Out of the mouths of babes

OK, one of the reasons I did this blog was to record some of the hysterical things John-Paul says (and Benjamin in the hoepfully near future). So, be on the lookout for those. But here are some from the past that come to mind:

As he darted in front of my mother on the way to the kitchen "because I'm faster..."
When asked if he wanted some green beans: "No, I don't like green beans, they have too much caffeine."
If he doesn't like something I have suggested: "That's not a good option."
Upon noticing (presumably for the first time) his uncle's balding head: "You got a haircut, and they cut it all up here."

Stations of the Cross with a three-year-old

I am the first to admit that I have not been very Lenten this Lent. Come to think of it, I wasn't last Lent either. In both cases I use the lame excuse that circumstances beyond my control made my life Lenten without me even trying (last year it was the nine week premature delivery of our son Benjamin, this year turmoil with my mentally ill sister). Every year I do go to Stations on Good Friday. And I took John-Paul, the 3.5 year old, a couple weeks back on a Friday night. While it was a good experience for him, it was less than "spiritual" for me. I spent the whole time with him on my lap in the back explaining things to him. Now I am trying to figure out if I should take him with me today. Benjamin will be there, so I'll distracted enough already. So, do I take JP and hope he gets something out of it or do I leave him at his grandmother's and hope to get something from the experience myself? Of course, he'd rather be at Grandma's house.

Why does it seem you sacrifice your own spiritual attentiveness in order to properly teach your children how to behave properly? Neither have ever been left in the nursery during Mass (much to the chagrin of the one usher who every week would tell me where the nursery was when I would be walking the halls outside the Church trying to get Benjamin calmed down when he was much younger.) I am proud to say both boys can sit through Mass without too much of a problem, but when was the last time I actually was able to pay attention to the entire Mass? Ah, Palm Sunday, when I left the kids home with Daddy. And even then, not as much as I would have liked. Hm, maybe the kids are just an excuse for my own wandering mind. And as far as distractions are concerned, they are cute ones.

Oh, and I left John-Paul with Grandma. Next year I'll take him (and no doubt leave Benjamin with Mom.)

My First Blog

I recently learned that a couple of friends of mine, stay at home moms like me, have blogs. I am completely impressed. Their hands are much fuller than mine are. So I thought that maybe I ought to try my hand at it. I figure this is a good way to keep folks up to date on our lives, as well as a good way to put those funny stories of the boys down that I would otherwise not record and forget. And God knows I could use some more discipline in my life, so this may help. And it has been awhile since I have done any real writing, so maybe this will help keep me more literate. We will see. It may not do any of those things, if I don't get to it often. A blog is what you make it, so let's see what I can make of it! So here goes. Wish me luck!