Healthy Appetite Boy
Ate the entire 4 oz jar of sweet potatoes Saturday night. Ummm yummm. He probably would have downed the entire jar of butternut squash when we tried it last Monday, but I was a little bit afraid I'd find out he was allergic later. Actually, he was just ready for milk later. I guess you just have to feed a growing boy!
- posted by Lenise @ 8:20 PM |

 
Thursday Cars!!!
1) What is the strangest car you have ever owned?
I suppose the 1979 T-Bird my daddy bought for me in 1992 would be the most striking. That was a beautiful car! At least I thought so. It had quite the reputation around campus. My guy friends were always coming up with mocking names for my beloved Bird: the Thunderduck, the SS Graber Bash-our-way-to-glory Battletank, the Thunderloon. Anyway, my suitemates and I had our senior photo done with the Bird. I'll have to scan that one in for y'all!

2) What is the worst car you ever owned?
Seeing as it might retaliate, I'm not sure I can answer that question honestly. The only car that tried to kill me while I was driving it, though, was my very cute, kinda fancy '85 Cougar. It would accelerate all by itself, to the extent that I burned out one pair of brakes stopping it. Dad advised me to just turn it off the next time, so I did that quite a few times. Other than that and the steering, she was a great car- all kinds of toys. I just couldn't deal with her murderous side. *Sigh*

3) How many wrecks have you been in?
Apart from backing into another car in a parking lot here and there, I haven't had any accidents behind the wheel. I was with my mom when someone pulled into the rear fender of our '76 Buick Century. Does that count?

4) SPECIAL BONUS QUESTION! Recall for us your most memorable drive-in experience.
Well, I have a friend who drove into a Burger King- his Escort got the worse end of the deal. I wasn't there, though.
- posted by Lenise @ 9:44 AM |

 
Familiar Dilemma, Unfamiliar Solution
OK, motherhood is stressful. And, yes, having to work even 24 hour weeks on top of it makes it even more trying. I do sympathize with the women in this article, and I am very blessed to have a job I can do with only 3 mornings away from home per week and a husband who can arrange his schedule around babysitting during my in-office work hours. We are blessed that we can make ends meet with my only working part-time (I think we can, anyway...). But we do not have new cars, we don't have a fashionable new house, we don't buy into the keeping up with the Joneses. We don't buy things we can't afford (anymore), and we waited until we had erased our credit card debts to have a baby. If the other cars I see on the road and all the statistics I read are any indication, we are really atypical in our lifestyle.

People are so reluctant to take responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make these days. One of the biggest personal disasters is divorce. Talk about a huge drain on your finances! And people say, "well- I'm a single mom; I have to work full-time". But so many divorces go through without a concerted effort by the couple to mend the relationship. Christians ought to have an advantage here, but we don't, according to the statistics, and I think it comes down to two things: our churches are failing us by condoning or ignoring divorces which shouldn't be happening (and neglecting to prepare us to work through the rough spots), and we are failing ourselves by ignoring God's word in favor of what society tells us is acceptable.

Parenthood should be stressful, to some extent- none of us has all the answers, and we want to do right by our children. I don't think this is new or likely to ever disappear from the parenting horizon. We don't do ourselves any favors by trying to read every book ever written or competing with other families. To end this rambling, if not exactly to sum it up, I'm not sure there's any good reason for parenting to be any more difficult now than it used to be, just bigger appetites and more thoroughly broken lives (largely as a result?).
- posted by Lenise @ 11:00 PM |

 
A Saint
So why am I not surprised that the liberal elements within the Roman Catholic Church are taking potshots at Pope John Paul II? It's so sad that they're running him down for trying to share the full Gospel with the world, not just the Zeitgeist-approved pieces. The one true faith is not always a pretty sight- God's Word exposes our sin, and as is beautifully expressed in the article, suffering is part and parcel of the narrative. No pain, no gain is not just true in the world of sports; but the Truth is the kindest cut.
- posted by Lenise @ 10:48 PM |

 
And now, a word from the youngun
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- posted by Lenise @ 9:17 PM |

 
Kissing Contest
Today I discovered that baby Jay is not simply looking for something to suck on when he slathers my cheek with baby saliva. He was returning my kisses one for one. It could have gone on forever- I feel certain we made it to round twenty this evening on the changing table in front of the mirror. Too bad I've come down with the bubonic plague- yes, I did get a flu shot for the first time this year. Compared to me, Paul and Jay are healthy (thankfully). The boy has been sleeping a lot during the day. Maybe that explains his resilience.
- posted by Lenise @ 9:17 PM |

 
Thursday Thr... One
I should be in bed, but I couldn't resist this one, so as long as we're playing fast and loose with the numbers:

9. What do you and your Valentine find romantic that others wouldn't?

Answer: Alan Keyes

I'm not sure whether I should explain or just leave it to the imagination (though considering how imaginative some of my readers are, I'm a little afraid).
- posted by Lenise @ 11:03 PM |

 

A hand is a powerful thing, and deserves respect.
Posted by Hello
- posted by Lenise @ 11:00 PM |

 

Things are looking up again
Posted by Hello
- posted by Lenise @ 10:59 PM |

 

They say that spitting up is ha-ard to do..
Posted by Hello
- posted by Lenise @ 10:58 PM |

 
Stench
Well, we finally got our new gas pack. The house smells wretched. Baby Jay and I have spent lots of time outdoors today, and we all went out for dinner. I'm not queasy, headachy, or sore-throated anymore. My arthritis notwithstanding, I always used to have a strong constitution; I am sure motherhood has changed me, but I don't know how much is physical and how much is mental...
- posted by Lenise @ 9:03 PM |

 
Scooter
Jay's learning a lot about controlling his movements. When he rolls these days, it seems to be intentional. Last week, Paul left him on the bed with me, but a couple of feet away, on his back. First he rolled over, and before long he had scooted as far as he could towards me, with his head against my leg. He pushes his head and shoulders with his legs, most of his trunk in the air. I guess we're going to have to start vaccuuming on a regular basis and let him travel on his own before long.
- posted by Lenise @ 4:58 PM |

 
So I'm a Bad Mama
But I couldn't wait to see how he'd do with the rice cereal. The AAP says they should be fed exclusively breastmilk for the first six months, but after all, my baby is as big as most 6-month-olds. Anyway, he was ready to eat again within about an hour, so I didn't deprive him of much milk.

Jay is still learning that his hands don't help very much with his eating. Tonight, they actually were of some use, since they were positioned to catch the cereal as it drizzled over his lower lip. He then sucked it off the little fisties. There were a few spoonsful which seemed to go down the first time, and Jay was fairly eager to get the second pass chin-scrapings down. Then there were the hand/loaded spoon collisions which nearly resulted in a pair of cereal-encrusted eyes.

Anyway, he did quite well and was very talkative afterwards when I was changing his diaper. Maybe we'll try again tonight!
- posted by Lenise @ 9:00 PM |

 

What rice cereal?
Posted by Hello
- posted by Lenise @ 8:58 PM |

 

And why don't you warn me before it flashes so I can close my eyes?
Posted by Hello
- posted by Lenise @ 8:58 PM |

 

But what is that bright light?
Posted by Hello
- posted by Lenise @ 8:57 PM |

 

Hey, this chair is kind of cool!
Posted by Hello
- posted by Lenise @ 8:56 PM |

 
Just What We Needed
Yesterday, somebody from a local HVAC company came by and offered to do a free heating system check. You already know where this is going, don't you? Yes, it turns out we have a "cracked sail" (and Mom B, I don't actually know what that means) and he was required by law to disconnect our gas. Thankfully, it was a beautifully warm day yesterday, and I had a fever on top of it, so I didn't personally start feeling the cold until I got up this morning around 7:45. But as one who hated the fact that my parents would keep the thermostat at 68F, the under 65F temperatures were getting to me. So they say they can install our new unit Monday- probably. Guess what the low tomorrow night is- 25? Yes, how did you know? ;)

So Paul turned the gas back on. Pray that we don't explode...

- posted by Lenise @ 4:43 PM |

 
Staying home
Even though I'm supposed to go in today. I told my co-workers (via e-mail) that my throat feels like the US women's Olympic soccer team ran down it. Really, any large number of cleated people would work for my analogy. I hope Jay didn't/doesn't get to feeling like this. Need more baby Tylenol!!!

- posted by Lenise @ 8:19 AM |

 
The Joys of Motherhood
No one ever told me I'd get to wipe baby snot off my, uh, milk outlets!

- posted by Lenise @ 4:39 PM |

 
Interesting Take on Marriage
In the Catholic church. Apparently a divorced and remarried Catholic can only commune if he/she is abstinent. It sounds wacky, but it certainly takes marriage seriously. The PCA is a lot better on the subject of divorce than the ELCA, which basically says, "Hey, if you're ok with it, we're ok with it." Not a very Biblical attitude.

- posted by Lenise @ 9:24 AM |

 
This Classical Weekend
So we bought Jay a convertible infant/toddler/youth car seat Friday night. It was the only one it looked like I might be able to operate on my own. Hopefully, we were right that I can- I haven't had to yet. Saturday we met the whole Classical Life bunch: Kate and her folks at a mall in Durham. Had some yummy Dairy Queen food, stared at each other's babies, etc. Kristen demonstrated her sling, since I hadn't gotten a chance to try out the one she mailed me last week. It's a good thing, too, because Jay finally came down with Paul's cold last night (I hope we maintained enough distance as not to infect the Stewarts!) and couldn't be left in the nursery this morning, which meant that either he and I would have to stay home, or we would need to lug him around church for 5 (?) hours- no infant car seat to plop him in, you know, and after Sunday school and worship (with Communion), we had choir lunch & choir rehearsal. Anyway, the sling got a workout today. Thank you, Kristen!!

- posted by Lenise @ 7:54 PM |

 
Growing nicely
Jay is 17 lbs, 13 oz and is 26.25 inches long. This puts him at the 85th and 80th percentiles, respectively. It also makes him about .25 in too long for his car seat, which has a weight limit of 22 lbs. It is apparently built for very short, chubby babies.

- posted by Lenise @ 1:52 PM |

 
In case you're wondering
Jay doesn't smile all the time. It just makes for a good picture!

- posted by Lenise @ 4:09 PM |

 

Playing with my fire truck
Posted by Hello
- posted by Lenise @ 1:52 PM |

 

For my adoring fans
Posted by Hello
- posted by Lenise @ 1:51 PM |

 

Visiting with Aunt Cathy
Posted by Hello
- posted by Lenise @ 1:51 PM |

 

Good times with Daddy among the books
Posted by Hello
- posted by Lenise @ 1:49 PM |

 
Like Father...
We were at church last night, Jay and I, hanging out in the music director's office, just the two of us. We were sitting in a comfy armchair right by her practice keyboard. After checking out the decor, Jay decided what he wanted to do- he reached out for the familiar array of black and white. Well, you can't fight genetics, so I turned it on and let him play.

- posted by Lenise @ 10:38 PM |