Libraries are Great!

George and I made our first trip to the local library this morning. Since moving in almost a year ago, I finally quit being lazy and went. On Wednesday mornings during the summer, the library offers a "storytime" for children ages 0-5. I have now discovered that this is a great opportunity to get us out of the house and *gasp* interact with other people. As a plus, I also got a library card.

I keep forgetting how rewarding libraries are and as a consequence I don't get out to them very often. However, the nearest branch is super kid-friendly and have the nicest librarians I have ever run across. When we lived in Dallas we would occasionally go to the local branch nearest our apartment and I always felt awkward bringing an infant, even one as quiet as George. It didn't help that we seemed to always get the "evil eye" from the librarian at the front desk.

At the branch nearest our home I felt very welcome. George is a bit noisier now that he's a toddler, and has a tendency to want to run off. I didn't get a single disapproving look! In fact, some of the other patrons, mostly other "storytime" goers, offered sympathetic smiles and even greeted George. What a difference it is to feel welcomed. I am becoming more and more convinced that we made a good choice in buying a home in this area.

Splinters

I am posting this from my phone, so please forgive me for the brevity.

This post is a question for mommies of toddlers...Do you have tips for removing nearly invisible splinters from your toddler's foot?

Poor George had a shard of glass in the ball of his foot from a minor accident involving a drinking glass and the floor and Sean had to hold him down so I could dig it out. We gave him some baby Tylenol beforehand but he was clearly in a lot of pain and squirmed like crazy.

Tips?

7 Quick Takes Friday

Okay, I'm jumping on the Quick Takes wagon starting today, thanks to Jen from Conversion Diary.

1. A pizza slicer is great for cutting toddler-sized pieces of sandwiches, especially grilled cheese. This handy tool makes lunch prep a breeze. Just make sure the sandwich has been properly smushed. A sandwich is no good unless smushed.

2. I spent the last two weeks without getting on my computer. Although I have stayed connected via my new 'net-capable phone, I have noticed that life really does exist outside of the interwebs.

3. The time I normally spend online has been spent on a couple of projects. The first is a dollhouse that my mother bought for me as a child and never got around to building.


4. The other project is an entertainment center and mantel for our living room. Progress has been made since this picture was taken and is nearing completion.


5. I want to meet the genius who created Crayola Color Wonder products. George loves the finger paints and markers and I love that there is no mess besides slightly sticky hands after fingerpainting. Plus, all Crayola products are non-toxic!

6. Fresh homemade guacamole is super easy to make and tastes great. After spending a weekend in Comanche, my friend Melisa showed me how to make it and I decided to try it out last night. If only avocados weren't so pricey!

Super Easy Guac:
2 ripe avocados
a couple of squirts of lemon juice
1/2 ripe tomato, diced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
approximately a tablespoon of chives
approximately a tablespoon of dried cilantro
Mush avocados in a bowl with a fork, add other ingredients, mix thoroughly. Serve with chips. The only non-fresh ingredient I used was dried cilantro since I couldn't find fresh at the grocery store.

7. Speaking of our trip to Comanche, we spent the morning of the 13th in Dublin snacking on free Dr. Pepper birthday cake, free milk, and of course...free Dublin Dr. Pepper! Yes, I brought back cake and frosting mix for Dublin Dr. Pepper cake. And a couple of cases of Dublin Dr. Pepper.

Mommyblogging

Ack, what is a "Mommyblog" without some mommyblogging? I think I need to take this blog in a whole new direction, or at least get it back on track. Lets see if I can get a good thing going here.

For this purpose, I will start with a 7 Quick Takes since today is Friday.

Me 1, Credit Card Company 0

If all else fails, threaten legal action.

So back in April I paid off one of my credit cards with part of my tax refund and canceled it because of the outrageous finance charges. I got a bill of almost $80 from them this month and called to find out what was going on. After arguing with the customer care rep for about ten minutes straight she finally explained that even though I canceled the card and closed the account they were still billing for finance charges. After the date the card was paid in full and account closed.

So I asked the lady "So what you're telling me is that even though the account is closed and paid in full, your company is still charging me a fee? That doesn't sound very legal." She quickly asked me to hold so she could "see what she could do". Not five minutes later her manager gets on the phone and informs me that my balance is now $0.00 and I should not receive another bill.

On one hand I'm relieved but on the other I wonder just how many people this company is trying to screw over?

The Presence of Children During Worship

Last weekend I took George with me on a trip to Comanche to help my best friend, Melisa, and her family get settled into their new home. Melisa's husband, Fr. Tim, is the new vicar of the parishes in Comanche and Dublin. We were both a bit nervous about the reaction to having an infant and a toddler would be to these tiny parishes that have no young children.

I think Melisa was as pleasantly shocked as I was when we received numerous compliments on our children. The most common phrase I heard was "It's so nice to have babies here again, when are you coming back?" Maybe shocked isn't a strong enough word. I was floored. When George started fussing, I got a few sympathetic smiles before he calmed down.

What a difference to my home parish! I found it rather ironic that although St. Alban's has many children, the attitude towards children in church is nearly the opposite. During most of the service the older kids are in Children's Chapel, a separate room where they learn watered-down versions of the day's Gospel. The younger children, toddlers and preschoolers, are in the nursery during most if not all of the service.

For a while, I had tried to keep George in the sanctuary during the whole service so that he would begin to understand the importance of Mass at the earliest age possible. Unfortunately, that was not what he had in mind. He's a toddler, and acted like any normal toddler would when someone tries to get them to sit still for a long period of time. He wouldn't throw a screaming tantrum, but would fuss loudly for a few seconds at a time.

I don't want to sound uncharitable towards my fellow parishioners so I will not go into details of the reactions towards my son in the past couple of months. Suffice it to say that I have felt most unwelcome in the last few weeks for being the mother of a normal toddler.

I think some parishes have gotten so used to children that the tolerance level for normal baby noises is extremely low, while parishes that don't have many children around are so grateful for the presence of babies that they welcome the noise.

If you have thoughts or opinions about this, please share them.

They grow up so fast...

Last week we converted George's crib to a toddler bed because he had been very good about falling asleep when we laid him down drowsy. After a couple of spills onto the hardwood floor, Sean laid down a couple of pillows.

This morning I had George in his room and upstairs hallway playing while I worked on the newsletter. Around noon I realized that I wasn't hearing any noise, so I snuck into his room and what did I see? George was sitting on the floor with his head laying on the bed with a pool of drool under his face. He looked up at me drowsily and I gently swung his legs onto the mattress. After tucking his quilt around him the result is the above picture.

I'm still a little amazed that he put himself down for a nap and even tried to get into bed. Must have been too tired to climb all the way.

A Blessed Easter to You!

What a joyful time of the year. This Easter, amid all of the stress, has helped me to count my blessings. George and Sean, our safe home, food in our mouths, and extended family that love us unceasingly. And our friends. My heart is breaking because two of my best friends are moving away in a few months, but I am reminded to enjoy the time we have left.

Have a Blessed Easter, Y'all!

And We're...Walking...

It finally happened, George started to walk last night. Now he does not want to be still at all, but on his feet exploring the world. This morning we went to Calloway's to get ideas for the front yard, and he was delighted to see all the pretty flowers on his level. This afternoon we played out in the front yard where he got to explore the grass. Of course he takes a few spills but a kiss from Mama makes everything better. Yup.

You Know You're Anglican When...

...dressing your child, you get him to raise his arms for his shirt by saying "raise them up" and then fight the urge to continue..."if they fall, and in their hearts keep thy peace which passes all understanding..."

...someone quotes from either Star Wars or Spaceballs with "May the Force/Schwartz be with you" and you reply with "and also with you" or "and with thy spirit"...

...you coordinate the color of your Sunday clothes with the Church calendar...





yes. I have.