My Small Success Thursday

 Years ago, I ran Small Success Thursday every Thursday for Catholicmom.com. It's now on Instagram and I'm not, so I'm going to just restart posting Small Success Thursday each Thursday to force me to hold to my 500 words  a day, no outs, no excuses mantra until I run out of words.   

Small Success Thursday is about taking stock of the prior week to see the little victories that help one be grateful for the things that otherwise might get lost in the course of seven days. In this time of Covid, cultivating gratitude is a form of self preservation and a reminder that even when things are pretty much the same, there are moments that should be celebrated.   

1) In the past week, we've acquired a new car, a new toaster and a new dishwasher. All three machines just decided their time was up and they weren't going to do anything more.  The mechanic took the car for what looks like a month and a half break.  The toaster found its place in the trash can and the new one ambled its way over the course of seven days from wherever it was in the Amazon warehouse to our home. The plumber took away the old dishwasher that was a machine and not working.  The old dishwasher that is not a machine is still working and wondering if she stopped working, would she get to retire too?   

2) Restarted my writing 500 words a day to get my writing brain back into regular practice. It had taken what I would call a month off (Feb), after the conference.  

3) Looked at my shoes and thought about walking.  Waiting for the temperature to be above my age.   or at least within a decade.   

4) Visited with a few important people in my life, family, friends, which somehow had fallen by the wayside --how we can get too busy when we're not going anywhere is proof we are capable of infinite distraction in every circumstance.  

5) Watched a movie I hadn't seen and read a book I hadn't read.   (Progress again, against watching things I've already seen, and looking at text I already knew).   

That's my list of Small Successes of this past week.  Hope your week was filled with small successes too.  

What We've Lost

It is a season of loss, and I know it.  That's why I make my kids come up with something each night at dinner, because gratitude is easy when there's lots to be thankful for, it's harder when there is less.  I want them to practice while there is still far more.  They grieve even if they don't know it,is waht they are doing, over prom, over graduation, over friends, over trips to the store, music lessons, track meets, birthday parties, and yes, even mass with Mom and Dad.  They will miss all the people who filled their lives on a daily basis until March 13th.  

Reading the news and following what's going on in Italy, I worry about the far less we will face in the coming months.  

I miss work, and I know most of us do, and most of us are applying all our mental muscles to carving out some normal to make this new not normal less strange.  The losses must be acknowledged, it is part of the clearing out process.  So I will also ask them each night, what they miss and try to give everyone a means to remedy some of that via tech, via talking, via alternatives.  Knowing what they're grieving today helps too because the little things are going to matter more.   


All the comforts of ordinariness in our lives, of routine, of value through our own business, of community by mere proximity, and of entertainment substituting for joy, have been revealed as what they aren't by their absence.   This is one hell of a Lent but we have been kicked out of Fake Eden, and are being invited into a better one even in this time of social distancing.   

We must go deeper, and this unknowable desert we're wandering into, has a point.  It is to meet God face to face. Up until now, we could find Him easily, in the Sacraments.  Now, we must all seek.   

God has not been taken away.  We've just discovered all the ways in which we do not see Him. 
The other thing we've lost, is our capacity to use shortcuts both to distract and to see Him.  

We will have to begin responding to all His invitations into friendship through acts of the will.  We can no longer be organic in our responses, we must be deliberate. 

I used to donate to the Soup Kitchen when they held their annual drive, because someone reminded me, "They're doing that."  Now, it must be a willful choice. Everything is now a willful choice.  Writing, prayer, exercise, work, presence, all of it is now something which requires assent.  We cannot trust to the routine to make sure these things happen. We also know, it is hard, because we are still seeking to stay attatched to the way things were but won't be again for some time. 

Perhaps that's the real reality Lent seeks to teach us as a season, we should not be content with being comfortable with our relationship with God. We can rest in Him, but we are nto to rest in our seeking. 

Over at the Register

As Gandalf says, it's a dangerous thing going out your front door. And if you do...you will never be the same. Tolkien says it with story, I'm more blunt. Being open to the Gospel is a dangerous thing.

Over at the Register Today

I dream of one day being a regular reporter/writer for a paper, but until then, I'll rejoice each time I make it onto the page of any paper.  I've got an article over at the National Catholic Register, You Will Be Used, So Get Used to It.  Please, share, like, leave a comment, tweet, or Google plus. I'd really appreciate it.  

I Have a Piece Published...

Over at the National Catholic Register Today telling the story of how the Blessed Mother persisted to get me back in the habit of the daily rosary.  Please share, like, tweet and leave a comment.  Also, if you're thinking, you didn't get off to a big start of a New Year's Resolution, try asking the Virgin Mary to help you say a rosary a day.  She's very willing to help.

Over at Catholicmom.com Today

I have a piece discussing inviting a Saint to walk with you in the coming year.  This past year, I helped contribute to the Catholic Mom Prayer Companion, a collection of 365 short reflections designed to give the reader a moment to catch her breath and pray.   Because the book is entitled, the Catholic Mom Prayer Companion, I thought it a great idea to have a companion for engaging in the year of prayer.  Hence, I suggested turning to Jen Fulwiller's Saint Generator. 

If you'd like to read the story over at Catholicmom.com, Walk with a Saint, it will explain what a Saint Generator is, and why you might want to give it a try.  It's fun.

As 2016 is winding down, I thought back and realized, I did make some of my goals this year.

1) I lost seven pounds.  I probably gained two back from the past two days of food, but it's still progress.   I also ran in two 5K's.

2) I read 12 books.  (One a month).  Working to make it two a month in the coming year.

3) Wrote 32 pieces that got published somewhere for pay. (A new high).  

4) Got a job.

Have a great time preparing for the new year, I'm going to make my annual overly ambitious list of things I want to do.

What are my goals for 2017?

1) Lose 10 more pounds.

2) Read 24 books.

3) Write 52 pieces that get published for pay.

4) Grow at my job.

5)  Learn a piece of music a month.  (It's to stretch me). 

6) Reconnect more with family and friends.

7)  Redevelop my prayer life.  (The Saint I got through the Saint Generator is planning to help me).

Have a great last day of 2016!

Over at the National Catholic Register Today

We have less than a week until Christmas. Here's five ways to make the most of the last week of Advent.  It was a nice surprise to discover this...after dealing with two sick kiddos today.  

Monday's Work

If you missed the talk on Connecting the Dots with Mark Shea on Monday, not to fear, the link for that talk with Tom Hoopes and Mark Shea, talking about Tom's book, What Pope Francis Really Said, is right here. 

I have this book on Kindle and I'm breezing through it, not because it doesn't address things deeply, but because it's written in an easy style, and goes over the ways in which what Pope Francis said things and how they were interpreted, and how they were meant.  It's worth your time.

If you hang around to the 4th quarter of the program, you even get to hear my Yoda immitation.

12 Ways to be More Mindful This Advent

So we have 28 days to prepare for Christmas.

I’ve written at other times on the spiritual gift of silence and the blessed waiting we’re supposed to cultivate during this season of Advent. However, it is so easy — when we consider all we have to do in the coming weeks — to become consumed by the to-do list.

So I created this reminder to help me be mindful, to be more like a candle burning than a blinking LED light.

(Ironically it takes the shape of a to-do list, but it’s more of a “how to be” list).

Read the rest over at Aleteia...

Connecting the Dots Podcast is Up

If you missed yesterday's podcast over at Mark Shea's very cool corner of the internet because you were out trick-or-treating, not to worry, like Halloween candy, the podcast is just as fun and good the next day.  

So have a listen while you drive, work out, make dinner or whathave you, as Mark and I talk Halloween, favorite costumes, favorite memories and in preparation for today, Favorite Saints, all from a Catholic perpsective.

Connecting the Dots with Mark Shea Monday!  <--but all="" and="" be="" because="" br="" cannonized="" disorganized="" ever="" friends="" get="" if="" it="" nbsp="" of="" patron="" people="" re="" s="" she="" sherry="" special="" tardy="" the="" today.="" who="" will="" you="">

Connecting the Dots with Mark Shea

Hello! It's Monday so you get to hear me and Mark Shea interview a candidate for President.  We're talking with Mike Maturen of the American Solidarity Party. The discussion includes revisiting what it means to be pro-life (not merely anti-abortion), and Catholic social teaching, the defense of religious liberty and the question of how one engages in responsible economic policy.  

While the gentleman and the party are working to get placed on the ballot, the discussion of what is the morally correct vote, does come into play.  How do we discern what is the way to do the most good?  Our current system does not ask that question, it asks, are you on Team Iron Man or Team Captain America?  

It was pretty cool to say to my teens, get rides home from practice today, I'm interviewing a candidate for President.  It was also cool to hear that the guy cooks dinner for his kids most nights.  

Here's the link to the show, consider joining us next Monday at five o'clock.  You can text, tweet or facebook questions or you can call in, if you have a question.   As always, it will be fun.

Connecting the Dots with Mark Shea!

Friday Link Fest Because...

1. Why do I do a link up on Friday when I have my own link up on Thursdays?  

Because This Ain't the Lyceum! cracks me up with her earnest telling of what she's doing and why.

2.  I know, it's Friday but....

If you didn't make it to Catholicmom.com yesterday, here's the link to Small Success Thursday!

3.  Today, I have a piece over at Aleteia!  It's on teaching forgiveness and my own two cents.  

Here's the picture of the actual Forgiveness Jar.

4.  How's the Book coming?  Slow.   Last week I was sick, I'm trying to get back into the swing of writing, but somehow, life keeps taking up more and more time.   This week, I'm taking on Saint Teresa of Avila.   I figure, I should share some sites I've found that are gems.  This week's favorite is:

Order of the Carmelites.

What I keep understanding as I pursue this project, is I am in the kiddie pool of understanding, they swim in the ocean. 

5.  What are you reading?   I just got it, so I just started, but Elizabeth Scalia has a new book!

Thus far, I'm really enjoying it.  I hope to review it next Friday...as part of keeping my brain from spinning toward its natural state of atrophy.   

6.  What else are you doing?  In two weeks, we have a blockbuster weekend with Prom, Girls on the Run 5K and the Gaithersburg Book Festival!  The past two years, I've gone.  This year I'm helping with a booth.  I hope next year...to present!   

7.  I am a geeky woman.  I saw Captain America's Civil War.  I enjoyed all of it the same way Stephen Greydamus does, like a pizza that tasted great going down, but I probably shouldn't have eaten so willingly.  

After every movie, my husband and I do a wrap up, sort of like a post game review.   What got me was, the writers chickened out.  In the comic Civil War, the fight between Captain and Ironman has high stakes and high consequences.  If the movie had been willing to allow those sort of consequences to happen to both sides, it would have made the pain between them that much more than a mere stake out of my side, your side.  Superhero movies do have to rely on action and pop, so philosophical musings about the consequences of decisions, of releasing/holding onto power have to be done on the fly.   As Falcon says, "most fights don't involve that much talking."  However, I think the intimacy of the fight fell a little flat because there wasn't as much talking as one would want, to bring the audience into the Civil war with genuine torn loyalties.    

The poster promises something I don't feel the movie quite delivers, the pain and break isn't as decisive or hard as it should be.   It's more of a friendship sprain than a heart breaker. That being said, it was a fun popcorn date. 

Talking it over with my husband, we have allowed as young as John to go see it, but I wouldn't let anyone younger.  

See you Sunday.  Now I have to go get some writing done. :)

A Tale of Two Stories

Simcha Fisher wrote a great piece yesterday about expecting their youngest, Corrie.  The article triggered a lot of memories of our own experience of Paul, which turned into my post over at Aleteia today, Down Syndrome and God's Delivery System.  Please go read, share, like and leave a comment.

Thank you!

Grace from Failure*

Everything about my schedule these days overwhelms.  Four different schools, four separate pick up times, everything in opposite directions.  It has frazzled me such that I forgot my purse twice this week and drove out of the parking lot of the school without one of my older ones when he got out while we were picking up to go the bathroom.  I didn't notice until he called while we were half way home.  

It is a situation which I did not fully understand until we were in the thick of it, managing all of this and which I did not anticipate to be as difficult as it has been. I always believe things will work out, that we aren't called to have an easy life, just a good one.  So on we march, trying to be fearless about such details.

But I admit, I was faltering. The logistics and cummulative upkeep had just beaten me down hard.  I should have noticed when I snapped at a cashier at a gas station.  I almost went back to apologize, but I didn't.  I wanted to stay entitled to being mad.  I told myself it was outrageous that I couldn't get a diet coke when I'd bought 50$ worth of gas. It was petty and I was small.  I was making myself smaller.  That smallness wouldn't stay at the Exxon.  It would follow and nag and grow bigger even as it diminished me, it would encourage me to nurse being tired, cross, hard of heart. Sin does that.  It encourages us to stay frozen in hurt, frozen in pain, frozen in time; to believe things will never get better, to believe we will always be in this moment of feeling like everything is falling away, falling apart and we are lost. 

It is then we need the grace of the cross; because we know that standing at the foot of the cross, Easter looms.  This is not the end and if we're still not sure, the angel even asks us on that morning, "Why do you stay here?" 

We need so many reminders or at least, I do. 

The next day, my son forgot his spelling, his math book and his journal and the journal prompt, and my daughter forgot her math book and it was the second day she'd not remembered, and everyone scheduled for a meeting was unable to attend and there were no less than 8 loads of laundry on my couch needing folding.  My brain short circuited and I overloaded and I cried.  The problem with feelings is they are often disproportionate to the situation.  Kids forget things. It's part of life.  No biggie.  Life happens.  People have to cancel.  It happens.  Normally, I take these things in stride.  I didn't.  Like the steward who shakes the servant and shouts "Pay up what you owe," that was me, ranting that they forgot little things, forgetful I'd forgotten much bigger ones. Yet even if she forgets...

Mercifully, I haven't been thrown into the debtor's prison just yet.  Two hours of phone calls had tracked down most of the material, but I was beaten down tired.  We'd slogged through three hours just to sort of get to baseline done.  I didn't want to pour all of myself out even if I knew that was what is required.  Again, I wanted to rest on my prior accomplishments, to justify myself in wanting to stop; just as I'd wanted to justify my irritation.  Chain screaming to myself "Offer it up! Offer it up! Offer it up!" my children approached undeterred by my prior shouts with still more immediate needs.  Dinner.  Bath.  Teeth.  Diapers.  Bottles. Fights.  Laundry.  Bedtime.

My kids go to Catholic school so there was still a bit more homework than all they'd forgotten and it still had to get done.  "Mom! We have to read this aloud before we go to bed." my daughter announced. I did not want to do this.  I was not in a listening mood or reading aloud mood.  I looked for a child to subcontract the chore out to, but they were all out of drafting range, having secured places to study and/or hide until Mom chilled out a bit. "Offer it up. Offer it up. Offer it up." I told myself.  A book had been brought out of a backpack in hopes of getting a bedtime story too.  Others were coming in hopes of getting read to, I now had a pose of five and two books in the cue. The stack would get bigger and the eyes more hopeful the longer I delayed.  I sighed inside.  It was already a quarter to, and 25 minutes past when I'd wanted to be done with everything.  "Okay.  Let's read." Everyone settled eagerly.

So we read..."Praise God for this world He has made."  It's religion.  I'm being beaten over the head by God! Help! ..."Praise God for the mountains and the sun and the trees....Praise God for the creatures, wild and tame.  Praise God and thank God for all the people He made."  God had won.  The kids had won.  We read the Aristocats too. It only took five minutes, but the world had stopped spinning out of control in those 300 seconds.

It's so easy forget from fatigue, from the chores of the day, from the scourges of the world like bills and sickness and schedules, you get to hold nothing back, but you get to hold all of these people in your heart forever.  It's a good trade. 

And as if to make sure that I got it, because like the steward who received mercy, I can be awfully thick, God piled on.   I went to tuck people into bed.  My daughter is serenading me with the "We're called to be bridges..." from a puppet show she saw that afternoon. Her arms are outstretched in a perfect hug of the world.  "Do you like my song? It's for you!" She beams. She asks for water.  I got her the drink, thinking "God, isn't this overkill?"

To which God responds promptly via my children's next actions, "No."

Then I went to my toddler's room.  I tucked in my daughter.  I tucked in Paul.  I said prayers with her. She gave me a smile and a nod and thanked me for her drink.  I told Paul I loved him.  He laughed.  This was unusual. 

He looked in my eyes. He murmured, "I love you." back at me and laughed again.  I said I love you back.  He laughed again.  He said it again. We did that over and over..several times.  His smile is permanently burned in my mind; it was a knowing smile.  A smile that said I know what you said, I know what I said and I know what it means. His laugh was a "Water" "She knows!" Anne Sullivan type moment. 

The immediacy of it all thundered.  Mercy poured forth for the forgetful stressed out mom from every corner.  I was drowning in mercy, drowning in love, grateful to be saturated in it all, and deeply aware that all of this was a gift beyond any acts I did or could do.  This was not overkill.  This was Lavish love alive.

But God wasn't finished with me yet.

I tucked in my second grader.  "Mom!  I'm worried about 2nd grade." He was the one who had forgotten his books.  "Well, you had a rough day." I offered.  He nodded.   "I want you to do something."  He looked at me, his eyes still filled with stress.  "I want you not to worry."  He breathed out, as if he'd been holding it all this time.  Too much to hold for a seven year old's shoulders I thought.  "Let's put your worry about tomorrow in a box and let it fly away.  You've studied.  You've done what you can. We've done what we can and it's okay.  We'll learn from this.  We'll check to see if we have everything before we leave the parking lot.  It will be fine and don't worry." He sighed happily and was already drifting off to sleep as I flicked off the lights. 

So Sherry...I could hear God chuckling at me.  Did you get all that?  Yes. Yes God I did.  Go to the Exxon.  Leave a note if you can't find the man himself. Pray.   Don't beat yourself up but remember that miracles, luminous miracles are all around you, but sin, even the smallest, blinds you to grace, to goodness, to mercy, to being able to see them or participate in them.  Forgive, forgive and forgive again and don't worry.  I want you not to worry.  Put that worry in a box and let it fly away. I'll take it. Now stop being anxious.  Study this.  Do what you can and learn from this.  It will be okay."

My final words to God on this subject for today?  Wish I weren't so thick.

*Digging through drafts. Found this one.  From originally September 22, 2011.

Ten Tips for Parents of Teens and Future Teens

10) Video your children now.  You will need the nostalgia when they're upset with you.  As an added bonus, you can bring up the videos in front of their peers or just suggest you might as a credible threat.

9) Remember when potty training was a  pain?  Remember when you hoped for the day you'd be able to be free of diapers? (I can't say I remember because I'm still in it).   It's preparation for the day you start training drivers.   It will take longer than you hope, and you'll spend the next few years after they master it, worrying when they go out into the world.

8) Kiss them good night, tell them you love them as they walk out the door and sometimes, surprise them with a bedtime story.  They'll appreciate it more than you know.  It also ensures all your conversations aren't nags --study your algebra, did you do the dishes? Why did you shoot ping pongs at your sister?   Plus, you might even get the rarest of moments, a genuine smile.

7) Just as you had to recognize, you would not get sleep until they slept, (And this is true with them as toddlers and college students),  you must accept the reality, you will never have enough food in the house.

6) That being said, feed the teens.  It helps them stay more friendly.

5) They may have phones and computers, emails and unlimited text messaging; they still won't come when they're called.

4) Never try to be cool.  You never will be.  You're mom.  The only thing that will make you more uncool than you already are, is if you try to be cool.

3) Every once in a while, throw a brush back pitch.  Feel free to beat them in card games, chess, Mario Brawl or Magic, but do it with a smile so they know...you love them, but you could have crushed their egos if you'd wanted...just a reminder to stop crowding the plate. (It is the closest you will come to being cool).

2) Cheering for your kids at their sports meets is a fun way to prove to the world you really support your children in their activities, and at the same time, embarrass them for life. Again, if you're not going to ever be cool, might as well work that uncoolness in your favor.

1)  They won't be teens forever.   You'll actually miss this time the same way you did the time when they were toddlers.  

Small Success Thursday

Resolve this year to grow in gratitude, come join us over at Catholicmom.com for Small Success Thursday!

Small Success Thursday/What's For Dinner/Will She EVER blog again?

1. It's been a while, because I'm trying to restart in that boot camp, but having these sort of weekly memes keeps me from slacking, so I've returned, but I've also combined the three. Muhahhahahahahaha...

  

   2.

It's Saturday...and I'm only just getting around to posting a link to Small Success Thursday. One could call that a very small success or a rather big failure on my part, but I'm going to say, go, it's never too late to count your blessings. :)


3. What's for Supper Simcha Fisher?

A heaping feast of humble pie.  I'd planned to make it last week.  It took me until this week to make lamb stew, but it was GOOD.  Plus, I had fun walking into the liquor store to buy one can of Guinness with a four year old dressed in her Harley Quinn Costume.  

Anyway, the stew itself is simple and won a few converts.  (John on up liked it, Rita on down did not).  It splits right where I would have predicted.  But hey, that's what chicken nuggets were invented for, to eliminate the hassle of "I don't like dinner" when dinner is something unusual.  That, and cold cereal.

But planning out the menu for the upcoming week does make life easier.
I will try to at some point, be artsy enough to take a photo of food we eat.  But that didn't happen this week.

Dinner Saturday: Beef Stew....why?  Because it's raining, so it just fits.  Everyone who objects gets leftovers.

Dinner Sunday:  Pork Tenderloin, roasted potatoes, green beans and salad. Dessert. (We always have dessert for Sunday night, it's a good way to make sure everyone stays at the table, pumpkin pie, a nearly universal favorite. The two mavericks get ice cream).

Dinner Monday:  Life gets evil, as basketball season has started and Faith has practice Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, while John has practice Tuesday. CCD is on Tuesday, but not at the same time as Basketball.  Go figure.   So dinner will need to be pre-planned to prevent nervous breakdowns, dinner at 9 in the evening and dinners that come out of a microwave.   On the plus side, field hockey and x-country have ended, so the teens will be coming home on the bus.   (Cue happy dance).  

Dinner Monday?  Lasagna. (I'm not a martyr, it's Stoffer's, but it will mean dinner gets prebaked, and no worries).  

Dinner Tuesday?  Baked Chicken and french fries, mixed veggies and salad.  Again, I cook the chicken during the day so we reheat and go...

Dinner Wednesday?  Pork chops, broccoli...(which my kids like),

carrots, potato wedges.  This one is not as tricky as it seems.  I season the chops with soy sauce and strawberry jam, cooking oil and kosher salt.  I broil.   So it's fast, and the potato wedges I make in advance.  

Dinner Thursday?  Pasta, meatballs, sauce cooked all day in a crock pot.

Dinner Friday?  I'm thinking, pot roast if we get one, otherwise, it will be a waffle and bacon night.

4.  What am I reading?   Well, there are four books currently in the reading rotation.

Regina: Black Beauty.  
Rita: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  (It was nice to revisit Hogwarts with two sets of new eyes. Rita and Regina are loving it).
John:  The Prince and the Pauper.  After so many awful (and I do mean awful) cartoon versions of this Mark Twain novel, I thought it time to rediscover the real thing. We're enjoying it.
Me:  (I'd read to Faith, Peter and Marta if they let me).   I'm reading Pope Benedict's The Doctors of the Church, which is a very good, very readable book, introducing me to all 35 of those proclaimed to be so named.   I read a doctor at a time, so as to not be overwhelmed.

5,  What else is going on?
In other sports news...
Rita and Regina are signed up for Girls on the Run.  It's a 5K and Faith and I will be their partners.  So I'm hitting the gym so I can keep up with my 8 year old.  

Peter is running in the Baltimore Celtic Solstice 5 mile on December 19th.  He'll be joining his uncle and aunt --who ran in the NYC marathon and PR'd at just 4 hours and 58 minutes, and his cousins. All but the 5 year old are running.

6.  Come on, there's more...
There is...Marta is finishing up applications for college.  Faith is doing prep work for Confirmation and looking at high schools.   Paul is talking a bit more.  As his sister Anna said, "He's not using Down Syndrome words."  And Anna is reading.  She's not yet five. It's cool to watch.

7.  I'm working on writing one thousand words a day, so I don't have much left for blogging, hence the condensing of three internet list memes into one.  I don't have anything more to report except, I dressed up this Halloween as Helen.   My husband took a picture.

Here:

 

Meanwhile...Over in Real Life

I didn't post on Sunday or Friday for that matter.  In part, because I have failed as a modern parent.

I own an i-phone and because I can't remember the password for the apple Id, I cannot post pictures to facebook to prove 1) I have an i-phone and 2) we are doing i-phone worthy activities that should garner likes and approval from countless strangers, acquaintances and facebook friends, not to mention actual family who only go on Facebook to find out what we're up to these days.  

This matters because this past Thursday, we held a birthday party for Rita and a 1/2 birthday for Regina.  She turned 8, but during Easter so...she got a party in October.  We went to Rockin' Jump and they had a blast.  Paul loved the trampoline basketball so much, he didn't stay in the party room for cake.  For Cake!  This is the kid also known as Cakebeard whenever a cake is served.  But being able to jump and dunk held greater allure.  

Friday, we didn't do much, but no one required much. There were presents to open, the day off for some, and a three day weekend to enjoy.

Saturday, we did track, cross country, and again, no photos.  I assure you, it was cool to watch them running.  

Sunday.  We went to mass and then the Maryland Renaissance Festival.  Faith shot arrows.  John and Regina got swords. Anna picked out a purple princess hat.  Paul and Rita and I rode an elephant.

There are cool photos on my phone.   I tried guessing my password, and now I'm locked out of my i-phone.   I have concluded, I am not smart enough to own a smart phone.  

Photo of Anna in her costume, from my daughter who knows what she's doing.  

Small Success Thursday

My weekly feature over at Catholicmom.com is here! Come visit.

Anna-isms

Being four, she has her own way of understanding the world.  Sometimes, I worry.

10.  Her brother received a robot T-rex with glowing red eyes. It roars.  She petted its head and said, "There there. Easy boy. Easy."

9.  Walking back from the bus, "I can't wait until I'm twenty."   she said.
"Why?  What happens when you're twenty?" I asked. 

"I'll be older."  

8.  We went to Toy's R Us.  She saw the Halloween costumes.   I now have a 4 year old "Harley  Quinn."   

7.  Getting in the car.  "You're my best mom, my favorite mom because you give me food."

6.  "I don't have enough kitties."  (She's holding three stuffed kittens, with four more jammed into her backpack).  

5.  After hugging her brother when he fell, she came to me and asked, "I gave Paul a hug. Am I like God?"

4.  "Mom! The sun is burning me, save me from the sun!"  --she wanted to walk in my shadow.

3.  Me: "We're out of raisins." 

     Her:  (fighting the urge to be upset).  "The world is not perfect. It's not perfect because we're out of raisins.  But big girls don't get upset.  They never give up and they can wait until we go to the store." 

2.   She made "Have you seen me?" posters for her two beanie boo stuffed animals she can't find and hung them around the house.  She also called out for them and complained when they didn't answer.

1.   At mass,  "I'm blowing kisses to God."  

I know it's not 1000 words, but I'll get back to writing this afternoon.  Have an errand this morning.