Mary's Cream Puffs

Here are some pictures from our Cream Puff celebration. It is much easier to take pictures the night of, than to get the post up. A result of celebration side-effects, I think.

Pudding Prep.
(I missed all the puff prep pictures; containing the goo and hot pans won out over the camera)

Peter helped Isabelle with the milk.

A glass of wine helped mommy with the spills.

And after two minutes of stirring, Peter will confirm that you can actually see pudding become solid.

Our Head Chef.

Having discerned that a plate of nachos stood between each of us and the consumption of puffs, she wisely took over bean spreading, as mommy's attentions had necessarily been redirected to puff assembly. I don't think a chip has been more thoroughly, or lovingly, adorned with beans, and the process would have continued all night, that amount of time being necessary to complete four plates at that speed, had I not discovered her de-salting the chips before spreading. A slip of the tongue, it seems. She didn't really understand my concern, as she assured me it was only her own chips stripped of their seasonings.

The Dish Boy.

There was debate over where a pair of two year old hands could be most... useful. In pudding and puffs, or soap and suds.

This picture captured him after he scrubbed his left ear. A few suds remain.




Squeezing an excess of chocolate on their puffs was perhaps their favorite part.

Even though for mom, a heap of Hershey's didn't do the trick, celebrating with the kids was worth every drop.

Small Successes

You may have noticed that the last two weeks postings were missing my three Small Successes. Thankfully this was not because the weeks did not include successes, but rather, the successes did not include blogging.

For this week though, I am proud to claim the successes of...

1. On the night my dear husband had to leave us in pursuit of our daily bread, I managed to have all four children fed, bathed and bedded by 8:00, with a clean kitchen and a smile on their faces (despite my having skipped dinner and resembling more a hurricane survivor than a mom.)

2. To celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation, the children and I made cream puffs for dessert. We were very proud of the effort, not so much the dessert.

3. I paid homage to the ironing board on Tuesday for two and a half hours, and for my efforts, was rewarded with ALL of the ironing being finished! As of Tuesday, at least.

PS. click on this link to view Faith and Family's page, and see other mom's successes!

Update

Luci can now consume twenty nine different varieties of food.

Call Peter for the complete list.

This little dancing Sprite is what is normal for this family!

Or should I say typical, Philip?

Growing...

Our little Luci went in for her six month appointment recently (yes, she is 7 1/2 months old) and we discovered what we already suspected. We have a normal, healthy, beautiful girl.

Of course, by being normal, she is quite exceptional for our family.

Because these have never existed in our family before. And by these I mean chubby, rolly, fat, plump... well, in reality, anything but bony little stick legs!




She is now 16 1/2 lbs (50%) and 28 in (90%). She has slimmed down from the 95% in weight after gaining the gift of mobility. This gift, along with causing anxiety attacks for most of the family, has recently entitled her to crash many a tea party and train construction site, sample a floor of left overs while mommy is busy, and enjoying a whole bowl of cat food.




Watch out world, here she comes!




Some of Luci's other recent accomplishments are eating 23 different kinds of food, of which Peter and Isabelle are keeping a close count, and as with all their close counting, the list must be restated every time they realize her little hands have helped themselves to something new. I didn't bother informing them of all the things sampled while she and I were on retreat last weekend. I think avoiding the debate over mashed potatoes being consumed after the carrots or before the peas a wise option right now.

A Day at the Gardens

Recently we enjoyed a beautiful day at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens, a place well worth the visit.

"The Line Up" (minus the two nursers)

Peek-A-Boo
(There is nothing like a man made hollow log when immersed in nature. I realized we need to get out more when Peter's declared this to be his favorite part of the day.)


And what day would be complete without a little sibling competition?

On your Mark.



Get Set.




Go!



Go!



Go!


After all the racing, we decided to relax by the perfectly picturesque park.

Peter had hopes of an early dinner.



Daniel, having discovered Peter's game, rummaged for his own fishing rod.




But he came up a little short, and we were forced to go home without any of the giant goldfish.




I can't say that any of us were disappointed.

Our Family

Favorite Parent??

So tonight during an unusually strenuous prayer time with Daniel, it was his turn to pray for people. Normally he prays for Gia and Momma. But tonight, right after a serious reprimand and correction from his Dadda, this is what followed:

Dadda: "Daniel, who do you want to pray for?"

Daniel: "Gia and Momma....not chuuuu!"


I am sure I will be in good favor again soon.

Good Day Mr. Moon

On my way to mass the other day, accompanied only by my Doodle, a guy made for going whenever there is a place to have him, I was privileged to witness his developing humor. Enjoyable during the car ride, not so much at mass.

Doodle: (in casual observance) "Derrr de moon."
Mommy: (amused at his observational skill) "Oh, good job, that is the moon!"
Doodle: (casually continuing) "He go mass wit us."
Mommy: (amused, now, with his imagination) "Oh, really. He's going to mass with us?"
After a moments pause to reflect upon the situation...
Doodle: "Noooo," (with a tilted nod and grin indicating how silly I am), "He not go mass! He can't opin dat door!"

Upon further reflection, I am thankful neither the moon nor the sun can open the door, mass would be quite crowded then.

Demolition Cleanup

Having finished the garage, we had a lot of sheet rock from the walls, and the ceiling, which needed to be broken down and put in trash bags. Being the responsible Dad that I am, I brought the kids along to help.

Looking back, I probably should have had them wear some safety gear....maybe during the next remodel??

Home IMPROVED!

Thanks to the exceptional efforts of a father, father-in-law,

dear husband, and a brother and brother-in-law,



the children and I have been enjoying our new class ROOM!

Of course, in typical Mommy form, the room has received three rearrangements, and I am certain it will be arranged again. But here are a few pictures as it stands now (correction: I waited too long to post this, the pictures are as it was last week).

Our new door to the front porch, with some greatly desired natural light!

The new door into the house, allowing school time to coexist with family life, and preventing the neighbors from viewing all our dirty laundry, literally.

As all our dirty laundry is now behind the new door in the new wall, making an old garage quite different.



And, could we forget, the unexpected new ceiling.

Small Successes

1. I took a shower every day of this past week. I feel good.

2. I managed four children, a household, and a school room on four hours of sleep without any tears. Well, my tears at least.

3. I realized it was my grandmother's birthday, and despite all reasonable excusses to "find a better time," I called her. It was nice to talk to her.