Out of the blue today at lunch, Nolan started up this conversation with me:
Nolan: Do you remember going to Alan & Kim’s house? They have a dog! Mom: Do you remember his name? Nolan: Ummmm… Mom: Is it Dakota?
Nolan: Ya, Dakota! Dakota tackled me! *big smile* We should go to Alan & Kim’s house again. It was fun!
I guess Nolan is ready for a rematch with Dakota 🙂
Grandma Patti & Grandpa Dave joined us for dinner tonight. The kids practically jumped through the front window when they saw them arrive – they were so excited! After we ate, G & G took the boys to the indoor playground near our house. Nolan has been asking to go for quite a while – we drive by it every time we go to preschool. I’m glad they had a chance to get some good play time in today. The recent cold weather and rain are making it tough to get them outside lately!
I think God gives moms a few extra special gifts when it comes to being able to handle disgusting situations with poise, skill & composure. I know I don’t embody all of those gifts in every situation where they could be used, but I am proud to say I did keep my composure and used a little skill with a tad bit of poise this afternoon.
When I got Shecklet #2 out of his highchair after lunch, I noticed he needed his diaper changed. I thought I had a few minutes to clear the table and then change him. WRONG. Next thing I know, he’s sitting in the hallway whining because he has somehow managed to dislodge the contents of his diaper and make a total mess of the floor and himself.
Forgive me if this is a tad too gross for those of you who are checking in with me, but I am actually sitting here chuckling about it as I replay the conversation I had with myself this afternoon….
“Should I pick him up? Of course I should. But wait, I can’t just walk off with him…the dogs need to go somewhere. I have to get him upstairs for a bath! Where is Shecklet #1? Oh, there he is. Ok, Shecklet #1 needs to come with me, but manage to walk around the mess. That’s right Shecklet #1, don’t step there, step here. Good job! Mav, Coop – upstairs, now! Alright, dogs are in our room, where’s the baby gate? What in the world is that? Great, something else to clean up. Ok, Shecklet #2 needs to get scrubbed down. Shecklet #1, stay where I can see you. Towel. Washcloth. Johnson’s Baby Wash. Phew! I think we’re going to be ok now.”
And we were. Ok, I mean. We all needed a nap after all that excitement though. Good thing it was dark and rainy today – I didn’t feel bad snuggling back under the covers and dozing while the boys took their naps.
One final tidbit for today. This actually happened last night while I was blogging. Here is what my dogs think of “Where The Wild Things Are.” Can you believe these two can do this?
This is the 2nd book Mav & Coop have sunk their teeth in to. Number 1 was a library book. Not good. I’m beginning to think they have a preference for pricier books. They have yet to chew apart the cheapo books from garage sales or the thrift store. Who knew they could tell the difference?
Shecklet #2 must have known the Twins are closing in on the end of the season and hoping for a trip to the playoffs. This afternoon, he donned the Twinkies hat in support of their efforts, taking after big brother Shecklet #1, who started the hat trend by sporting the Rocky Mountain National Park hat from Grandma Patti & Grandpa Dave. Speaking of Grandma, she called to talk to Shecklet #1 today. They chatted about what he did in school this morning. Very cute!
I also just had to post this pic of Shecklet #1. His eyes are this crazy gold/green color and the shirt he wore today really brought them to life.
Jake and I both went to the U of M, so naturally, we’re Gopher fans. However, it seems that Jake’s sister, Stacie, would like to see our boys wearing red & black instead of maroon & gold. Shecklet #1 has been asking to wear his “Badger socks” for months (probably since we stopped wearing socks for the summer.) With today’s temps in the 50’s, I figured today he could bring Bucky out of summer retirement. Shecklet #2 naturally followed suit.
Here’s the kids’ feet all decked out in their Wisconsin footwear. We miss you Auntie Stacie!
A recent trip to Sam’s Club replenished our stash of size 3’s and wet wipes. I threw the packages on top of the clean laundry I was already hauling upstairs and let the boys help me unload everything in their room. They had so much fun playing, building, crashing in to, and moving the compact & semi-cushy “blocks.” When we finished putting away their clean clothes, we switched rooms and the diapers & wipes came along with us. Here are a couple of shots of the boys building and destroying a “road.” I love how Shecklet #1’s creative juices are flowing so much lately and how Shecklet #2 mimics his brother’s every move.
We started the day off with mass at St. John’s. Nana & Papa (my parents) showed up and surprised us. I love seeing the boys’ expressions when they see any of their grandparents. It’s always pure joy. Since we had more adults than kids, we kept Shecklet #2 with us instead of having him play in the nursery. The boys did really well. I wonder if they were on extra-good behavior for their grandparents…
Our house was full of lovely women and super cute kids this afternoon. We figured out that today’s group was a mix of 1st, 2nd & 3rd cousins from my mom’s side of the family. It was really nice to be able to spend time with all of them today. Shecklet #1 and Shecklet #2 enjoyed showing off for the group. It’s so funny what the two of them will do to entertain others when they’re in the spotlight.
While Shecklet #2 was napping this afternoon (after our guests departed,) Shecklet #1 helped me put together brownies for an impromptu dinner at our friends’ house. He cracked the eggs (with just a little help :)), stirred the batter, and scooped it from the bowl to the pan. He is really big into helping lately. I wish I could bottle some of his enthusiasm and have it on hand for when he gets older.
The day ended the way it normally does, but with a small, sweet little twist. We said bedtime prayers with the boys like we always do and I picked up Shecklet #2 and held him while Jake rocked a little while with Nolan. Nolan asked me to sing a song for him. (This has become part of the nighttime routine along with having his back scratched.) So I sang “Jesus Loves Me,” and he joined me like he usually does. Next, he asked me to sing the song he calls “Daisy” or “bicycle built for two.” Well tonight, instead of waiting for me to start the song and join me, he sang the song himself – and remembered most of the lyrics, too! It was so sweet to hear his little voice. He sure loves music!
Today I had the chance to attend a Catholic Women’s Day at St. John the Baptist Church in Savage. My friends, Sarah and Michelle accompanied me; we really enjoyed the day. I can’t say I had an “ah-ha!” moment, but did came away with a lot to process. I have been given 3 opportunities to think about and discuss “grace” this week – two on this past Wednesday and then throughout the day today. I’m assuming at this point that God has something He wants to tell/show/teach me involving this subject…
There are several points from today’s talks that I’ll be working through over the next few days & weeks:
From Liz Kelly’s talk:
When Jesus entered human history, He extended a dignity to women that had never existed before.
Jesus is an intimate friend to us.
Loneliness reminds us that our hearts have not become so bitter that they cannot break.
From Ann Osendorf’s talk:
Prayer based on Spiritual Exercises by St. Ignatius:
G – Gratitude & Praise: praising God opens our heart for Him. It enables us to appreciate His gifts for us. Gifts are sometimes in the gift of what we have not received.
R – Request for Light & Strength: part of God’s grace is asking for the willingness to do what is difficult.
A – Attention & Awareness: grace builds on nature. We need to recognize the areas in our life that need fixing so that God can give us more grace.
C – Charting the Course to Holiness (Contrition & Confession): God’s divine grace is all about love. We’re either moving toward God or away from Him. We need to ask Him to not let go of us.
E– Entrustment: surrendering the piece of our heart that needs healing.
From Christina Smith’s talk:
For what do you hunger?
“Nowhere does the Gospel say: ‘Go away,’ but always ‘come to me.’ ” – Mother Teresa
“God is with us. This is our joy.” – Mother Teresa
From Kimberly Hahn’s keynote talk:
We all have a place of service.
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to do it. – Proverbs 3:27
Today and tomorrow we have an extra little guy at our house. Friends of ours are attending a conference not far from where we live, so their little man is spending some quality time at the Sheck house. Nolan and Lincoln think the temporary addition is pretty fun to have around. They enjoy entertaining him and are doing a fine job showing him how to play in creative ways.
We did have one interesting event today that I thought was worth mentioning. When lunchtime rolled around, I placed our friends’ son in Lincoln’s highchair. You would have thought I was giving him Lincoln’s most prized possession. Lincoln stomped his feet, started crying, and was just about to pull out his tantrum face when I picked him up and walked to the side of the table where we have Nolan’s booster chair. I asked him if he wanted to sit in Nolan’s chair and the crying stopped instantly. Who wants to sit in the high chair when Mom offers the big boy booster seat instead? He was SO proud to sit next to Nolan at the big table and use a placemat. Now that he’s experienced eating at the table (instead of next to it) we’ll see if he’ll even go close the high chair at meal time again.
The thing I dislike the most about being a parent is having to discipline. I hate being the bad guy. I wish someone would invent a fool-proof way to get my kids to listen to what I’ve asked them to do (or not do) and have them follow through.
Today Shecklet #1 was having a overly-whiny afternoon, so I told him he would be taking a nap. No tantrum was thrown when I said it was time to head upstairs (which was positive) but the little guy refused to stay in bed. This tends to happen when he naps, so I’ve been having him sleep in our bed instead of his so at least Shecklet #2 has a chance to get a good nap in. I swear I went back upstairs to check on him a half dozen times. A few times he was just sitting up on our bed, so I had him lay back down. But at one point I walked in to find the lamps on and clean socks, that were previously in the laundry basket, strewn all over the room. Apparently I missed the memo that nap time meant throw the laundry everywhere. At this point, I had to follow through with the consequence for not napping that we had talked about – no afternoon trip to the park. I don’t know who was more disappointed, him or me. It hurt to have to say we weren’t going, especially when he turned on the waterworks, but I knew I had to remain firm. I’m hoping that one of these days, something will click in that little 3-year-old head of his and he’ll understand that his actions have consequences. Until then, we get to keep working on the meaning of cause and effect.
The boys and I spent time in the backyard this afternoon. They got to play with squirt bottles while I gave the lawn a quick once-over with the lawnmower. (It was my attempt to keep the mosquitoes at bay – they seem to really love my kids.) As you can see from the pictures, Shecklet #1 has the correct form down pat. Shecklet #2 on the other hand is still learning how to manage the squirter. Actually, maybe the direction of his bottle is intentional. He figured out that he can actually squirt the water into his mouth if it’s pointed this way. Smart boy!
This evening, “Auntie Lissa” (this is how Shecklet #1 says Auntie Larissa) came over so Jake and I could attend a meeting at our church. We’re part of a small group of people who meet once a month with a seminarian friend from the St. Paul Seminary to discuss a topic of our friend’s choice. The overall goal of the meetings is to give our friend a chance to discuss parish and family life from the laity’s perspective. Tonight’s topic was a re-visitation of last year’s first meeting topic, “graces we have received over the course of the summer.” I couldn’t help but reflect back on how much our family and friends have supported us through prayer this summer and what a huge blessing that has been to our family. We know that the peace we have felt throughout recent difficult situations is an answer to the prayers being said on our behalf.
