Friday, January 3, 2014

7 Quick Takes Friday {Take 25} New year, new...Catholic Librarian?

Well, not really. :0 But this is always a "fresh" time of year, is it not? I enjoy the reflection that the new year offers, and it's a time to look ahead to full on winter and then spring and appreciate life's gifts. Let us reflect. :)

-1- Since being off on my Christmas break, I have appreciated being home with my kids more. I love my children, that goes without saying, but sometimes too much togetherness quickly devolves into:

"Stop it, HENRY! Don't pull my hair!"

"I wasn't *pulling* it, I was just *touching* it! Mommy, Anne is yelling at me!!"

"What?! What are you both doing?! Wait. I don't care. WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING, STOP DOING IT!!"

You know how that goes. But this Christmas I took the time to relax a bit and just appreciate the kids for who they are. They are messy, they can be loud, but they bring so much joy, and you have to look at the whole package. I really enjoyed my time with them.

-2- In that vein, last night both children were up in bed, and you know what this means.

"Honey, do we have any more of that pumpkin vodka?!"

Mike and I were downstairs having a great time, unwinding after a long day of getting back into a post-Christmas routine. Suddenly, I hear something from upstairs. I go on High Mommy Alert.

"Did you hear that?"

"I think it was Hank getting up to get a book. I'll check on him in a few minutes."

Well. We forgot. Parents of the year, right here.

An hour or so later, we head upstairs to bed. I always check on the kids before I get into bed, and so I brush my teeth etc., and pause outside Anne's door.

*sniff sniff* Picture my nose twitching like a bunny.

Maybe her diaper pail just needs to be changed. Yet another reminder that we need to jump back on the potty training wagon, sigh. I carefully crack open the door.

*thwap!*

I am smacked in the face by a fetid odor originating from my left. Anne. Who is *sound* asleep underneath a pile of blankets. Could that odor just be from her pail?! No way, too high of an impact. Must be fresh. I hurry to our bedroom.

"I think Anne pooed. She must have been the one we heard earlier."

*feels guilty*

"Do you think we should change her?"

"Probably. Do you want to go peek?"

Mike heads in. I see him grimace the instant he opens her door.

"Yeah. We have to change her."

So we gently woke her and changed her, and let me tell you, that was a close one. Diaper implosion and complete sleeping surface annihilation was one pee pee away.

"Mommy, HOLD ANNE!"

These are the moments you live for as a parent. A sleepy toddler to cuddle and rock. It was divine. She went right back to sleep, but not before a satisfying snuggle session.

-3- January 1st commences what I call the "second half of winter." Kind of silly, since winter didn't even officially start until December 21st, but to me winter is divided into 2 distinct segments: That holiday winter time between Thanksgiving and New Years Eve, and then post-January 1st winter until spring/late March, whichever comes later. :0 I have to admit, I do prefer the holiday winter time, that feels so magical. But this part of winter has its own appeal. This is the *hard* part of winter, to be sure, in terms of temperature and (generally) snowfall. It's cozy, great knitting weather. Lots of fires and hot chocolate. And there's so much promise in this part of the year. No matter how much snow falls, it will eventually melt and green things will sprout up in spring. My wedding anniversary is also January 8th, so I just have a special fondness for this part of deep winter. :)

-4- But snow never stopped anyone from dancing. My dance troupe has a performance next Saturday at a Lebanese dinner event, and so we're back to practice tonight. We're also scheduled for a Mardi Gras party March 1st and lots of summer festivals to plan choreographies for. Fun! I will report in with the inevitable amusing anecdotes.

-5- And so yes, this time of the year inspires me to knit until my husband can't take it anymore, and acquire yarn at an alarming rate. Hey, if we're ever trapped in our house for years at a time, we're all set. We will all be super warm and I will never get bored. I've got 2 sweaters on the needles (one for me, one for Mike), a pair of socks for Henry, and a headband/ear warmer for myself for when my hair is up and I don't want to use my hat. I'm excitedly planning afghans (which I tend to *plan* a lot and not *finish*, but we'll ignore that little detail for now, I'm too busy planning color schemes for new ones) and what project I will do for the upcoming Ravellenic Games, during which knitters set crafting goals to accomplish by the end of the Olympics. I'm thinking of another sweater, like I did for the summer 2012 games.

*angels sing!*

So exciting. I love making and meeting goals, especially when they involve knitting rather than some work thing. :0

-6- January is also a great month on the Church calendar. Coming up, we have the feasts of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Anthony, St. Agnes, St. Francis de Sales, the Conversion of St. Paul, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John Bosco. AND, Monday is the Epiphany and the following Sunday is the Baptism of the Lord. Dude! This is awesome. You need to get yourself a subscription to Magnificat Magazine so that you'll have this handy information at your fingertips too. :0

-7- Winter is also a great time to read, and you can bet that I've been doing that and plotting out book reviews for your viewing pleasure. I just finished Christmas in Apple Ridge, review to come Monday or Tuesday (because it's still Christmas season, you know :0), and I just started Dedicated to God: An Oral History of Cloistered Nuns. Shortly, I will begin Walking With Mary: A Biblical Journey From Nazareth to the Cross for the January installment of Catholic Book Club, and I went back to An Amish Christmas: December in Lancaster County, which I had started and set aside to get to other books temporarily. The reading life is grand, is it not? Look for the reviews shortly! You can use my Catholic Book Club tag to find all of the reviews I've done in the past year and get ideas for new books!

All right, time to get back to work! It's good to be back to blogging for the new year. Do you all have any New Years resolutions? If so, leave me a comment!

Check out Conversion Diary for more 7 Quick Takes!

4 comments:

  1. I've commented here before, but I really need to keep following you and reading more (it's been awhile) since I'm now officially in library school (yay!) and am wondering how to juggle everything. I'm so impressed to find someone who is pretty similar to me and still manages to do her favorite things, while working and being a mom!

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    1. Hi Jen! So nice to have you back girl, and congrats on starting library school!

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  2. Love to read, my Quick Takes includes Catholic books I've read this year.

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