Happy Friday! Here I am blogging instead of watching the just-released-for-home-viewing Star Wars movie, so…you’re welcome. We have big plans to watch it after Maddy goes to bed tonight, so I should need to make a popcorn and wine run this afternoon.
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We had a lovely Easter. The Triduum looks a little different when you’ve got a toddler and no really stellar Mass options, but we made it work. There’s a Ukrainian Catholic option in town, so we went to some of their services and really enjoyed the change. Plus, the congregation is very small (as in, under 10 most days) and child-friendly.
On Holy Thursday, every Mass option was bilingual, which meant things took about twice as long as they would have at an English Mass, but Maddy was a trooper past her bedtime. I don’t think I’ve ever been to an authentic Spanish Mass (no, I don’t count my Midwestern university’s attempts). The enthusiasm of the musicians was really something to see.
On Friday, we went to the Ukrainian Mass, which was celebrated for the Feast of the Annunciation. Maddy was good for the first hour or so, and then lost interest and needed to sit in the car eating Cheerios. She enjoyed climbing freely around the backseat.
Happy as a clam and totally stuck. She just politely said, “Hey, mama?”
We laid low at home on Holy Saturday; our bedtime disruption capital had all been spent on Thursday night. On Sunday, we woke up bright and early and went to Easter Matins, again at the Ukrainian church. There was a procession involved, and the priest’s wife gave Maddy a set of bells to ring whenever we said, “Christ is risen!”
Hard to get a picture while carrying her and processing through the bushes, but you get the idea.
Johnny was conscripted into leading the procession, which ended with Father knocking on the closed church doors with a crucifix and announcing three times, “Christ is risen!” It was great.
Maddy is enamored by his hat and the bells on the thurible. The Roman Rite is pretty dull in comparison.
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We didn’t manage to get a family photo because (ahem) someone changed out of his church clothes too early. I may make everyone wear the same thing this weekend for a staged picture. Pretend it’s real.
I did think to take photos of Maddy. “We have lilies and a stuffed lamb!” I thought. “How hard could a photo be?”
This hard.
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Fittingly for Easter week, our kitchen is full of various baked goods. But they were all made under duress! Really! We couldn’t not have Easter brunch, and the pound cake was my contribution to Easter dinner. And the cookies were because I thought Johnny was going on a business trip. And the bread is there to go with the ham. In short: I should’ve bought butter and flour shares.
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We totally skipped an Easter basket for Maddy this year, because she still thinks raisins are candy, but her grandparents and great-grandparents came to the rescue. My mom sent her the Our Lady of Czestochowa Shining Light Doll, and she’s been carrying it around everywhere asking, “Who’sis?” She’s currently fascinated by all depictions of Mary and Baby Jesus, so having a portable version is fun.
Johnny’s grandpa made her this rocking fish, which she likes but isn’t quite sure how to approach. In a month or two, she’s going to be a rocking fool on it.
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The weather has been great this week, and Maddy has been begging to spend every moment outside. It’s tough, because every surface is covered with pollen, and all three of us have allergies. I’m trying to bite the bullet, though, so we’ve been to the playground a few times.
Just practicing for Baby. Given that she flipped it immediately after I took this photo, I think we’ll keep practicing.
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We have a lot of time to spend outside because she went down to one nap pretty much every day. It’s great that we can count on her to sleep through the night now, but I’m missing the time I used to have to myself during the day.
All I need to do is figure out how to eat in the shower while making phone calls, without anyone on the other end getting suspicious. I can do this.
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We spent the last month dealing with a ridiculous car repair situation that resulted in finally getting a loaner car from the dealership for a couple weeks. Any excitement I may have had about driving a cute Fiat was quickly squashed by the fact that it was electric and had a range of 74 miles. Ever forget to plug your phone in at night? Yeah, now imagine being stuck at home the next day while the car charges. Needless to say, I’m not planning on a purchase anytime soon. Once my car came back (two weeks later), I sent the list of repairs to my dad and asked how long it would take him. Response: “Two hours including lunch.” Awesome.
I’ve typed away a pretty fair portion of naptime, so it’s time for me to go do some adulting. Enjoy your weekend – we’ll be going to something called Big Hat Days!
Linking up with Kelly, because of course.
We also walked past a rummage sale where this was for sale. Any guesses as to what it is? It was about 3-4″ high, and pretty heavy. A bookend for very small books? I didn't get it, so the question is totally theoretical.
Johnny and I made it out of the house last night for our first date night sans baby (thanks, Katie, for babysitting!). I wore a dress that wasn’t nursing-friendly, had free use of my arms for the whole time, and ordered a real cocktail (the first time I’ve done that in almost a year!). I was going to get an Irish Coffee, but we were at a fancypants restaurant with a real cocktail menu, so I decided to step out of my usual rut and ordered a Rickson (well, I ordered the Dark and Stormy first, but they were out of ginger beer. Outrage). It was a little girly (see the fruit), but definitely packed a punch. I’ll have to try to duplicate it at home, but I can’t find recipes online, so I’ll have to do it soon before I forget it. Darn.
Pilgrims in an Unholy Land 