Catching up: Anthony's birthday

On his actual birthday, at the playground.

His Hungry Caterpillar cake! If you click on the picture to zoom in, you can see the individually placed sprinkles to make the rainbow fuzz along his back (It actually didn't take that long, since my sister helped.), the chocolate chip feet, and semi-Eric Carle-esque icing tinting technique.) This was really the only Caterpillar thing at the party, besides the invitations. They were a mock-up of the book entitled The Very Happy Birthday with a picture of the Caterpillar wearing an MS Paint-made birthday hat.


All the artistry involved in the above was lost on the birthday boy, but he sure thought it tasted good!


Friends and family came to celebrate. It was really great having Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop (my parents) and Aunt Teresa here.

He had a great day!

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns!

One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns!

It's a curious tradition, beginning the most solemn, most severely penitential day of the year with sweet rolls. Like the cross itself, it is a paradox, but not a difficult one. The sweetness of the bun is a little foretaste of the Resurrection; Good Friday will always lead to Easter Sunday. The suffering we experience through our fasting and penance can itself be sweet. Finally, today we have been given the sweetest of gifts, our Savior offering Himself for our sin, that we may have eternal life.

We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by Thy holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world!

Since my last post...

-Anthony turned one had his first birthday party! It was a Hungry Caterpillar party, because he really likes that book. It's so cute how he laughs at the repetition of "...but he was still hungry!" My parents and my sister Teresa were in town for that weekend. We hadn't seen them since Christmas! It turned out to be a gorgeous spring day and some of our good Cincinnati friends came to play! Anthony had a really good time. He's going to be a social butterfly, I can already tell. Plus he managed to eat an entire cupcake.

-There are vegetables growing in the garden! Peas and lettuce and spinach and broccoli are all up. Carrots and brussels sprouts have been planted, but no sprouts yet. Some more things are still indoors, but they haven't really been getting any bigger. Fertilizer? Ryan built an amazing cold frame that we used to protect the broccoli transplants from the downpours we've had this week.

-The dogwood trees are blossoming! They're late this year. To me it isn't truly spring until the dogwood flowers are out. I love those trees. We had a pink one in front of our house growing up, and we always took Easter pictures in front of the flowering tree. My grandparents had a white dogwood in front of their house. At our house we have one of each: white in front and pink in back. Yet another bit of evidence that our house was really found for us by divine Providence. :)

-I finished addressing Katie's wedding invitations! Then I made her shower invitations and bought her a present. Good thing I like her so much.

-Ryan and I went to the gala supper for which I made the quilt in the last post. It was fun, and sort of a date for us. (We left Anthony with two of his "god-siblings".) The address was about "building our domestic churches", a good topic! Good food and good friends. TONS of stuff was raffled off. My quilt was priced at $200! Maybe I should think about an Etsy shop. Ryan won a very pretty collection of plates with Our Lady on them; my grandmother had the Our Lady of Lourdes one. They're now hanging in our bedroom, but Ryan doesn't know yet.

-Because Ryan's away in New York for his sister's senior fashion show. It's a big deal for her as a design major who's done the show each year she's earned the right to show an entire line of her designs. Her clothes are lots of knits and very soft textures. I am not there because little Bubs was very very sick on Wednesday and Thursday, and was not sufficiently recovered for a ten-hour trip. (He's pretty much back to normal now.)

-So this weekend I rearranged the bedroom and hung up CURTAINS! Like some women like shoes, my mom likes curtains. I have inherited her appreciation for properly dressed windows. Every single room in our house but Anthony's had mini blinds when we moved in. I detest mini blinds. To carry the shoe analogy, they are the cheap Wal-Mart white sneakers of window treatments. Curtains have not been a budget priority, so they remained, until I pulled the old one-two punch of clearance plus coupon at Bed Bath & Beyond! Our bedroom is now clean and pretty and romantic for when Ryan comes home. Or it will be once I chuck the Jumperoo out of here. :)

Mango Blues

It's finished! Just in time for the silent auction on Saturday. I've never named my quilts, but "Mango Blues" just seems to fit. It's 4 feet square, machine pieced and quilted. The texture came out really well; I love crinkly quilts!

I debated back and forth about whether to do a pieced binding or not. I'm glad I decided on the aqua. Using the leftover scraps would have been thrifty but it would have been too busy.


I did do a pieced backing. I think I like the back as much as the front! The brightness is a nice contrast to all the white on the other side.



So there you are, St. Edmund Campion Academy!

Daily Routine

While doing my Monday dust-through, I pondered today on the need we creatures have for rhythm and routine. Nature has the seasons, night and day, the cycle of life and death. The Church has Matins, Lauds, Vespers, and Compline; Sunday Mass and Friday penance; Lenten fast followed by Easter feast. The home has dishes and laundry, bathrooms and shopping day, spring cleaning and holiday decorating. Day in and day out, year after year, world without end Amen.

This Lent, I have really been working on establishing my set routines. Before I did the necessary tasks, but it was on a catch-as-catch-can basis, and there were times I found myself wondering when exactly I last cleaned the kitchen floor or begging my husband to help dig me out of Mt. Washmore. It has really blessed our family to know that the laundry will be done, the kitchen clean enough to make a meal, and something planned for dinner for which all the necessary groceries are on hand. That alone is enough reason to have a routine, but I've found more time for leisure activities that rejuvenate me and make me a much happier and relaxed woman. When I've successfully done my routines in a day, it really does give me a sense of accomplishment.

Why do we thrive on this sort of order? Beyond the practical benefits of knowing that when you open the drawer you will find clean underwear, I think it is because in my own small way, creating this small ordered universe I call my home is a reflection of He who is perfect order. Not that my home is pefect! Haha, if you came in right now you'd find a still questionable kitchen floor. Of course it doesn't help that it's white. But it's definitely generally improved over past months. Aim for progress, yes? To conform to an outward discipline is generally good for the soul in strengthening humility and charity, two of the most essential virtues. I'm sure you can come up with your own examples as this relates to housework. It of course also applies to one's prayer life.

So here is my weekday routine. Like everything else, it is a work in progress. This is really more of an ideal. It's a rare day indeed that absolutely everything happens in this order, but even having the framework established keeps me focused and on task if you will. Anthony's naptimes are changing now; lately he's been having only one nap at midday.

Morning routine:
-Wake up 6:15
-Morning offering
-Shower, dress, fix hair and face
-Quick clean bathroom (spray down shower, swish toilet bowl, wipe down mirror, sink, toilet, and floor. This takes two minutes and my bathroom is presentable!)
-Head downstairs with hamper of dirty laundry, sort laundry and put a load in the washer (on delay start so Ryan can get his shower)
-Empty dishwasher
-Make breakfast, look over calendar and to-do list while I eat
-I generally hear Ryan in the shower about now, turn on the coffee.
-Make Ryan's lunch, wash dishes
-Anthony wakes up: morning nursing, get him dressed, straighten his crib. (You may have noticed making the bed isn't on this list--my wonderful husband does that!)
-Kiss Ryan goodbye (very important!)
-9:00 Mass (bonus points for walking)

Daytime routine:
-Anthony's morning nap around 10:30- prayer time and cleaning (I have a rotation for this, another post perhaps)
-12:00 Angelus
-Lunch around 12:30

Afternoon/evening routine:
-Put away laundry from earlier
-Afternoon nap around 3:00- Mama's fun time! Sewing, reading, or talk to a friend.
-4:30-ish pick up around the downstairs
-Around 5:00 start thinking about starting dinner; Anthony usually feeds himself finger foods while I cook.
-6:00 Ryan comes home, Angelus, suppertime
-Dishes, playtime
-8:00 bedtime for Bubs
-Rosary, time for Ryan and me
-Make sure kitchen's clean, start dishwasher. I've decided to run it every evening because it's so nice to start the day with all your dishes that you need clean. Luckily, we have a "half load" option to reduce waste.
-Pick out clothes for tomorrow, hang them in the bathroom
-Wash up for bed
-Prayer and bed. Going to bed at a decent time is the hardest part!