Blessed Relief

It’s hot down here – not just regular Texas hot, but really, really, REALLY HOT!! Austin marked its second-hottest June day in history yesterday, with temperatures reaching 107 degrees (the record is 109) – and these are actual temperatures, mind you, not heat indexes! Seems like this will be the second hottest June in recorded history (2008 is the record, and before that you have to go back to 1923). It’s the kind of hot that makes you nauseous just being outside and the kind that makes your car literally uninhabitable after being off for a mere 3 minutes.

So today I just couldn’t stand it anymore and I took down my pile of shorts from the closet praying that some would fit (I only have one pair of shorts in my current size and was determined not to buy any because I had a whole set just one size down). And much to my surprise (I’ve been trying them on every couple of weeks for awhile now), I could put them all on! Now some look signficantly better than others, but I got them on! Praise God that I will not have to endure any more 105+ days without an adequate supply of shorts!! I have not worn this lot of shorts since the summer after Olivia was born (summer of 2006) so this is some exciting stuff (granted, I was pregnant for summer 2007 & 2008)!! And since it will be hot all the way through Halloween, this is some much needed relief.

Our Growing Girls – Violet at 9 months

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Happy Father’s Day

to the world’s best Daddy!!

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Latin Mass & Perpetual Adoration

From the Church bulletin:

Fr. Michael Stinson was ordained May 30th for the Fraternity of St. Peter (in Lincoln, NE). This order was established by Pope John Paul II in 1988. Their apostolate is centered in the offering of the Sacred Liturgy according to the Latin liturgical books in use in 1962. Fr. Michael will be visiting his family in the Austin area before heading to his first assignment in Sacramento, CA. He is the son of our parishioners, Benny & Barbara Stinson.

While he is in the area, Fr. Michael will be offering daily Mass in Latin here at St. William’s at 10:00AM in our Church on June 10, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18 and in the Sacred Heart chapel on June 22, 23, 24, 25. Fr. Michael will also offer a Latin Mass this Thursday June 11th (the traditional date of Corpus Christi) in the Church at 6:00pm.

I have never been to a Latin Mass and am curious to experience this part of the Church’s history (that many still enjoy today). I have also been asking God to find a way for me to attend a daily Mass at 10:00am so as not to disturb the naptimes of the girls, so I am delighted to be able to participate. I plan to attend at least once (hopefully more than once), but I can’t go this week. Let me know if you plan to go. I’m thinking we’ll probably sit in the “quiet” room (aka cry room) since I will have the girls with me alone & don’t know all the proper responses & postures for the Latin Mass anyway.

Any tips for a first-timer? Will it differ in length from the “normal” Mass?

Also, our parish is starting perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament next Friday. I am excited to have these two extra opportunities to know & serve the Lord.

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Top 10 Gadgets & Gizmos for under 3

We’ve welcomed three little girls into our world in the last three and a half years. This has provided us the opportunity to try out a great many of the latest & greatest baby/toddler gear. I thought about writing lengthy descriptions of why I love this stuff and exactly what makes it a “must-have” item, but that would delay the post by months, if not years, so for what it’s worth, here are our top items (okay, so I ended up with more than 10) – the ones that are truly worth the investment and I would never question buying again:

Transport

1. bob duallie stroller (or a single to get you started) and combi tandem double
2. zolowear ring sling and ergo baby carrier

Feeding

1. nursing shawl and quality nursing bras
   
2. fisher price booster
   
3. sassy bibs & dexbaby bibs

Entertainment

In general, I tend to favor classic toys so if a manufacturer has a classic section on their website, that is where I naturally go. I also like wooden toys and if it requires batteries for lights & sounds, it really has to stand out. Of course, every child needs a bookshelf full of books, plenty of art supplies, and balls to take outside, too.

for baby:

1. cradle swing and jumperoo (if you have to pick, go with the swing, if you have the option of a nearby grandparent, by all means choose them!)
   
2. tiny love crib mobile and I really thought the clip n go musical mobile was awesome, but I had two and had problems with both of them and had to return them, so I’m not sure . . . but I LOVE the concept and plan to try again with the next baby to see if they’ve improved the design.
3. I’m adding this several months later after realizing I left it off the list the first time around. We have LOVED our simple vibrating baby seat/baby bouncer. Every one of the girls was so happy in it as a tiny babe – for naps, for playtime, for watching the family activities. A very inexpensive, easy way to keep a little baby happy. I don’t think they even make them as simple as our is anymore, but this was the closest I found. Funny story about the bouncy seat & my first Craig’s List purchase. Our original motor went out on the bouncy seat, so I bought a $5 bouncy seat off Craig’s list. I made the error of purchasing without a photo! Turns out the woman had used it for her cats & it was awful, so JR just switched out the motors and we threw the “new” seat away!

for toddler & preschooler:

1. melissa & doug puzzles, wooden blocks (and/or duplo blocks), etc.
2. kidkraft kitchen
3. rody inflatable horse and bounce & spin zebra
4. Ikea toy storage
   

There are plenty of other things that we’ve enjoyed, but these are the things we use over and over and over. I also really like the book Bright Start by Richard Woolfson for wonderful, detailed (but not overly detailed) descriptions of children’s abilities at each stage of development (newborn through 5 years) and practical suggestions for helping your child develop hand-eye coordination, language, learning, movement and social skills, including lists of basic, classic inexpensive toys for each age.

I also found this list on-line and it was so good, I thought I’d share it, too.

Top 10 Gifts for a Toddler

And now you tell me – what should we be looking at for the next few years – what gadgets & gizmos, toys & games are best for “big” kids?? We’re basically going to be running our own preschool around here so how shall we get ourselves set up?

Small Successes (vol. 2)

Faith & Family has a regular Thursday meme called Small Successes. They describe it as follows:

It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that.

And as for me, here goes:

1. I hosted several friends in my home twice this week and it was mostly presentable (even better the second time!). On Monday, Shana & I watched 7 little ones (Livy was the oldest, 2 toddlers & 4 under 1 year!) as part of the babysitting co-op. We had our hands full, but it was fun. When all the mommies came back, we enjoyed homemade chicken tortilla soup for lunch. This morning, the whole group met at our house for a rosary and a few moms stayed for lunch (leftover chicken tortilla soup). They said it tasted good!

2. Inspired by one of the original Small Successes entries by Danielle Bean, I washed the dog bowls last night. They were awful. Poor Red!

3. Yesterday, I had the best luck with returns ever! I purchased 2 Ultimate Crib Sheets when Olivia was born and LOVED them! When Violet came along (and we added another crib), I purchased two more. Much to my dismay, they had redesigned the sheets and the new ones had plastic snaps (that broke the first time I used them) and a different fabric (that pilled the first time I washed them & felt like sandpaper). I called the company to complain and they said they would mail me 2 replacements. The first set got lost in the mail so they sent another set. I ended up getting 2 sets, but they said they didn’t want the extras back so I found myself with 4 expensive crib sheets that I didn’t like. I took them to Babies R Us to see if I could get store credit, but they’ve changed their return policy since the days I was a regular there and they didn’t want them. We went to Target next and I was 99% sure they wouldn’t take them as Target had a fairly stingy return policy as far as I remembered. Much to my happy surprise, they took 3 back (each customer is limited to $70 in returns without receipts per 12 months)!! So I ended up with $60 in Target store credit!! JR will be able to return the other one and we’ll have even more!! It was like hitting the jackpot – I got my original $40 back from the ones I purchased & didn’t like and then got an additional $40!!

Aside: In my experience, whenever I have been dissatisfied with a product and contacted the company, they have always tried to make it better for me. When my tortillas spoiled before the date on the package, they sent me coupons for replacements (3x what I had purchased); when a kaleidoscope got scratched in shipping with another item in the box, they sent a replacement; when my carseat baby mobile quit playing music, the store gave me a refund. In my experience, it definitely pays to ask (consider the manufacturer or the store you purchased it at)!! Besides, the worst they can say is “Too bad.”

8 Years Ago Today . . .

we had the most beautiful wedding . . .

Last Call

Here’s a friendly reminder in case you wanted to get your sponsorship of the girls in on time – the Walk for Life is THIS Saturday.  I know this is a tough time to be giving, but even $5 or $10 would be a great help! Thanks to all who have already shown your support!