March 30, 2007
· Filed under Family
I’m feeling like a good mommy today. It’s raining. We went outside anyway. So often I take the easy way out – the path of least resistance and least clean-up. But today, we put on rain coats and rain boots. Me included. And we went out into the rain. We got wet. (with the exception of Bean – she prefers to stay dry). We stomped in puddles. And Bean stayed safe and dry in the garage with the bubbles and empty watering can. In her rain coat and rain boots. She ventured out once. It was short-lived though. 
She didn’t like the rain too much. But Little Man loved it. Two of his favorite things together — being outside, and playing with water! what could be better? 
But after a short 15 minutes, Bean deserted us and went inside. Oh well, delight in small victories.
March 30, 2007
· Filed under Faith
I think I’m in a minority. I consider myself to be a Christian with conservative theology but often liberal views. So when I saw this BBC article about Americans being up in arms over an artist’s sculpture of Jesus crucified done in chocolate, it made me giggle. You see, I think art is art. It’s a means those creative-type people use to make a point, get people to think about things in a new way, or just express beauty as they see it. And by the way, I don’t think this particular artist was trying to express beauty with this sculpture. I have a feeling he was making a point. Or just trying to get some headlines – and it worked.
And honestly, the more people get upset about it, the more relevant that point is. If it wasn’t relevant, no one would really care and it wouldn’t be on the BBC. But it is, and so…
Maybe, just maybe… this artist was making a commentary about how we’ve turned Easter (which should be celebrating the resurrection of Christ) into a Hallmark holiday. I think it’s about hypocrisy. The fact that a large percentage of the feathers this stirs are the religious types who wear their Sunday best to church Easter morning but swear up and down that “treat others as you want to be treated” is from the King James. Please don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying that anyone of true faith won’t be bothered. But if you are bothered by this, what exactly bothers you about it?
I agree that the artist is being irreverent. But obviously he doesn’t share my faith. The problems that I have with the sculpture is that it portrays the crucified Christ, and by doing in chocolate the artist is tying it to Easter. But we celebrate Easter because Christ is risen. So maybe he should have made Christ resurrected (and how would that look?) or even Christ ascending to the right hand of the Father (but can you make a chocolate sculpture levitate?). If you’re offended that he made Jesus in chocolate, think about what specifically offends you. He’s expressing his views. And his attack (if it truly is an attack) is directed more at the hypocrites who are sweet, blessing-spouting folk on Sundays and then torture puppies the rest of the week (exaggeration? yeah, maybe so).
But what I want to know is, what grade of chocolate did he use? Is it that cheap, grainy, over-sweetened kind? Or that pure, creamy, perfectly sweetened Dove or Lindt kind of chocolate? And who’s going to eat Jesus anyway? I’m guessing we won’t count on transubstantiation. And is it hollow or solid milk chocolate? Or filled with hazelnut or dark chocolate fudge or some other truffle-like substance? Irreverent? Yes. But we (read: people of faith) can’t expect an artist who doesn’t share our faith to observe our values. Feel free to disagree. I won’t be offended.
March 30, 2007
· Filed under Family
Little Man and Bean have been sharing a room for about a month now. They *usually* wake up at about the same time in the morning because of it. When they wake up we sit down together at the breakfast table and the three of us have breakfast together.
This morning, Little Man woke up at 6:30 (like usual), but for some reason Bean wasn’t awakened by his laughing, yelling and growling (don’t all 15-month old boys growl?). So I took Little Man downstairs, and for the first time ever (in his whole life, I think) he refused to eat. It took until 8:00 for Bean to wake up, at which point Little Man made a bee line for the stairs, raced into Bean’s room, and then we all went back downstairs for Bean to have breakfast. And ya know what? Little Man joined us! He refused to eat until big sister woke up. Now that’s sweet.
March 30, 2007
· Filed under Do good, Fair trade
Did you know that Bangkok is the prostitution capital of the world? Or that human trafficking is the 3rd largest money-making venture in the world (drugs and arms trade rank higher)? And women from poverty-stricken countries around the world end up sold into prostitution in places like Bangkok? And the worst part, it isn’t just women. Children are traded into this too. I hope you’re feeling a sense of indignation at that.
NightLight is a ministry that goes out into the bars of Bangkok and treats these women as humans – giving the gift of conversation, acceptance, hugs, and grace. And they do so much more. They come alongside these women (and children) in their times of need – when they’re sick, or beaten up or in some other sort of danger. They also give women an alternative to the sex trade. They have a jewelry-making studio where they train these ladies and then hire them as employees. They have a dormitory and feed them hot meals. They rescue them. And they teach them about the Love that knows no limits. They have Bible studies, they give women dignity and the pride of earning a good salary without being exploited. 
Interested? Now what if I told you that the more jewelry they sell the more women and children they can rescue from exploitation? And that you can purchase it online and have it shipped anywhere in the US? Now what if I told you they use genuine pearls and Swarovski crystals? I haven’t bought jewelry in a local boutique since I found out about this. Now when I need something I go to NightLight. And I give it as gifts. It comes with a little piece of information that tells the giftee where it came from and the story behind it. What better gift is there?
You can shop around at Trade As One and see some of their other Fair Trade items. Everything they sell comes from ministries similar to NightLight – providing hope to the otherwise hopeless.
March 29, 2007
· Filed under Values
I’ve spent some time today stumbling around blogs – looking for new things to read and just exploring. I’m done with that for now. I just stumbled across something that I can’t even bring myself to tell you about. I thought I’d have something in common with this woman – she has kids around the same age as mine. But all I’ll say is that wow, there are some moms out there who are worlds different from anything I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot. But now, after reading that particular blog, I think I need to go take a shower. And then another. And another. And keep showering until, oh, the dawn of the next century. As my gramma would have said, “it takes all kinds to make a world.” Ain’t that the truth.
March 28, 2007
· Filed under Parenting, Works for Me!
Bean, my precious 2- but nearly 3-yr old, has a little meltdown almost every evening at dinner time. She doesn’t want to eat dinner (her toys are calling her name). She doesn’t want to sit in her chair (the new booster seat we bought to entice her didn’t help either). She wants to paint. Or color. Or do virtually anything besides sit at the dinner table in her chair and have a meal with the whole family. It’s gotten to the point where I hate dinner time. I loathe the fight of getting her to the table without a tantrum. I can’t stand having to remove her from the table to the naughty seat after we say grace because she’s screaming at the top of her lungs and being 100% unreasonable.
But… I recently found a way to stop her in her tracks. (Imagine light bulb flashing on – Eureka!) First of all, she gets fair warning (10 minutes till dinner… 5 minutes till dinner… We’re gonna eat in 2 minutes. No arguments tonight!). But then when the whining inevitably starts, I coyly ask her, “Bean, I need some help in the kitchen. I really can’t manage all of this by myself.” At that point, Bean comes running, because what does a toddler love more than the feeling of being needed? I hand her some spoons, napkins, and, if I’m feeling brave, forks. And I give her instructions for where to put each piece. This happens, of course, in stages. Here’s some napkins, Bean. Put one on the table in front of every chair. Next comes the spoons, etc. At the end, she gets a big, exaggerated high 5, followed by a gentle request to show her little brother how big boys and girls get up into their own chairs. By the time I bring her plate to the table, not only is she beaming with pride, she’s also telling Little Man how it’s done.
Fight avoided. Family eats in peace.
March 27, 2007
· Filed under Family, Food
He’s makin’ me a No Pudge single serve brownie. A la mode. Mmmm…
March 27, 2007
· Filed under Health
What a star! Today was Little Man’s big procedure, and he did GREAT! He had his ear tubes put in this morning at about 8:00 and he hasn’t stopped talking since. Of course, there still aren’t any actual words, but he’s babbling non-stop. I think he’s surprised by the sound of his voice. His voice also has a different quality to it – I can’t really describe it, but the tone of it is a bit different, and the sounds he’s coming up with are slightly different.
We had to be at Atlanta Outpatient this morning at 5:45, which meant waking Little Man up for a drive at 5:00 sharp. He managed the 2 hour wait just fine. Some of the other kids there waiting weren’t so happy to be awake that early with nothing in their little tummies, but my Little Man was a bundle of joy all morning. When the anesthesiologist came in and put the mask on his face to put him to sleep Little Man had some alarm in his eyes, but he watched me and listened to my voice, and he calmed right down and fell into a peaceful sleep. Again, some of the other parents had a harder time – a lot of their kids were freaked out by the mask and the gas, and understandably so. And when he woke up, he was happy and sociable. The nurses told me that’s not the norm. But hey, I know he’s special! I promptly gave him some juice, and some milk, and a sandwich, and pretty much would have given him a puppy, a trip to Disney, a helicopter, anything he wanted at that point. (It’s a good thing he doesn’t know how to ask for any of that…)
I love to hear him talk now, knowing that he’s experimenting with all the different sounds he can hear himself making. I have to put drops in his ears for a few days – I doubt he’ll be happy about that. But, all for the sake of proper hearing and No More Ear Infections!!! Yippee!!!
March 26, 2007
· Filed under Parenting
Little Man has the most unfortunate cowlick. In fact, there are really three of them right in front that actually make a little whirlpool-style swirl with alfalfa tufts on either side. I knew it was a problem when I walked by the nursery one day after dropping him off and all the volunteers had gathered around him to play with and giggle about his his unfortunate hair. So now we keep it buzzed pretty short. It’s a good thing he’s a boy.
Just tonight Bean has discovered the soft prickliness of buzzed short baby hair. And so. She follows him. Everywhere. And rubs his cute head. In fact, she’s so enamored with his soft yet prickly peach fuzzy hair (which still has that swirl in front – no matter how short) that she actually leaves Veggie Tales behind to walk across the house to where Little Man is playing just to get in a little rub.
March 26, 2007
· Filed under Food
It’s Monday night, and that means it’s just me and the kids for dinner. We usually do something easy – leftovers, grilled cheese, something like that. But tonight I got out some frozen omelets. Not something I’d have bought, but they somehow found their way to my freezer. So we tried them tonight. Ham and cheese omelets. They’re not bad. They’re not particularly good either, but I’ll eat ‘em. Bean will eat ‘em doused in ketchup. Little Man, however, has issues with the omelets. And on top of that, he’s determined to put every single bite in his mouth, chew a little then wag his tongue out of his mouth while he shakes his head and omelet goes everywhere. Ketchup doesn’t help. Extra cheese doesn’t help. Bite. Chew, chew, chew. Tongue rolls out. Head begins to shake. And there’s that little bit of omelet that just won’t let go of his little tongue. So he thrusts his tongue in and out while shaking his head. Then stops, thinking, surely it’s gone. And he realizes it isn’t. So he tries again. When his mouth is finally free of the omelet, he carefully chooses another bit to try.
The first few times he did it I kept a straight face. But as I continued to watch him, and he continued to watch me as he every so slowly put each bite in his mouth, chewed a minute (making me think – hey, maybe he’ll actually swallow this time!), and then spit it out while shaking his head, I lost it. Floor rolling, gut clutching laughter. And that made the problem worse. And of course there was no one else around to witness the fun. Except for 2-yr old Bean. And she was in hysterics too – only I was the object of her laughter. So now, my tile floor is covered in cheesy-ketchupey-half masticated eggs. And so is Little Man’s face. And his hair. And his clothes. And his chair. But hey – at least he cleaned his plate!
