Chinook

My calendar seems to be on the wrong page. It says "January," but clearly that's not right; if it were January it would be 33 degrees below zero, not 33 above. Maybe it's March. Or maybe global warming/climate change is actually pretty amazing and wonderful. For Alaskans. Sorry to everyone shivering in the Lower 48, but we'd be perfectly happy to keep your weather instead of trading back. This is beautiful.

Little Bear and I have been loving the balmy weather these past few days. He loves running around in the snow, stomping his boots down the driveway, pushing his mittens into the snowbanks and shaking them at me with the biggest, goofiest, happiest grin imaginable spread across his face. Once we get through the hassle of getting into snow gear and heading out the door, it's impossible to lure him back inside!

Yesterday morning we were visiting my family and interrupting their school day, so the kids took Little Bear out for recess with them. He wasn't too sure about the whole sledding business at first, but as long as he wasn't the only one in the sled he seemed to enjoy it.

We really couldn't have asked for better weather for last night's prayer chain, either, and the impressive turnout was surely in part thanks to the warmth. We got there halfway through--I'm not at all unhappy that we share one vehicle, but scheduling can be frustrating--and Little Bear had so much fun running and crawling through the snow while I tried to keep ahold of the Y at the back of his snowpants. Can we just pretend that I was planning ahead and being well-prepared when I put them on him on top of his coat instead of under it? Thanks.

Late this morning there was a burst of freezing rain, but Matt was already at work when it happened, and by the time we ventured out to pick him up the roads were fine. I hear that people had trouble with them in the middle of the day, but putting another layer of gravel down seems to have taken care of it. (We will see if I'm this dismissive of it tomorrow if we get any more, when I have a midday meeting in town... praying for no more rain for the next three months!)

My only real quibble with the warm weather (please no rain tomorrow! Other than rain) is this:

That's the light above the front seat in the jeep, and a water droplet falling from the button. It seems that melting snow is seeping into the roof of the jeep somewhere, freezing, then thawing in the warm weather and running on down through the only opening it can find: the lights. Every time we go from reasonable temperatures to cold to super warm, the interior lights all start dripping. It's not bad, a mechanic friend tells us, just odd... but it's still unsettling, because water just doesn't belong around wiring.

But if that's the only thing I have to complain about? This warmth can definitely stick around. As long as it doesn't keep raining!

Feast of St Agnes

If I had anything resembling a handle on the liturgical calendar, maybe we would be having lamb tonight. Or something lamb-shaped, like the Eastern traditional butter lamb. Or even the mulled drink, lambswool, that Matt was so enthusiastic about finding a recipe for the other week. Nope; bourbon-glazed chicken, spiced carrots, and rice will have to cut it. Don't lambs eat carrots? Carrot tops? Oh well... at least I can try to find something in Little Bear's book of saints about St. Agnes, and set it out to read tonight after supper.

It seems a cruel coincidence that we celebrate St. Agnes, a Roman virgin martyred at 13 and a patroness of innocents, on the day before the anniversary of the legalization of murdering innocent children in America. I suppose the juxtaposition is a good reminder to ask for her intercession, though: for the children, for the mothers who feel like they don't have any other choice, for conversion of heart in all those who do not find abortion reprehensible.

Will seeing the many people attending the March for Life in D.C., or participating in local prayer vigils or rallies, suddenly convict legislators of the evil of abortion? Probably not---although we know better than to limit what God can do! But there's always a chance that some passers-by will wind up wondering why these people care enough about the issue to stand out in the cold, find themselves looking for answers, and experience a change of heart. And, too, we know that "Where two or three are gathered in My Name, there am I in their midst." Coming together to pray for an end to abortion is certainly valuable, even when we can't see visible results.

Whatever you to do mark tomorrow, don't forget: "In all the dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 shall be observed as a particular day of penance for violations to the dignity of the human person through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life." GIRM, no 373. 

And, parents: Don't miss Simcha Fisher's  Ten Ways to Raise Pro-Life Children over at the National Catholic Register!

Our Latest Experiment

Earlier this month, Matt and I sat down to figure out what we should do to get back in shape. It's been on his "meaning to do that eventually" list for a while, and the twelve days of Christmas saw me lose pretty much all of the progress I'd made recently. Cookies are evil... okay, not really. But I've always had a weakness for sweet carbs, and with a toddler who's been giving us an exclusive preview of his starring role in the upcoming Terrible Twos, I've been stressed and much more susceptible to the siren call of the cookie jar.

We agreed to get a membership at the university gym. It's a lot of money, but it's convenient for Matt after work, and Little Bear and I could go walk their track or swim while he used the equipment he wants to. We need exercise, and this seemed like a way to ensure that we got it: buying a membership would guilt us into going regularly so that we weren't wasting the money.

But then we thought about it for a few days. When would we actually be able to go? After Matt got off work was the only time; that would push dinner back, and cut out the relatively small time Matt and Little Bear get to play together before bed. Was it worth the whole cost? The only membership we could at all afford is the student one; I'd have to take a (distance ed) class so that we could get that rate. Because I'm Matt's dependent the school would waive the tuition, but we'd still be paying for fees and the book. And when would I have time to do the classwork?

We do have a gazelle elliptical machine, and a weight bench, and a perfectly good floor for doing sit-ups and push-ups on. If guilt over having spent so much money for the membership was the only reason we would spend time exercising at the gym when we don't at home, we didn't need a gym membership; we needed to take more responsibility for actually getting in shape.

So what does it take to get in shape? Everyone knows the simple answer, even if we don't like it: getting enough exercise and eating right. In that spirit, our plan is simple: we will each do some kind of exercising every day. Vague? Yes, but it'll keep us from saying "I forgot, and it's too late; better luck tomorrow"... We can always pick up a jump rope for five minutes before bed, if we really haven't done anything else. As for eating right? Farewell to my sugary carbs... We aren't dieting---we're being very clear on that point---but we are trying to change how we eat.

Dry cereal with milk is simple and convenient, but doesn't actually fill us and we wind up hungry and snacking on less healthy foods in a couple of hours. Instead, we're making sure breakfasts are filling but healthy: things like eggs, oatmeal, or yogurt with fruit. For lunches we are trying to have salads with vegetables and proteins: meat left over from the previous supper, cooked beans, hard boiled eggs, or maybe a little cheese. Suppers aren't changing much; I'm just trying to make sure the meat and vegetable components together take up more of the plate than the starch.

And because the best way to kill an attempt at eating better is to completely cut yourself off from things you really like, we fully plan to bend the rules occasionally. As long as we are both in it together, I think it'll go well... and hopefully there will be positive reinforcement from the bathroom scale to help as well!

Being the one who does the shopping and keeps the budget, I initially hesitated out of concern for what it would do to the monthly grocery bill for us to buy more meat and fresh produce... they are so expensive here! It's easy to make one chicken breast into dinner for the three of us when I'm cooking a pound of pasta to go with it. But if the meat isn't supposed to be dwarfed by the grain, and actually supply enough extra for our lunch salads the next day? There's no way. Matt reminded me that we'd been prepared to pay a lot for the gym membership, though; if we divide up what we would have spent on that and add it to the monthly grocery allowance, he thinks it will all work out. I hope so! We will see.

Inside Outside Upside Down

The problem with suddenly acquiring a tv after several years without one is that they take up space... a lot of space. You need an expanse of wall to put it against so kids don't get into the wires. A shelf or table of some sort to set it on; wall mounting is a practical alternative, but not allowed in an apartment. Cables running to the antenna, which wants to be near a window. And people want to be able to sit down while they watch it... which means rearranging everything.

Our apartment is set up kind of funny: there is a smallish kitchen, a bathroom, two bedrooms, and a room shaped rather like that piece from Tetris that looks like a rectangle made of six squares that's missing one of the corner squares. Does that make sense? This is our dining room--office--living room: table and chairs, couches, desk, bookshelves... and now, apparently, a tv.

Yesterday morning, Matt and Little Bear adventured through a couple of second-hand shops and furniture stores on their quest for a tv-bearing shelf, and came home with a little two-shelf bookcase roughly as broad as the new tv. I took advantage of Little Bear's absence to get as much stuff as possible cleared off of the desk and bookshelf already in the room, and move small, light-weight furniture down the hall out of the way.

When they got home, Little Bear took off with the screwdriver while Matt was attaching the stand to the tv, and had great fun evading me while running around the room "fixing" things.

My costochondritis is a lot better than it was: I'm down to one megadose of ibuprofen a day instead of three, and the days I've forgotten to take it haven't been horrible, so I am optimistic that it'll all be over soon. Moving heavy furniture around sounded like a good way to bring the problem back full force, though, so we were so grateful that my dad and sister came by to give Matt a hand! The three of them got pretty much everything rearranged nicely; we are still puzzling over what to do with our sack chair, because we've run out of corners and it's ridiculously large when not squished between walls and other furniture--that was definitely a college-student-mentality purchase, not an adult one, but it was a fun thing to have as the first piece of furniture we bought together.

I wish I could say that everything is all neatly organized again now--they moved the furniture early yesterday afternoon!--but Little Bear has been giving us the predictable but frustrating toddler overreaction to change, and the table still has a jumble of bric-à-brac that needs to find news homes on the desk and bookshelf... or maybe at someone else's house. I'm really enjoying the sparse, clear aesthetic of flat surfaces with nothing on them. We will see. (As though that could ever last in a house with kids! I'm not completely delusional, I promise.)

It's very nice to have everything becoming orderly again, though, and I think we will like this new arrangement. Matt worked with the antenna this morning, and we can now receive all five channels broadcast locally! Which is five more than we will watch very often, but we were glad that the static cut out in time to see Shaun White locking up his Olympic halfpipe spot!

SQTF 73: As Seen On TV

Check out more Quick Takes atConversion Diary!

I

Remember being a young teen and wishing that your mom would let you wear makeup, ladies? Somehow, I lost that desire by the time I reached high school (and would presumably have been allowed to start wearing it if I'd asked). By the time I cared again partway through college, I was too self conscious about not knowing what I was doing to really experiment and find a look I liked; a friend taught me some basics so I could avoid looking completely socially inept for job interviews--a girl definitely can't get away with going bare-faced to an interview in media!--but the art of applying makeup really remains one I don't trust my skills in, and so I only rarely attempt it.

Yes, I know, it's one of those practice-makes-perfect things, but I just don't have the patience. Or to be more accurate, Little Bear doesn't: he yelled and yelled today because I did have to "put my face on" and do something other than the usual braid with my hair. Toddler tantrums are definitely an understandable excuse for not doing this every day, right?

II

How do you do it, those of you who wear it regularly? Little Bear wakes up as soon as I do, so getting up and doing it sans toddler isn't an option. And all I did was twist my hair up, hairspray it, put lotion and powder (foundation? I don't know these words) on my face, and add lipstick: 5 minutes. But 5 minutes spread over the course of a half hour as the toddler screamed and sobbed and brought me stories and pushed me away from the mirror because I was apparently doing something completely unacceptable. I didn't even do "real" makeup! It would be kind of nice to pretty up more often, become more comfortable with it and learn to do it better, but I can't just let him scream.

III

The most common advice I get for how to do anything with a toddler who wants my undivided attention is "just do it. He can play with something for five minutes; he needs to learn to entertain himself." But can he learn that, really? At this age? This advice usually comes from people who have had so many kids, it's hard to believe that they actually remember what it was like to just have one. And when you have an older kid or two or ten whom you can tell to entertain the baby for five minutes while you do X, of course it makes sense that accomplishing those little things isn't really that big a deal. The youngest learns to occupy himself without his mom's undivided attention by watching the older kids do so. The first, though, doesn't have anyone to set that example for him. And if the kid actually needs something, if Mom is the only other person in the apartment, she can't exactly delegate the job to someone else...

IV

Anyway. Putting on makeup with an angry toddler shoving you out the door is frustrating, but I did it anyway today because next Wednesday is the 41st anniversary of Roe v Wade, and I agreed to stop by two of the local tv stations today for brief interviews on the anniversary and the prayer vigil that the local Right to Life group is planning for that evening. I enjoyed being back in that environment; I haven't been in front of a camera since college. One studio was...underwhelming...compared to what I worked with in school, but the other felt pleasantly familiar.

V

I'll try to remember to say something again early next week, but if you're local: Come join Interior Right to Life at the Cushman Street Bridge on Wednesday, January 22, from 5-6pm for silent prayer and to hold signs reminding passers-by to pray for mothers and babies, and that abortion continues to take so many innocent lives in our community and across the country. Bring your kids: they are a testimony to the beauty of life and the gift that children are. If it's chilly, you can warm up in Immaculate Conception on the northbound side of the bridge.

VI

And pray that this nice warm weather sticks around until then! Goodness, standing outside for an hour at nearly 30 degrees above zero would be incredibly pleasant compared to some recent years.

VII

And in almost totally unrelated news, we have somehow found ourselves to be the proud (?) owners of a ridiculously large television. (Which is related in that now maybe we might catch my interviews when/if they run...) We'd been perfectly fine without a tv for these past few years, but with the Winter Olympics coming up, we started talking about looking for an inexpensive tv so that we could watch some of the events. And I'm sure Matt, who works with high quality video equipment and streaming every day, had already been wishing for a better screen than the laptop for movie nights. We started doing research into the different options. Because he's used to top-of-the-line equipment at work, and I was more of the smallest-and-least-expensive-possible mindset, we were having trouble finding something... And then Matt came across a remarkable deal on Craigslist: the size he wanted, for the price I wanted, on a brand he trusted. Sold. We have yet to watch anything on it, and Little Bear is so very confused by the giant black thing laying on the floor that doesn't do anything, but Mama and Daddy won't let him touch it. Oh child, just you wait.

Toddlers and Toilet Plungers

Need I really say any more?

I spent all morning trying to fix the backed-up toilet while keeping Little Bear out of it, and Little Bear was simply beside himself that I kept herding him away. Screaming and sobbing and grasping frantically for it... There were plenty of other good things for him to do, but how do you reason with a teething 18 month old? And the plunger wouldn't fix it, and the problem just kept getting worse, and the child kept screaming louder and louder, and I finally snapped and yelled at him to be quiet.

And he looked so shocked and hurt, because I really try not to yell and he doesn't hear me do it often. And of course I felt so very guilty... but not any less frustrated, because he didn't stop screaming and clawing at the toilet for more that ten seconds.

After bothering Matt at work and being told to do exactly what I'd been doing, I finally gave up and called our landlady. Her fancy plunger is apparently much better than our cheapest-one-at-Walmart plunger, because it fixed the problem right away. She was very nice about it, though--we have some of the best landlords ever--and explained that this just happened occasionally with the low-flow toilets and that she'd gotten this plunger because it creates a better seal. 

And that is probably far more than you wanted to hear about toilets today!

Little Bear's usual quiet and shyness around people he doesn't know came in incredibly handy today, as he stopped crying completely and just stared, silent, the whole time our landlady was here. By the time she left, I think he'd forgotten about being upset.

Speaking of which: Since before he turned one, Little Bear has been very quiet and shy around people outside of our immediate family and my parents and younger siblings; he's starting to become more comfortable interacting with Matt's parents when we Skype, but otherwise, being around other people always results in him clinging to me, hiding his face, turning away and crying "Mama, Mama, Mama," when anyone tries to interact with him. Always. Until yesterday.

Yesterday we visited a friend and her kids, and after sitting quietly on my lap for fifteen minutes, Little Bear ran around chattering and playing happily for hours, only calling for me occasionally when he couldn't get down some steps or got tired and wanted to eat. It was wonderful to see him enjoying interacting with other kids, and being comfortable in a place he'd never been before without being attached to me constantly.

Winter, Where Art Thou?

Glorious warmth! Today it got up to +8 F, and Little Bear and I thoroughly enjoyed getting outside. My mom picked us up so that we could join her and my youngest sister for daily Mass, and after his nap the munchkin and I went back outside to run around on the driveway and check the mail. I wish my camera wasn't such a wimp with winter weather; I can't take it outside to try to get a photo of Little Bear's huge grin as he plays in the snow, because the battery drains in a snap.

We keep telling ourselves that it'll be cold soon enough, but it's already the middle of January and we still haven't had a real cold snap. It's been wonderful, but weird. Yes, we've seen -35 F or so several times, but nothing much colder, and never for more than a couple of days. Where is our week-plus of -40 to -50 F? We always get at least two weeks of that, and the first is almost always before Christmas.

Maybe we are just going to have a wonderfully pleasant winter... or maybe the cold is waiting, biding its time, allowing us to enjoy and adjust to this warmer winter weather while it prepares to mercilessly crush our spirits in late February. Yeah, that sounds more like Alaska.