Narnia Quiz

You are most like Peter Pevensie, once High King of Narnia. As Peter, you are brave, loyal yet intelligent, and are greatly respected for upholding what you think is right.

Thanks to Aimee at The Mother Load for this quiz. I think all my Lewis-phile comrades will enjoy it!

David tested as:

As Aslan, you are brave, noble and have an astute awareness of morality. You may be quick to anger at times, but you have a heart of gold, and are respected greatly among your peers.

What is that about? How do you test as God? Oh well, he's not a tame lion, that's for sure.

Moses' First Joke

We have been long familiar with physical humor (incessant falling down, flatulence, etc.) but last night we were treated to Moses' first witticism that I can recall...over and over and over again.

Mommy: Uh oh. I think that Lily is having a poo poo.
Moses: Lily isn't having a poo poo - you should say she is having a WINNIE the POOH!

Much laughter ensued from his end and we obliged with polite chuckles. I believe we are in for many such jokes in the coming years...I will be working on my mom-laugh.

A Rosy Outlook

Lily has not gotten much press lately but that is not for lack of cuteness or accomplishments. She is becoming a real little personality and it's just a riot to watch it. Sometimes she does something and I think - wait a minute - I've seen that before...you aren't really entirely your own person are you? You are one of us. On the other hand, she's quite a bit different then her brother in several ways.

She's quite a bit more independent - or at least it seems as if she's more independent - maybe she's just got more entertainment then Moses had. Either way she is always on the go and more often then not she's in the bathroom, in the toilet. What kind of parents does that poor child have?
She also is more communicative then he ever was. And he had already taken his first step at her age and I'm definitely not looking for that out of her anytime soon.


Her recent triumphs have been (10.5 months):
*Standing for short periods of time, always unconsciously
*"Soooo Big"
*Signing and approximating "All Done" when asked if she's all done (she has yet initiate communication but we're thrilled that it doesn't look like we're in for a language delay this time around!)
*Learning to hold her own sippy-cup


Her recent favorite leisure activities:
*Pulling clothes out of drawers
*Pulling plastic dishes out of cupboards
*Crawling behind you and dumping things out of baskets as you put said things into said baskets
*Waking up and snuggling on the heirloom rocking chair
*Eating cheddar cheese
*Playing peekaboo with Moses and/or putting her hands into his mouth (once again, where are the parents?!)
*Moving mountains to get to Daddy when he comes home from work
*Sitting on the extra mattress while Moses and Vid (my brother) jump on the mattress and bounce her


She charms all with her toothier and toothier smile and she just makes a very gloomy February tolerable, even enjoyable. In fact, she's so charming that every time she wakes up or crawls into the room where Vid and Moses are playing (ages 6 and 3) they both drop what they are doing and coo and cheer, "Lily!!! Lily is here!" I know that someday she'll probably morph into the annoying little sister who ruins all the fun but for now she's the STAR!

Further Catechesis Needed

At the consecration (in the cry room, luckily)...
Moses: Look, Mommy! It's the Lord!
Mommy: Very good Moses! (to herself, wow, I must be doing something right - I rock!)
A few minutes later, as the priest drinks from the chalice
Moses: Oh, look Mommy! The Lord is drinking!
Mommy: Ahhh. Right. (to herself - OK, not so much rocking anymore.)

Moses: Mom, did you remender Daddy's friend, Bob?
Mom: Uhhhh. No, actually. I don't remember Daddy's friend named Bob.
Moses: You know, the Lord, Bob.
Mom: Oh - you mean Fr. Bob!
Moses: Yeah, the Lord Bob.

I guess that Theology education is not genetically passed down.

My Friend, David

We had a crazy morning - full of trying to get a car in order to get some ashes and go to Mass, and drop my mom at the airport, and Lily breaking out in serious hives, which were suspected by all to be the Pox (Chicken variety), therefore meriting a trip to the doctor - who's name, I kid you not was Dr. Pocker. I very nearly asked if they send all Pock-type cases to him but figured he's heard that joke at least a million times (just like I've heard all the jokes surrounding the car Lexus and my name) and so I would be the only one laughing. So I was on the phone with my mom, my husband, the doctor all before breakfast and my mom came to pick us up to go to Mass and Mosesdidn't believe that she was really here so I said, "She's here, honey. She just called me on the phone and told me that she's here."
Moses: Oh. But did you call my friend, David, too?
Me: Your friend, David? [raking my brain for friends in Atrium or Sunday School named David]. No honey, I didn't talk to your friend, David.
Moses: My daddy, David? My friend?
Me: Ohhhhh. That friend David. Yes, I did talk to him but he's your friend, Daddy. His name is David but he is your Daddy so you call him Daddy.
Moses: But Vid calls him David.

And here is the crux of the problem we come to see. My six-year old brother calls Moses Grandma, Mom and therefore Moses does too. Same thing for his Grandpa, he's just Dad. Now, I do not want this linguistic confusion to follow us into our home so maybe I'll just have Vid start calling David, Daddy. OK, maybe not.

My first meme

I have been tagged for a couple of these and never made good on it - sorry! But lately I've got quite a back up and so I thought that I would do this one first because it seems like the quickest :). Angelmeg tagged me for this book meme - here are the rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

So, my book is My Grandfather's Son, A Memoir by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. I was particularly drawn to this book because he is a Catholic, very conservative Justice and I've heard him interviewed several times. His story is truly, truly one of the great success stories of the "American Dream". He started out in a tiny town in GA called Pinpoint, speaking a version of Geechee, hauling water from a common well, with all of his relatives working in a factory shelling clams around one iron stove, and singing spirituals. In the 1950's. We are not talking about the 1800's - this is in the 1950's! He endured fearful racism through all of his schooling and he now has one of the most powerful and respected positions in the country. Well worth the read.

Here you go, sentences 6-8, page 123:
"My first trip to Washington had been to protest the Vietnam War, but now I was part of the decision-making apparatus of the federal government - the tiniest possible part, to be sure, but a part all the same. I was no longer on the outside looking in. You can't live in Washington for very long without becoming cynical about politicians and their motives, but I've never doubted the greatness of a country in which a person like me could travel all the way from Pinpoint to Capitol Hill."

Yea, America!!!

So, I tag (carefully avoiding all of you ladies who just recently had babes, though if you're up for it I'd love you to join in):
Favorite Aunt Reenie
Muddy Mama
Christine and her Good Company
The Shady Characters (Joshie)
Rose at A Catholic Mother's Thoughts

Montana

We're in the middle of cashing-in on our recent acquisition of "real" cable. After the Michigan primary I was so, so, so ticked-off that none of the major networks covered the votes as they were coming in, and that my only choices for that evening were American Idol and The Biggest Loser, that I up and ordered Basic Cable to replace my Limited Basic Cable. So, we now receive CNN, Fox, etc. And tonight is the reason I more then doubled my cable bill - I am cashing in folks, I am cashing in.
You see, when you don't really watch many sports then politics is the best entertainment out there.
I am so happy, even though I'm really not happy with how the votes are coming in...
Anyway, David and I thought that the Montana was worth a little publicity (which I just spelled plubicity and couldn't figure out why it looked so wierd, I mean, weird).
With 13% of the precincts reporting:
McCain 33%
Romney 31%
Paul 19%
Huckabee 18%

Now, the funny part, the part that we had to look at several times to confirm what we thought, is that - with a whole 13% of precints reporting - the ACTUAL votes, the ACTUAL number of people who cast a ballot today are as follows:
McCain - 30 independents and cross-over democrats
Romney - 28 wealthy cattle ranchers
Paul - 17 lonely, bitter people
Huckabee - 16 evangelicals

Each candidate has a larger percentage of the total vote then they have actual people who cared enough to vote.
Hey Lisa and Glenn! You two had better been 2 of that 91 total on Montana voters!

The ACP

I don't want this blog to be a dumping zone for my complaints and so I have been concealing my All-Consuming Problem (ACP) from this particular venue (although if you have seen me in person lately, you no doubt have gotten an earful of petty complaining. Right. Sorry about that). But today I happened upon a story that highlights the ACP in a way that may also be entertaining so I thought that I would just come clean.

Below is an excerpt from a weekly article by one of my favorite authors, Jeane Marie Laskas.

It's been six weeks or maybe longer since I've spoken with my sister Claire, and now she's on the phone, and I've got her voice blaring via Bluetooth through my car stereo speakers, so she sounds like a radio talk show host. I'm at a red light headed into the parking garage where I hold a permit. As soon as I enter the garage, my cellphone service will cut off, I'm telling Claire, so we have to hurry-talk, hurry to fill each other in on six weeks' worth of news.

"Hurry!" Claire says. "Okay, we have to sum up. We each have to think of one event that says it all. You go first."

"No, you," I say. (I can't think of anything.)

"You are wasting time!" she says. (She can't think of anything.) "Just use the first thing that comes to mind, the first event that makes you think: Yeah, that about sums up my life."

"This is a lot of pressure," I say, in one breath, and in the next I land on something. "Okay," I say. "Last night I dreamt all night long -- not one dream, I'm talking, like, 10 separate dreams -- about napping."

"You dreamt about sleeping?" Claire says.

"Every dream was a desperate journey to a napping place," I report. "A shelf in a store, a locker room bench, the back seat of a car."

"Wow," she says. "You are having sleep fantasies, in your sleep. This is probably big."

"In the last one, I was curled up on a church pew with a coat over my head, and a priest woke me up and forgave me but said I had to leave."

"Oh my, oh my, oh my," Claire says.

So, I could share the grisly details but suffice it to say that I do not recommend being pregnant, nursing and sharing a room with your 10 month old who wants to nurse 4 - 5 times a night. I have been on the couch for a couple weeks now and last night we had our first glimmer of hope that our efforts at night-time weaning may be successful. And maybe soon my thoughts will stop stuttering and my body will stop revolting against the idea of getting off the couch.