Second Sunday after Pascha - Thomas Sunday

Hello everyone, and happy continuation of the Pascha season! 😎 I hope that you had a lovely week and are enjoying this special time of year! 

For our part, we enjoyed the week following Pascha which is called Bright Week, and our move into the season of Paschaltide. The first of these themed Sundays following Pascha is Thomas Sunday, and we were off to Divine Liturgy as usual. As you might imagine given the title, the Gospel on this particular Sunday focused on Jesus appearing to the disciples, and Thomas asking to touch the wound in His side. Once again, the sheets with the Propers for this season would have been absolutely CLUTCH, but were all spoken for by the time we arrived. 😂 I'm going to break out the book I bought with the Divine Liturgy text in it, and which also includes the Propers as well as other related material. I have been daunted by it and don't yet know how to naviage it and it's ribbons, but I'm going to try! I am very much a gal who loves her missals, and not having access to the Propers is killing me inside. 🤣

After liturgy, we received more blessed bread (which I believe is called the antidoron; this bread is blessed but not consecrated) and we received another blessing with oil on our foreheads. I'm not sure if this is a thing that persists throughout the season of Pascha? Excited to find out. 😎 The blessed bread is quite delicious! It's leavened, as is the bread used at Communion in the Byzantine rite. The faithful consume the antidoron upon receiving it, either as they process back to their spot or upon arriving there. I watched everyone carefully to made sure I did it right (ha!) as this custom is totally new to me!

I'm slowly making my way with the Byzantine rite, but I'm definitely still learning. :) How was either your Thomas Sunday or Divine Mercy Sunday? I would love to hear about it in the comments!

Pascha - The Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

He is risen! Hello everyone, and happy Easter! We had such a joyful Easter weekend, and I hope that you did as well. This year I wasn't able to get to my usual Triduum liturgies in the Latin rite, though I did pray Stations of the Cross on Good Friday with my friend Irena who was visiting us for the holiday weekend. And rather than the Easter vigil this year, we attended Divine Liturgy on Pascha Sunday in our Byzantine rite parish for the very first time!

🥳

And it was LOVELY. We walked in to prayers ongoing with incense. The sheets with the Propers for the day were already gone and in use when we arrived, so we were a bit like fish out of water with regards to the special verses and other liturgical notes for this solemnity. But I'm used to that in my Byzantine rite journey. 😂 There were LOTS of additional and substituted prayers in the Propers for Pascha, and I also noticed that we stood in a few places that we ordinarily kneel. It was all quite beautiful, but your resident Catholic Librarian likes to follow along in the book where she can. :-)

After communion, Father blessed some Easter bread, and we all were welcomed to take a cube after liturgy, and he also came around and blessed our foreheads with oil. It was sublime. We chatted with everyone out in the gathering space following liturgy, and the sense of community there is so strong. I'm looking forward to seeing what Paschaltide holds for us there as we journey to Pentecost!

For the remainder of the day, we enjoyed much Easter chocolate and ham. 😃 How was your Easter weekend, dear friends?

A beautiful Holy Week, and some unexpected developments in my prayer routine...

Hello all, and HAPPY EASTER! I hope that you had a spectacular Holy Week and Easter Sunday, and that Easter blessings continue to shower your way. For my part, I doubly enjoyed it this year, after missing the liturgies so much last year. I didn't make it to the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, but I made it to both the Good Friday liturgy, and the Easter vigil. It was *so lovely*, and I felt so blessed and grateful to, (a) be there with my kids, and (b) be a part of something so much larger than myself that is so magnificently rich and beautiful. It really struck me anew this year at the Easter Vigil how much I have to be grateful for, and how much I value my faith. 

And I decided to do something new this year. Instead of giving up/resolving to do something for all of Lent, I decided to try and pray both Morning and Evening Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours for the entirety of Holy Week. I mentioned an idea to my sister and a few mutual good friends that we could perhaps pray them together when we could via video chat. We began on the vigil of Palm Sunday, and though here and there 1-2 of us couldn't make some of the sessions, we were able to pray the Hours together a lot during Holy Week, and on the times we couldn't be together, we prayed them individually. It was so uplifting and cheering, and I looked forward each day to seeing the faces of those who could make it, along with any children who came along for the ride. :)

This all worked out so much better than I ever could have expected. I was so inspired by our commitment to this that 6 days into the Easter octave, I'm still praying the Hours. Mostly by myself because evenings were tough for everyone this week, but I've been praying Morning Prayer with my sister pretty much every morning (we're in the same time zone, definitely makes that easier!), and it has given a lift to my days that I haven't felt since the pandemic started. I've also found myself seeking out books about praying the Hours, and commentaries/reflections on the psalms in the Psalter, because my curiosity has been so whetted. I treated myself to this as an Easter gift, and am LOVING IT:

This is all quite unexpected. Although I've long had a love for the Liturgy of the Hours, I've never found a routine for praying them with regularity and consistency. I've picked up the St. Joseph guide each year and prayed here and there when the mood struck, but it sadly hasn't been a daily thing for me. Now I find myself craving more and more information about this form of prayer, and adding in additional Hours when I can (Daytime and Night Prayer). It's so delightful that I'm just going with it, hoping that this means it will really stick this time. I even have the Supplement to the Proper of Saints on it's way, as well as a special supplement for Dominican saints! 🙌

So my Holy Week and first week of Easter have been even more special than usual. I'll likely continue to blog about the Liturgy of the Hours and how that is going, and generally about spiritual topics this Easter season. I'm still planning out what I'd like to focus on here at the blog for Easter season and summer Ordinary Time. Thoughts on what you'd like to see? How was your Easter?! I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

An Easter full of blessings...

My mini-me!

Happy Easter everyone!

🐇

I had my usual exciting Triduum plans this year, with my children along for the ride, and thought I would report in on that! 😃

So, Holy Thursday and Good Friday came round and...neither child wanted to come with me. 😂 I wasn't exactly surprised, and it *is* a lot of church in a 3 day period, so I didn't twist their arms. So I attended those liturgies by myself, and as ever, they are SO WORTH the trip. Holy Thursday is the one that is newest to my repertoire, and it has quickly become a favorite. This year, our pastor created an altar of repose in our new parish center, and we all processed in there at the conclusion of the liturgy behind the Blessed Sacrament. SO LOVELY. And hearing the bells rung during the Gloria, the first time we've heard either since Lent began, never fails to touch me. This liturgy also had very good attendance for our smaller parish!

Good Friday packs a wallop for me every single year. Our parish always holds a 3 pm scripture service with communion, and attending this has become my tradition. The bare altar and absence of the Eucharist makes quite an impression, to be sure. The veneration of the cross makes me tear up every time. And then came the Easter vigil.

Happily, for this liturgy I had 2 captives with me. ;-) Henry volunteered to serve at this mass, and Anne attended for the very first time. I let her bring some coloring along because I knew we would be there for awhile, especially since we had to arrive early in order for Henry to help set up. And it went marvelously.

I find the beginning of this liturgy, the Lucernarium, to be most poignant. After Father started and blessed the fire, and the church became totally dark...I could tell Anne was hooked. She even asked if she could volunteer to serve at this mass when she's old enough to be an altar server! As everyone lit their taper candle and the Exultet was sung, I marveled at this, my favorite liturgical moment of the entire year. I always cry, even I don't know anybody who is entering the Church that year! The darkness, the chanting, the palpable sense of communion with the global Church...it's just magnificent. Anne loved it so much that she didn't want to blow out her candle when it was time for the readings. 😂 She did GREAT. Stayed awake and alert for the duration, though granted our Easter vigil is shorter than most. We didn't have anybody receiving the sacraments this year, plus our pastor chooses less than the 7 possible Old Testament readings, so our mass was just over 90 minutes. The contemporary ensemble did an amazing job with the responsorial Psalms, and the great Alleluia was particularly spectacular.

It's a special liturgy, and I would never miss it. Easter Sunday was relaxing and lovely, and concluded with a delicious family dinner and great fellowship and conversation. Life just doesn't get any better than this. 😊

How was your Easter weekend, friends?

How is your Easter season going?

Morning all! I have a busy work day today filled with meetings (let's all groan together in harmony, shall we?) so this will be somewhat brief, but I still wanted to touch base with everyone. I was listening to Monday Morning Catholic's Triduum episode on my commute in, and thus dwelling on our current place in the Easter octave, that is the eight days we celebrate a monumental feast such as this one...

Easter is a time of new beginnings, it seems that way to me every year. Everything feels fresh and new. The weather (hopefully; we still have some snow here, but the piles are getting smaller every day), new baby birds and animals, the return of flowers and green things, and the liturgy. We're singing the Gloria again, and saying "Alleluia" for the first time in what feels like forever. And fresh from a Lenten visit to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we all feel revived in our spiritual lives. Hopefully. :)

The spiritual life is never predictable, no? I know this very well, as I'm sure you all do too. I did get to Confession this year, but there have been years where I planned to but didn't make it. Or maybe right after visiting the Sacrament, a spiritual struggle ensued over something you thought was long behind you. Or maybe you feel inexplicable spiritual dryness where just days before you felt vibrancy and renewal. It's never an easy thing, to be sure.

This Easter I'm reflecting back on my experiences during the Triduum with much gratitude. I'm so grateful that I was able to, for the first time, attend all of the liturgies. I'm certain there will be years where that does not happen for any number of reasons, but we do what we can. I enjoyed my experiences very much, and I love that I got to share each of them with someone else - Henry, Anne, Mike and my mother-in-law. It was truly beautiful.

Now, though, we're in Easter and I'm thinking: what's next? It's never boring, that's for sure. I'm excited to see what is to come. Anne's birthday is next month, and with her turning 4, and Henry turning 10 later this year, I feel like life has shifted a bit. Oh right, and I'm older too, yes? :0 It's a gentle shift, but there it is. Am I finally a grown up now? ;-) I feel responsible, but I don't always feel like a *grown up*. When I was Henry's age, and saw adults who are mine and Mike's age now, they seemed SO much older than we are, ha! In many ways, besides acquiring (please God!) a bit more wisdom and experience, I don't feel a whole lot different than when I was 20. But I know that I am different. I just don't feel older, if that makes any sense. But I'm happier, and just as excited for whatever lies ahead.

Those are my reflections early this Easter. How about you? As we embark on Easter season, what do you suspect or hope God has in store for you?

Nearly halfway though Lent? We need to discuss Easter basket ideas :)

With the more seasonal air around here (our driveway is showing PAVEMENT, this is *epic*) and the 4th Sunday of Lent approaching, my thoughts have turned to Easter baskets for the kids. I absolutely adore Easter crafts. I do this every year. I start buying all sorts of pastel-hued yarn and ribbon, and crocheting eggs, and all sorts of kooky stuff. And I truly love assembling Easter baskets. The colors and the season just speak to me.

Of course, I buy Easter chocolate. That is a non-negotiable. :) Henry sells it from a local chocolate company as a fundraiser for his school, so we always buy a bunch from there and I use it for their baskets. I also like to craft things, like I mentioned. I've crocheted animals for both kids in the past at Easter, like this chick I made for Anne two years ago:

Pattern is "Cute Chick" by Teri Crews, and is available for free!

This year, she has asked for a penguin. Not exactly a seasonal animal in this part of the world, but hey. Penguins are cute. And she asked for one, so that's what I'm making. She picked out this pattern of a baby Emperor penguin:

Cute, yes? His name is Waddles. :0 This pattern is from a really cute amigurumi collection called Crocheted Softies: 18 Adorable Animals From Around the World:

Doesn't that moose just slay you?! His name is Maple, and I simply *must* make him for myself. But at any rate, one penguin coming up. Also on Anne's list is a pair of shoes from the Payless Frozen collection, she caught a glimpse of an ad they sent yesterday. She's got her eye on the blue slip ons:

Planning an order for later today, since I need summer sandals anyway (hope springs eternal...).

For both kids, I'll get them a book or two, and for Henry a movie, since he's a huge fan of those. He loved Paddington this year, but I don't believe that will be out on DVD prior to Easter, so I'll have to come up with another idea. Henry also loves board games, so one of those is on his list. Some fun Amazon shopping coming my way.

For the crafty ones out there, I have a few other pattern ideas. I knit this lamb for a friend a few years ago:

His name is "Mittens" and this is also a free pattern by Barbara Prime. One of my very favorite knitting pattern books for this time of year is Easter Knits by Arne & Carlos:

Knit Picks has this book packaged as a kit right now with some sport weight yarn in Easter colors, so if you're tempted by such things (welcome to the club! ;-)) go check that out. 

For crocheters, Teri Crews is my very favorite designer of toys, and she has an adorable "Huggable Bunny" pattern for sale. Although I have purchased the pattern, I haven't had a chance to make the bunny yet, but this is the sample:

She also has this available in lovey/blankie form for an infant, so adorable!

So what are your ideas?

The Easter baskets are ready...

...and this little guy is ready to hop in. I crocheted him for Anne's basket, and his pattern is available for free.

At the last minute, I also ordered Magnificat's new stations of the cross book for children, The Way of the Cross. Henry had just asked me to get him a stations of the cross book, so it was fortuitous timing when it showed up on my Facebook feed. I don't know that it will come before Easter, but I'm excited to get it when it does come.

In other news, I'm slowly draining (gosh that sounds gross, sorry about that). My nasal congestion is MUCH better today, although the coughing situation is about the same. My sore abdominal muscle is still quite bad, so I'm hoping that heals soon. I don't have dance this week since we're off while our teacher decorates the new studio and gets it ready, and that timing works out well. I don't want to pull anything that is already in tenuous shape. And certainly, belly dancers use their bellies. :)

Just trying to hang in there, as each day I should be getting better and better...

Another quick plug for My First Pictures of Easter...

My order from Magnificat came yesterday. I ordered it Friday, and it came in well under a week via Priority mail (and I only paid $1 shipping!). The book is BEAUTIFUL! It starts with Palm Sunday and progresses through Holy Week to Easter, each page containing a large picture of the occasion mirrored on the next page by tiny photos with descriptions of some of the important items in the scene. The last page is the Easter vigil, with a photo of the congregation lighting their candles from the big Easter flame outside the church! One of the little photos for that page is "the waters of baptism" and other descriptions of the Easter sacraments. I LOVE it!!

I definitely recommend ordering this for the toddler in your life, and there is still enough time to get a copy before Easter!

Great, now my throat is sore, but some Easter crafting...

*glares*

I was feeling worn out all night long, and that has persisted into the morning. I felt that insidious tickle in my throat as I was getting ready for bed last night, which can't possibly be a good sign. Mike is feeling chilled, achey and miserable. Henry is coughing. Anne didn't sleep for more than an hour or two at a time last night and has a persistently gunky nose.

It's all fun and games at my house right now.

But I did curl up with Anne and watch some of the inaugural Mass last night on EWTN. We saw the pope praying at the tomb of St. Peter and the procession of all the cardinals outside. After the kids were in bed, I peeked back in to see part of the pope's homily. I enjoyed.

I'm hoping that the household recovers quickly, but I have been able to work on my knitting and crocheting in the evenings, and here are a few of my creations.

An Easter shrug that I knit for myself:

And the crab Henry's been wanting, for his Easter basket:

The other things that I've been working on are birthday gifts that I can not as yet reveal, but will at a later date. :)

And here is a cute picture of the kids, because I haven't posted any recent ones in awhile:

From a moment when Henry is actually tolerating Anne.

We're hanging in there.

Distracting myself while we await the conclave...

It was an emotional weekend for me, as I'm sure it was for all of you. I listened to a bunch of podcasts as I went about errands from The Catholic Insider, aka Fr. Roderick (I just adore him). I subscribe to The Break, one of his other shows, and have for some time, but I just discovered The Catholic Insider. And I loved listening to him reporting in right from St. Peter's Square on Thursday, it made me feel like I was there and a part of everything as well. I'm anxiously awaiting more installments as this historic story unfolds.

I'm poring over the newspaper each morning and constantly sticking my nose in my Facebook news feed eagerly awaiting more information, but in the meantime I've been distracting myself with marathon crafting sessions. Easter is approaching, and in case you didn't already know this (snort!), this is my most inspired crafting time of the year. Did you know that March is National Crochet Month? Well. Now you know. :)

Henry and I were at JoAnn's yesterday for their Coupon Commotion to gather some supplies and away I went. I've got a whole horde of secret birthday gifts tucked into my at-home knitting bag that I'm very excited about, photos to be revealed at a later date. I'm also working on stuff for the kids' Easter baskets.

Henry has been asking me to make him a stuffed crab since Christmas, so I'm working on that now for him. Anne is getting a little crocheted chick. I also want to make Anne an Easter sweater, we'll see if that happens or not, time dependent. I also just ordered Anne a set of saint peg dolls from Cam's shop, because she loves hers that I got her for Christmas. She will be getting the Our Lady of Fatima collection complete with all 3 children. I have an Amazon order planned for my next pay period with books for both kids and a movie for Henry.

I have found that I love crocheting toys. I don't mind knitting them as well, but crochet is my absolute favorite for this. The projects are cute, quick and easy. In case we need inspiration, this is the chick that I'm going to be making:

I just love Easter.

BTW, I love this designer's work. This chick is a free pattern on Ravelry and on her blog. She also offers a Thanksgiving turkey, a bluebird, and a puppy for free. I bought her wolf pattern and am eyeing up a teddy bear and a bunny. Her patterns are well written, detailed (with lots of instructions on assembly, something that can be woefully lacking in other amigurumi patterns) and adorable. I've been having a great time with them. When I'm not obsessing about the papacy. You know how that goes.

A very happy Easter

Did you miss me? :)

I'm back at work, and catching up on emails from frantic students with overdue papers. I had to put up a vacation message on my email account since I noticed that I was getting so many while I was off that I didn't want them all to think that that I was snubbing them for waiting so long to write their papers. :)

We're getting there. But I had a very nice time being off. It was our first Easter with Anne and I wanted to enjoy every minute. 8 am found us at morning Mass (on not a whole night of sleep, sigh). Me in a new Easter dress with bright green shrug, Mike in khakis and a button down, Henry reluctantly in nice pants and a non-superhero print shirt, and Anne in a dress so big that anytime she fell while walking you could hear a little:

*poof!*

sound, followed by a collapse of taffeta and crinoline completely encircling her legs. She isn't too wild about wearing dresses. How can this be my daughter?!

The kids were both very good during Mass. Well, Anne had to be extracted at one point, but she was pretty tired. So were we, but we refrained from crying during the liturgy of the Eucharist. After Mass, we had breakfast at my in-laws, followed by a long nap by Anne and consequent peaceful time for Mike and I, baking of Easter ham and sweet potatoes, and watching of The Masters.

It was lovely. When everyone went home, we reveled in surviving another holiday celebration at our house. I don't get nearly so annoying about tornadoing around the house when it's just our parents coming over. When you add in siblings and aunts and uncles, that's when I really lose it and start dusting the crevices of the dining room chairs. I held it together pretty well here.

So now it's Easter season, and everything feels fresh and new. How was everyone's Easter Sunday?

Interrupting my brief blogging hiatus for a Catholic public service announcement...

Today is Good Friday (I know that you knew that :)) but also the first day to begin the Divine Mercy Novena for anybody that is interested. My friend Irena and I are praying it this year, and it extends from today until Easter Saturday. A description, plus the prayers, may be found here:

http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm

You also offer the Chaplet of Divine Mercy each day for the intentions of the novena. It's a lovely novena, I just finished the first day. I prayed my chaplet in the car, since I drove a bit farther than usual to get gas cheaper since the prices nearly knocked me off my seat this morning. Sigh.

I hope that you all have a very blessed Good Friday.

Easter plans, and a brief Holy Week blogging hiatus

Somehow, it's already Wednesday of Holy Week, and I just can't believe how fast this Lent flew by. It's been a good Lent, as always. I've done a lot more reading this Lent, which I've really enjoyed. I should've been better about my daily prayers *glares at little devil on shoulder* but all in all I'm pleased with how it went. I also said a few novenas this Lent for some special intentions.

Now, we're solidifying our Easter plans. I adore Easter Sunday. Such a fresh, happy feeling to it. We're having dinner with family and attending the 8 am Mass with the kids. I didn't go to Mass on Easter morning last year because I went to the vigil to see my friend receive the sacraments (so special! that Easter can never be topped). We'll also be watching The Masters golf tournament, at Mike's request. :) It'll be a nice day.

Hank apparently thinks that the Easter bunny has quite a large budget because he's hoping for a Lego set in his Easter basket. I have an in with the bunny, and that's not happening. But it's Anne's first Easter, and she has a few new baby toys that will appear in her basket. Hank will receive plenty of chocolate, plus a few videos.

As for me, I'm happily reading the third book in the John Paul II High series on my beloved Kindle (her one week anniversary with me was this past Monday!) and I LOVE her so much I can barely comprehend how I used to get by without her. I'm taking some days off Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Monday, and I'm also going to take a brief blogging break. Mike isn't teaching on those days either, so we're going to have some nice family time.

I will report in next Tuesday, and I'm certain I'll have lots of Easter tornadoing details (since we're hosting; it goes with the territory) and new Kindle books to review.

Happy Easter everybody!

A chocolate paradise, and a milestone for Anne...

Monday evenings are the night Mike teaches, and so I made plans with my mom to take the kids out to dinner and to travel to the local haven for Easter chocolate in this area. Since we had Anne with us, we weren't exactly bound for a 4 star restaurant. Hence, we wound up at McDonald's.

I eat at McDonald's probably one or two times per 5 year interval. It's very rare. Thus, I felt little guilt adding some tiny crispy Chicken McBites to my southwest salad *halo* and scavenging some of Hank's french fries. And thus, Anne reached a milestone that all children aspire to:

Her first McDonald's french fry.

Kids love those things. I certainly don't want my kids eating fast food on any kind of regular basis, but for the few times that the opportunity presents itself, I have no problem with it. She was thrilled with the little bits of fry I put on her high chair tray. She's definitely very into solids all of a sudden. She still loves to nurse, but Mike reports that it's a struggle to get her to drink much milk out of her bottles during the day. She's clearly transitioning, making for lots of mixed emotions in Mommy. I've moved down to pumping at work only once per day in an effort to lessen my milk supply, since we're getting an overabundance all the time now. And she's nearly a year, at which time she will switch to cow's milk for when she's not with me. I'll then nurse her only when she wants to. At a year, she'll still want to nurse regularly when she's with me, which is fine. But it's definitely a turning point in the nursing relationship. *sniffle*

Anyway, McDonald's was a nice choice because Henry could play on their playground and there were lots of other kids there for Anne to watch in fascination while we ate.

After we finished up, we headed to the chocolate factory. I love this place. It's been around forever, and obviously, Easter is when they go all out. The bunny makes frequent appearances, and chocolate is everywhere. All kinds of chocolate. Milk, dark. white, and (in what is apparently a western New York specialty) orange chocolate. They've also introduced a few new choices in recent years such as cheery cheesecake and raspberry flavored chocolate. And the chocolate is molded into every possible configuration one could ever imagine. My favorite is the little animal miniatures, which I picked up in both white and orange (my favorites), but also present is chocolate in the shape of any living thing or object you could ever think of. Want a giant bunny, oh, I don't know, playing racquetball while carrying a basket of eggs? They have it. Tiny crosses? Check. Barn animals, tool sets? Check, check. Cell phones, iPods and ballerinas? Check, check, check.

We had a good time. I got the miniatures, plus a few things Hank picked out (a milk chocolate radio and a hockey player) and two bunny suckers in different flavors. I tried some free samples of the new dark orange chocolate they were advertising, and away we went, all sugared up.

It was a fun night. Easter is a wonderful time to be a parent. :)

A Catholic Librarian Children update, and the Easter Vigil 2011

Well. :) Lots of updates today. It'll be a long post, so settle in with some tea. I'll start with this morning, and work my way backward, ending with details from Easter weekend, which was very special.

First, I thought I'd post about my morning. It's always interesting when you have small children. :) Hank slept in today, because he was so tired from a hardcore weekend of playing with his cousins, so I took the opportunity to sneak in the bathroom ahead of him and ready for my 36 week ob/gyn appointment. When he woke, all sleepy eyed at 7, I went in to greet him immediately and zero in on an adorable face kissing session. Don't you just love it when they're freshly woken? It's the cutest time of the day. So I proceed in and kiss his head.

Hark! What is that I smell? All experienced parents become attuned to certain smells, and this is one of them: OLD POO. It's quite distinctive.

"Honey, did you go poo in your underwear last night?"

"NO!" *look of shocked indignation at the question*

"Are you sure?"

"YES!"

*Catholic Librarian crosses her fingers and hopes the smell is coming from a prior poo encounter's leftover wipes fermenting in the garbage can after our long weekend away*

"Mommy?"

"Yes, Honey?"

"Can I have privacy to get dressed?"

This is also another one of those parenting red herrings. I'm sure some children, especially girls, develop the desire for privacy at 5, but not my son, who streaks around the house buck naked at every given opportunity. I shut his door and tap my foot outside for approximately 5 seconds, when, in a totally expected development, I hear:

"Um, Mommy? Can you come in?"

When I open the door, the smell of old poo is no longer subtle; it smacks me right in the face. And old poo is the *worst* kind of poo to clean up, because, well (cover your eyes, those with sensitive dispositions) it's all dried and stuck to everything. In a *crevice*. Not pleasant. This is one of those times that you really know that parenting is a two person job.

*call downstairs* "Honey? Do you want underwear duty or butt duty?"

Because both need to be rinsed out and scrubbed down. The life of a parent: glamour, all glamour.

So after that adventure-filled start to the morning, I dropped Hank at his before school program and head to the doctor. Starting this week, I'll be there weekly. And they'll be seeing an awful lot of me, if you know what I mean. *sigh*

So, I had the Group B Strep screen today, and hopefully that will come back negative next week. Otherwise, I'll need antibiotics during labor, and I'd like to avoid that. Baby CL is officially in the vertex position (head down, doing a good job of following directions) and growing right on target. Next week, I'll be officially full term, and we'll see if my body has made any progress toward labor. It's all very exciting.

I'm feeling totally great, albeit like a woman very "full with child". I've gained 24 pounds, which is fabulous, but you know. I feel a bit like a beached whale. I've gotten very used to it, and the end is so close, I'm handling it psychologically much better than I did when I was carrying Hank, when it felt like I may be the first woman to officially be pregnant FOREVER. But it will still be very, VERY nice to be the only one in my body coming up here pretty soon. That will be a very good day.

Ok, so. Flashing back to this weekend. Saturday was crazy, but so very worth it. We arrived at my sister's house at 1, and by 3:10 I was on a train on my way to New York City to attend the Easter Vigil. I met up with my friend Mary, and we spent some time visiting prior to Mass. By time we headed to the church, I was feeling great emotionally, but not so great physically. I still had a cold and was hacking unattractively, plus I hadn't eaten a proper dinner. I had eaten, don't get me wrong, it's just that my body is used to eating a full dinner at 5:30 pm every night. Mike and I are a tad freakish that way. As Mass begun, I was feeling a bit light headed with an upset stomach and a cough, not a good combination.

However, I hung in there, and it was worth it. I love how the Easter Vigil starts, with the service of light and the lighting of the candles in the darkened church, and then the lights come on, signaling the official beginning of Easter.

As the Liturgy of the Word proceeded, I started to feel a tad better, although the hacking remained. Finally, it was time for the Liturgy of the Sacraments of Initiation, and, really, all I can say is that it was so, so special. My friend Mary and one other woman were the only 2 catechumens (the rest, a significant number, were all candidates to be confirmed) and so we proceeded up to the altar first. The priest went through the baptismal promises and the affirmation of the Catholic faith with each, and then baptized both. As one of her sponsors, I was so delighted to be able to right up there with her as this was all taking place.

After that, the rest of the congregation affirmed our baptismal vows, and then the confirmations took place. We went back to the pew to await the Liturgy of the Eucharist. And so, for the first time in our 14 year friendship, Mary and I received the Eucharist together under both species. It was truly magnificent, and the atmosphere in the church was almost magical.

I've only attended 1 other Easter Vigil, and when you know someone receiving the sacraments on that occasion, it's simply not to be missed. What an awesome opportunity provided by God. I'll never forget it.

I took it easy on Easter Sunday, another bright and beautiful day. And with the birth of Baby CL approaching, I feel joyful all the time. Life is truly very good.

Back from Easter, and headcovering debriefing...

Ah, back at work from a weekend away. I'm happy to report that our travel, and our trip, went very well. On the way up, I smugly held my tongue as Mike squirmed in his seat and suggested that we make a rest stop. *My* bladder was fine, but I thought it best not to mention this fact. He and Hank hurried to the Mens Room while I daintily combed my hair in the ladies "lounge." What is it with highway rest stops? In New York they're actually somewhat decent. They maintain them and keep them pretty clean. But others, *shudder*. How hard is it to squirt toilet bowl cleaner and maybe take a mop to the floor once a week? Not hard, as we all know. But alas. They'd rather us wallow in squallor.

For the remainder of the trip, I felt quite nauseous. I have notoriously bad motion sickness, yet I get amnesia about this fact before every trip, because I never have the over-the-counter dramamine that I need. I munched on my snacks and sipped my iced tea, and this would keep the nausea at bay for periods of time. And, the portable DVD player resulted in Henry being an *outstanding* boy for the trip, both ways. Gosh, it feels good to be right. *coy smile*

I brought my knitting in the car this time, wondering if, despite the fact that I cannot read in the car due to my motion issue, perhaps I could knit. Yeah. No more wondering on that issue. I can't. Immediate doom-feeling nausea after barely 5 stitches.

On the way back yesterday, we stopped off at Rite Aid for some dramamine, which I immediately consumed. It knocked me out a few hours later, and I napped for pretty much the duration of our foray into central New York. It felt good to get home.

So. My Lenten headcovering experiment. I said I would write fully about this after Easter, and here we are. Overall, I really enjoyed my employment of headcoverings at Mass. I felt that I was more focused at Mass this Lent; that preparing myself by covering my head prior to attending Mass forced me to focus on how very important it is. It made me feel that I was making more of an effort to concentrate at, and appreciate Mass, and that I was trying harder to hear God's voice at that time.

And I got zero strange looks or comments. Granted, this may be because I was wearing fairly subtle headcoverings, in the form of larger headbands and scarves. I do not have a traditional mantilla. Also, I live in a region with a lot of cradle Catholics, and even if most women choose not to cover, they're familiar with the phenomenon and don't think it odd if another woman does. As well, there are a small number of women in my parish that do wear hats to Mass. Thus, I really didn't "stick out" the way I always feared, which was the reason I chose not to cover in the past.

So, with that all in mind, I plan to continue to cover my head during Mass from this point forward. At some point, I'll pick up a few more headcoverings so that I have plenty of options depending on what I'm wearing, and I'll definitely get them from Garlands of Grace. I'm very happy with the ones that I bought from there. I enjoyed this experiment and will continue to blog about it as events transpire :)

It's Good Friday, and your Catholic Librarian prepares for Easter travel...

It's Good Friday, and I find myself thinking about how quickly Lent has gone by. I've had a good Lent, but I do feel that I've slipped somewhat with the depth of my prayer life. That's something that I'd like to use Easter season to jump start me into remedying. Overall though, I did enjoy my Lent, and I enjoyed my headcovering experiment. I will post fully on that next week. I enjoyed sacrificing eating meat, as well, and I found that this year I really appreciated more how each action that I took throughout the season towards my Lenten promises made me feel that I was joining in Jesus' journey.

This Living Faith reading is from yesterday, Holy Thursday, but I find it resonating with me especially this morning:

"We Remember

He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. John 13:1

This holy night, when we celebrate the Lord's Supper, is rich with remembrance. There is no need to ask, 'What would Jesus do?' for Jesus himself, in word, symbol and action, holds up for us what is most dear to his heart. He chooses to spend his last remaining hours with his disciples. He faces betrayal. He washes feet. He breaks bread. He gives us his enduring presence in the Eucharist, so that he will always, always remain with us.

This night is a testament to what matters. Filled with love and profound compassion, it is a tender, final moment that our faith calls us to celebrate over and over. It is Jesus' legacy of witness and unending presence.

Jesus, thank you for loving me and remaining withi me always. "

More than my personal prayer life this Lent, I feel that I grew in appreciation of my public prayer life, through attending Sunday Mass. And the focus on the Eucharist in this passage brought that point home to me.

Aside from dwelling on Good Friday, I've been preparing to travel to my sister Rhonda's home for Easter this weekend. This is the longest car trip we will have taken with Henry, so my normally spastic preparation process has been keyed up a notch. Yesterday, I stopped off at the grocery store to purchase little packs of veggie chips and animal crackers, and bottles of iced tea for each of us to drink. Mike, always the realist, pointed out that the large bottles that I squirreled away were bound to make us have to stop multiple times to use those nasty roadside reststops, but alas. I wanted to make sure that we wouldn't be thirsty :)

I also have Easter gifts to pack, fixins' for Henry's basket, a full vehicle entertainment toolkit for Henry, including a portable DVD player that I have to set up, DVD's, books, and action figures, and knitting for myself. It'll be a busy evening.

Easter is in the air...

Easter is in the air, and I'm very excited. Mike, Henry and I are leaving Saturday to drive to my older sister Rhonda's home in New Jersey. We're optimistic that Henry is old enough now that our car ride won't be an absolute debacle, but there's still a bit of prayer involved on that one. At my instigation, we bought a portable DVD player to make the 6 hour ride more bearable for Henry. I had to use my feminine charms on my husband in order to convince him to see my point of view on this one, but I think he's going to be glad that I was successful. Because, when we hit hour 4, and instead of whining and/or sobbing, Henry will be happily watching Scooby Doo, and I think that we're all going to wing up a prayer of thanksgiving for the wonders of technology.

I'm also busily knitting and crocheting away, making Easter gifts for everyone. I have a new favorite place to obtain patterns - e-Patterns Central. These are not free patterns, you purchase them, but there are patterns for sale there for as little as $1.99. My newest obsession is kitchen and dining items - dish cloths, towels, and placemats. There are free patterns out there for all of those things, definitely, but I found some stupendous ones at e-Patterns Central. I just paid less than $11, and I was able to buy 14 patterns for gorgeous crocheted dishcloths and pot holders. One of my finds was 2-Hour Dishcloths - ooohhhh, aaaahhhh. They'll make excellent gifts. I'm super excited. All the patterns are available as immediate downloads, so you can set right to work :)

The exciting night life of the Catholic Librarian, and the Easter Bunny Complex...

This was a busy weekend for me. And I'm different from most (normal) people in that I actively avoid having busy weekends. One would think that having weekend plans was a good thing. But your Catholic Librarian is such a classic introvert. Choice: (a) go out for dinner and dancing with friends, or (b) stay home and knit dish cloths. The fact that I longed to do (b) on Friday means that I'm some sort of freak.

At any rate, I did go out and I did have a good time, despite my dish cloth intentions. I went to a local Arab cultural association event with my bellydance troupe for dinner, live Middle Eastern music, and dancing. It was super fun, and I was glad that I went. It's not easy for me to spontaneously dance in public, but I do what I can.

Saturday we awoke early and readied to take Henry to visit the Easter Bunny. We met up with some friends there, and their young son, Jude. We arrived first, and since the bunny was already set up and waiting, I hustled Hank right in line. Quickly, a theme became apparent.

A woman ahead of us was there with two small children - a little boy who looked to be around 15 months or so, and a little girl in the 3 year old contingent. The mother was combing their hair and trying to psych them up for a cheerful trip to the bunny's lap so that a good photo might be obtained. Each child was to receive one free photo with the bunny, and it is printed on the spot- a pretty good deal nowadays considering our shopping mall Santa wanted a minimum package purchase of $20 and no external cameras allowed.

So, the turn of the children ahead of us arrives. The mother grabbed the little boy out of his stroller and popped him onto the bunny's lap. Immediately, he burst into uncontrollable sobs and attempted an ill advised leap right off the bunny's knee. The bunny hung tight, but the little boy was not havin' it. Despite much cajoling from his mom and the picture taker, he would not be soothed. A picture was taken anyway, but I can't imagine that one's a keeper.

Finally, the mother wrenches him from the bunny and pushes his sister over. Before even coming into contact with the bunny, she screams, bursts into tears, and refuses to sit on his lap. I think the bunny was exhausted by time he got to Hank. Luckily, Hank hopped up, smiled for a picture, and hopped down to hurry over to the candy distribution area. His picture came out cute. As we were waiting for it to be printed, and for Jude to arrive, I kept glancing over to what was quickly becoming The Lap of Doom. Every time I looked, a sobbing child was being dragged over and pleaded with to please just take one nice picture with bunny.

And he was a cute bunny! No scary face to be had. Mike still talks about this picture of my nephew Nathaniel with the Easter Bunny when he was a baby. Nathaniel is beaming adorably on the lap of the most frightening looking Easter Bunny of all time. He looks as though he's still mulling over precisely how many Cadbury Eggs he's going to demand in exchange for the return of the baby, unharmed.

When Jude arrived, things didn't improve for our Easter Bunny. Jude was fine as well until he approached the bunny and then began screaming for intervention. I think the bunny likely needed a drink to soothe his hurt feelings by the end of the afternoon.