Question the First: If you know of a church website that does its thing really well, please let me know, either in comments or via e-mail. I am looking for sites that are attractive, with a simplicity of design, are welcoming to visitors, and also useful to long-time members.
Question the Second: C has heard us […]

Here’s my idea for a new kid product that I’m pretty sure doesn’t exist: a pictorial clock.
Our toddler will often get up before everyone else and just kinda wander around. Once it becomes clear that everyone’s still asleep, she can easily be coaxed back to bed.
The trouble, of course, is that she can’t […]

The week is going fine. Being back to work is like wading into a fast moving stream. Step, step, step WHOOSH
Someone sent this to me. I give it a big hell to the yeah, and am very glad it didn’t turn all treacly at the end:
HOW TO PREPARE FOR BECOMING A PARENT
in 15 simple steps
Lesson […]

(Our first day on the new schedule—M and SBJ home with me today)
2:27 p.m. — Wow, it looks like both children will be napping at the same time!
2:32 p.m — Oops. Never mind.
3:13 p.m. — SBJ is asleep upstairs, M is downstairs with Mr. Rogers—might I be able to sit here in the living room […]

Today was mommy-daughter time with little she-who-is. Look what we made!

We’ve definitely refined our technique—I got the consistency of the icing better. Last year’s was the Salvador Dali house.
It took us all day: assemble walls, nurse J, put on roof, nurse J… etc.
And here is the side that M helped with:

In other tales of domesticity, […]

Forget the baby monitor, sling, or bottle warmer. Here’s the techy stuff that a new mom really can use:

iPod. An obvious choice, perhaps, but indispensable for late-night nursing entertainment that doesn’t wake up wee bebe.
Bluetooth handsfree device for cell phone. Let’s face it, life is all about multitasking. Chat with a friend while putting away […]

three is harder, they warn;
no longer one for each hand.
and yet with
global warming
planes as missiles
war on terror
nuclear madmen
the end of an empire
just how invincible do they think
five fingers
and a palm
really are?

C: I don’t like Monsters Inc. It gives me nightmares.
RM: Which part gives you nightmares?
C: When Sully roars at the little girl.
RM: Y’know, Sully is really nice for the whole rest of the movie.
C: Yes, but that one time he was scary.
RM: So even though he is really good for the whole movie, that […]

So I just got back from a retreat on the spiritual dimension of parenting at the local Catholic retreat center where I do spiritual direction. You know the type—Catholic through and through, complete with the pictures of Jesus and Mother Teresa, but when I asked about how they handle the Eucharist in regard to Protestants […]

who had the divine miss M by the hand as I was rushing around trying to find her*:
I was too relieved to say thanks, so, thanks. A lot.
*longest 90 seconds of my life

photo from here

Fidelia’s Sisters debuts October 1. Check it out!
Had a nice visit in Keillor-ville meeting the little nephew. He is a sweetheart and we are now ready to meet BB. R & I also changed our first boy diaper together. Totally different geography there.
They are a peace-filled family, for the most part, but I also […]

I recently read a poem (which for the life of me I can’t find; I really need Google-for-real-life) in which the speaker talked about how much he hated it when adults laughed at him for stuff he did as a kid. You know what I’m talking about? I’m not talking about laughing when kids are […]

Here’s what’s up, with a question for the internets at the end:
Last Wednesday I had a conversation with Senior Pastor about moving to half-time ministry when I return from maternity leave. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, pretty much since the pee stick turned pink.
The upshot is that I don’t think full-time […]

A first draft for writing class. The assignment was “something that keeps you up at night,” and is a topic that’s come up before (see #4).

———–
there are two ways out of a submerged car.
the first requires the tool, a tapper,
a squat metal spike
made just for this, for the window
and i have one,
a trade-show giveaway with […]

Good things come in threes. Here are some notable trios; see if you can find my favorite:

Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti – the tenors
Manny, Moe and Jack – the pep boys
Harry, Ron, and Hermione – wizarding trifecta
peanut butter, pickle, and mayonnaise – R’s favorite sandwich abomination
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – old-school trinity
Speaker, […]

I had a nice Mother’s Day yesterday.
I had the day off from church—it was Youth Sunday, and Senior Pastor and I alternate taking off the “special” Sundays. So I slept until 8, when R brought in the newspaper. Then I dozed/read until 8:30 when the girls brought in breakfast—eggs, homemade biscuits and strawberries.
C gave me […]

Lent Disciplines
I have done a variety of things for Lent. Some years I have given up chocolate, other years TV. One year I gave up worry; I got a lot out of that, though I lapsed often.
Other years I take on something additional. This year I will be doing morning pages (three pages of free-flow […]