I tell these girls some consequence of their actions. And there have been times I've made threats that I really wish I hadn't because following through was very un-fun.

Lesson #3: Parenting is terribly difficult and I have no room to think unkindly of another comrade in arms.

So there you have it. One post about one grocery trip that we survived no thanks to me. May your next winter storm be endured with a freezer of bread and pantry of Tex-Mex condiments.

Normal (!!!)

This past week was so normal. And that's a new feeling. It hasn't felt less than a pedal-to-the-metal, just-holding-it-all-together since...well at least since before Christmas. Maybe Thanksgiving? Maybe the end of September? Maybe since Felicity's birth last April? Tim's work is still, and probably forever will be, crazy. It's been said before, but this is a good thing. We want him to have lots of work. Keeps us in a cozy warm home with the ability to shop at Costco like we're preparing for the seven year famine. AND speaking of cozy and warm, the weather even warmed up to above the teens. The girls played OUTSIDE!

It's normal because maybe we're finally getting the hang of being outnumbered. Three against two, or more often than not, three against one. Miriam, at four, is suddenly feeling grown up so that's probably something. Wants to only take showers. Wants to walk at the grocery store, not be strapped in next to her sister. Wants to be the one to feed Felicity. Wants to put away her own clean clothes pile and sort the silverware out of the dishwasher. It's all helpful and full of more milestones we didn't see coming. When will we stop being the parents wearing blinders who can't see anything but what we're dealing with at this very moment? Probably when we're not explaining that food doesn't go on the floor and please don't attempt to wipe your own bottom and don't eat glue and how did this library book get destroyed by a nine month old and why is there half a roll of toilet paper still on the roll in the toilet? Perhaps our definition of normal is shifting and we've become more comfortable with the funniness of children?

All of this is to say...it was a good week. Mom and Dad even got a date to a brand new brewery nearby with Aunt Nichole and her boyfriend, Joe.

We'll happily take more of this normal. Amen? Amen.

9 Months

Well, well, well. What do we have here? An update about Felicity that is 3 weeks late. But it is happening.

A few things about Felicity that everyone seems to notice: her eyes are so bright and blue! And those a little more closely acquainted: her belly button is such an outie! Felicity has mastered the steps and (pretty much) sleeping through the night.

Daddy and Miriam teach Felicity how it's done.

Missing something? Check her mouth...EVERYTHING's in her mouth (makes her sisters crazy because they have had to learn to keep their toys and drawings away from her). And she has started to stand on her own for a few seconds at a time. This child is determined to do what her sisters do as quickly as possible. 

We forget at times that we are dealing with a baby and not a toddler. This month she also had her first Christmas.

TOWELS!?!?!? Hurray!!

Her older sisters wondered why she didn't get many presents from Santa, but when you're the third little girl in four years you really just don't need much!

On Our Plates: Tangy Meatballs

Super short post. Crockpot cooking, of course and again...we haven't shared in a while and thought you probably missed it. This recipe was super easy. Miriam could pull it off. Three ingredients. Here goes.

Sweet & Tangy Meatballs
36-ish meatballs
16 oz grape jelly
20 oz spicy bbq sauce
Label two freezer bags: Cook on low 2-4 hours. Split ingredients between the two bags, seal, mix, lay flat, freeze.

This could be served as a warm appetizer. We like to eat them with garlic bread and fruit. Rice is sometimes suggested, too. The girls GOBBLE it up. Tim adds hot sauce to his portion. Do whatever makes your mouth feel best...and if you are where we are, stay warm!

7 Quick Takes - Take 4

We're so behind on getting everything on the ol' blog. Giving it to you fast and linking up with Conversion Diary again.

1. Best Parenting Moment of the Year already occurred in our house. So who knows what that means about how the rest of the year will go...anyways, with Pepa's death, we have been talking about heaven a lot. A LOT. And it doesn't exactly make complete sense to our girls. Hence, the conversation:

Miriam: Mom, are there houses in heaven?
Mom: Yes, God made everyone a house in heaven. (He did. It's in the Bible.)
Vivian: I am going to have a big house. But I want it to be right next to sister's house.
Miriam: Yeah, Vivi and I will have our houses right next to each other in heaven.

We are not failing as parents after all.

2. And on that high note...a confession: our Christmas decorations are still up. Maybe this weekend we'll get them down?

Aunt Sue knows we're a mess. Or she's sleeping through this post.
 
3. We went to CANADA for a weekend! Tim pointed out many times during the trip that it was like going to Georgia or Northern Florida for a weekend. Only in the wrong direction. We went for Aunt Annette's bridal shower and got to surprise her! It was so fun to see her life in Ottawa with Tom...his seminary, her house, their friends, the famous sites of the city. 

We also experienced the Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian Catholic version of the Mass) as well as their annual water blessing to celebrate Christ's baptism. It was an especially awesome weekend to visit because this is the one time of year their church community gathers at the Museum of Civilization in Quebec. The first (we think) Ukrainian Catholic church (about the size of a chapel) was moved from western Canada to inside the museum! And each year Divine Liturgy is celebrated inside this old, tiny church in the museum on the feast of Christ's baptism (celebrated later than in the Roman Catholic Church).

That water blessing was outdoors after the liturgy and is about an hour long. In the crazy Canadian snow/cold. The big girls didn't mind too much - they spent the whole time playing in the snow.

More notable times from the trip: Bridget was of age to drink in the Great White North!

And if you're ever in Ottawa, go to The Works. Drink out of measuring cups, eat poutine, and marvel at the creativity of their burger selections.

4. Mommy joined Instagram. Because she obviously needed another social media blackhole in her life. Enjoy. @sashaandall awaits your admiration.

5. We're doing alphabet theme weeks. If you follow Pinterest, you've already guessed that. (However, looking at the boards it seems Mommy is pretty terrible at pinning the activities...paper and pencil scheduling still rules.) A Week. Lots of fun crafts about ants, aunts, apples, angles, angels, airplanes, etc. Favorite was our handprint angels which we took to Pepa in the hospital. A triangle for the angel body (talked about angles). Circle for the head (no angles!). Their closed handprints were the wings. Pipe cleaner halo.

6. B Week. Bees, bunnies, bears, buttons, etc. Favorite activity: writing their own little books! Storylines centered around Daniel Tiger, Dora, and Felicity...apparently those are a few of their favorite things. These little books were super simple: cut a few pages of paper in half (three is plenty, really) so that you have a pile of 8.5"x5.5" papers. Cut down a piece of fancy scrapbook paper to the same dimensions for the cover. Fold the cover around a few pages. Staple to secure. Ta. Da. While we were on the subject of books, Mommy also explained the basic parts of a book (author, illustrator, cover, title, etc.)

7. C Week. That's this week and we're talking about caterpillars, cows, cats, candy, cupcakes, cookies, cake, cars. Clearly this week is destined to be amazing with all those sweets. This cupcake activity was a HIT. When Vivian saw the shaving cream her eyes lit up and they were at their mess making best.

Whew! You made it! Happy weekend!!