Many things

Hi fam and friends,

I thought of a new year's resolution today. I am going to quit feeling guilty for violating any or all of my self-imposed deadlines that don't mean much in the grand scheme of things. I hope you know what I mean. (I wish I could include things like, " wash the dishes" or "bathe the children..." but I must admit that good hygeine does matter in the grand scheme of things.)

The first thing on the actual list is being the mom that blogs every cute moment of her childrens' lives in order that it might be saved in an e-archive and simultaneously warm the hearts of blog-viewers everywhere. Eau Contrare. (I KNOW I spelled that wrong. Here's to not feeling guilty for refusing to call Mike and ask him the correct spelling.) I have friends that do keep blogs like that. It's amazing. They take beautifully candid photos and post them every day. They also change the color scheme/background of their blog to match the color scheme in the photos. My blog background is white. This is already a set-up for failure, since it is a RARE day when my kiddos are still in white by the time I find the batteries for the camera and snap a picture. By the time I get organized enough for a candid snapshot, the white is now eau de ketchup or eau de fingerpaints or eau-de-violaceous-diaper-explosion-cause-I-fed-Mary-too-many-blueberries.

So there's my New Year's resolution. I also plan on embarking on a new residency and making myself into a more patient mom and a successful ER doctor (my new temporary employment until I hopefully embark on a career as an obstetrician.)

Here are some entertaining bits that happened over Christmas:

Julia and Mary got what they wished for....and prayed for....and God granted them seven times seven more than their wishes. Yes, it's true...our house has been invaded by Barbie and her herem. I do believe we have gone from one to fifty of them over the course of one week of Holiday. I lost count. I also lose my patience every time I step barefoot on one of their shoes and the tiny high heel tries to puncture the bottom of my foot. @%#@*&!!!!!

Annie and I took Julia and Mary to see an exhibit of Sue, the T-rex, in St. Cloud. It's a replica of the most well-preserved T-rex skeleton in the world. We spent a LONG TIME explaining the skeleton to Julia, talking about everything from herbivores and carnivores to death and dying and why everything eventually will leave behind a skeleton and a pile of dust. She was intrigued. I *thought* she was listening to us. The tour guide even took a liking to her and made the remark that Julia should consider a career in science. I was so proud....... I thought Julia was going to be able to lecture everyone at preschool about meeting this archeological masterpiece. And then as we were leaving, I told the girls to say goodbye to Sue. Mary called,

"Bye bye Soooooooo."

Cute. But then the aspiring archeologist child yells,

"Buh-bye Alligator!"

So much for my budding scientist.



Last Sunday my mom and I took the kids to church at the hospital because their mass is at 1030...not 9:00 like the other churches we go to. We sat up in the balcony. The sanctuary was filled to the brim, with patients, their relatives, a few nuns, and lots of hospital employees in scrubs. The balcony was rather empty, so I let the kids wander a bit and look over the edge. Julia was outright naughty. She loves to yell SHHHHHHHHHHHH....which comes out VERY LOUDLY and is heard by all. During the Gospel reading, Mary spotted the nativity scene at the front of the church and started bleeting, "JESUS!" She was SO excited! She found Jesus! She was not going to keep quiet about it either, even with her sister SHSHSHHHHHHHHing her louder and louder by the minute. When we went by for communion, she got a closer look at the creche. I saw a look of terror in her eyes, and she began to yell, "JESUS!!! OWIE!!!! HOT!!! HOT!!!" As I tried to quiet her down, I glanced at the nativity again to see what she was yelling at. Sure enough, somebody had placed a little tea light candle about 2 inches from Jesus little hand. Mary, who had become a bit too famliar with candle flames over the holidays, was voicing her concern for Jesus' hand. She didnt' want him to get burned, too. How thoughtful!