The Child-Friendly Home

Ginny over at small things has some great ideas that I want to remember for when my children get a little older.  I am particularly fond of the enamelware mugs (I hate plastic cups!).

Feast of the Sacred Heart

A plenary indulgence is available tomorrow if the Act of Reparation is recited publicly (with the usual conditions of sacramental Confession and Holy Communion).  A partial indulgence is available to those who recite it privately.

Tomorrow would be a good day to to make an extra-special effort to go to daily Mass if you are able.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}

{Pretty}

A pretty new hat for her first birthday.

{Happy}

This is one happy baby with the funny Scottish fuzzy cow that her grandma sent for her birthday.  She's absolutely delighted with it.

{Funny}

I think my baby has learned to play dress-up.  She puts a scarf around her shoulders and crawls around the house like that.

I'm not sure what the attraction is, but this is the book that my little girl gets in trouble most often for pulling off the shelf to play with (she's awfully hard on books, especially those with paper pages).  Maybe it's the bright blue cover.

{Real}

This is mama's attempt at re-direction.  It works ... sometimes.

Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more.

Yarn Along

I've been knitting a green dishcloth this week.  It seems to come out much better with smaller, bamboo needles.  I think I must knit very loosely.  As you can see, I haven't made a whole lot of progress knitting this week, probably because I have been reading this book.  The Blue Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang, is a collection of classic versions of fairy tales from all over the world.  These are non-Disney-fied versions were the evil characters (and occasionally the good characters) sometimes come to very sticky ends.  I'm thoroughly enjoying it, and I may have to explore some of the other books in this series.

Be sure to head over to small things for more knitting and reading.

Blessing Before Childbirth

I had the privilege yesterday to receive the "Blessing of a pregnant woman in danger of childbirth" according to the old Rituale Romanum. The prayer asks specifically that the "child live to be reborn in holy baptism, and continuing always in your service, be found worthy of attaining everlasting life."  It's a wonderful blessing.  Here's the Blessing of an Expectant Mother (in English) and the Benedictio Mulieris Praegnantis in periculis partus (Latin text on p. 349-350).

I'm beginning to see ...

that sometimes the things I consider a cross are really a blessing.

A couple weeks ago, my baby abruptly stopped sleeping through the night.  It seems she's teething.  Every night I hope that this will be the night she will go back to sleeping ten or eleven hours at a stretch.  Every night I am disappointed.  Last night, I was still wide awake, tossing and turning (and probably driving my poor husband crazy) when she woke up.  I could tell that state of affairs could have gone on for several more hours.  By rocking my baby to sleep, I effectively rocked my self to sleep as well.  After I put her back in her crib, I went back to bed and fell asleep immediately.

This morning, when I woke feeling relatively rested, I thanked my guardian angel for the help.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}

{Pretty}

My wonderful husband decided that I needed a lamp on the new piano.  Doesn't it look inviting?  I think it's just perfect!

{Happy}

The swaddling blankets for my baby boy are finished.  I'm starting to feel like I might be ready for him to arrive.

 {Funny}

When I cut open an apple at lunch, one of the seeds had sprouted.

 {Real}

Lunch for my little girl involves a lot of chopping:   in this case, apples and cheese.

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} is hosted at Like Mother, Like Daughter.