Daybook for August 2, 2009

Outside my window... it rained a bit here and there today, but not so much that Chris couldn't take Caroline out for her first "real" bike ride. She's only ridden in the driveway and right in front of our house, and we live on a very steep hill... so they walked the bike down the hill and out of the neighborhood to a nearby church parking lot. He says she did great!!

I am thinking... about ideas for future blog posts... a "Why do I...?" series, specifically.

I am thankful... that my parents are taking us to the beach on Saturday!! All my brothers will be there for at least part of the time, and my grandparents will be there, and I get to visit my friend Karen from high school since she recently moved to the area! And it is my birthday tomorrow, so we will celebrate at the beach - a sort of tradition in my family, as I spent several of my childhood birthdays at the beach (because way back then, school didn't start on August 3rd, and we could still be on vacation!).

Learning at home... Caroline's bike-riding is certainly some real hands-on learning! Cecilia is learning to say short phrases, such as "Slide too high" and "Buddy in diaper" (don't ask about that second one! ;). She also strings together related words, like, "Kick... Grampa... Pool!" She didn't kick Grampa; we went swimming with him once. ;) Oh, and she said, "Uncle Mike... Dee!" this evening. Dee is how she says Stephen. I think it is how all kids in our family have always said Stephen!

From the kitchen... lots of fig recipes. Our tree is going nuts with figs. Tonight for dinner, we had grilled pork loin chops with fig/mint sauce. Tomorrow will be fig cookies, and later in the week, our favorite fig/oat bars to take with us to the beach. And there are hundreds of figs that have been dehydrated by now. We will also make some really yummy granola to take on our trip. Dinners this week will be pretty simple.


I am reading... Caritas in Veritate by Pope Benedict XVI - still. I hope to finish it up sometime soon... I am copying several quotes from it and hope to complie them into a blog post in case anyone wants to read some of the highlights!

To live the liturgy... August is beginning, and this month is dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament (according to the Big Book of Catholic Traditions and Customs), but I also read that it is devoted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary... hmm, anyone know which one it really is? Or is it both? So, I got out some holy cards for a couple saints whose feast days fall in this month and put away the ones from July. I have been compiling a "liturgical year at home" binder and at some point will explain it in a post perhaps.

I am creating... a list of what to pack for the beach.

Around the house... the aforementioned fig cooking projects. Packing for aforementioned beach trip. Today, I scrubbed down the highchair. It's something that needs to be done probably every two weeks and realistically only gets done every two months. I wipe out the crumbs constantly, but scrubbing the outside where sticky hands end up on the sides of the chair... that's what I did today.

I am hearing... the air unit in the sunroom just turned on.

One of my favorite things... this iced Mexican chocolate drink... I am addicted. I just made one tonight. Also, hanging out with my brother Tim. I was in Atlanta with the girls over Friday night (while Chris worked from 8 to midnight!), and Tim and I had lots of fun baking horrible chocoltae chip cookies... they were pitiful, to say the least. But they tasted really good the next day!

A few plans for the rest of the week... cooking, packing... and I am taking Cecilia to have her 18 month pictures done at Sears on Wednesday. We will also drop by Caroline's Mothers' Morning Out and meet her teachers for the coming year. She'll be going on Wednesdays again this year. And I keep saying we'll get to the lake... one day this summer, perhaps. It is daunting to think about trying to change both kids in and out of swimsuits at the lake all alone, lol!

A picture thought I am sharing...

Our new (old) swingset that our neighbors generously gave to us. We got new swings (the two blue ones) and the rest was still useable. Notice that the glider is not "too high" for Cecilia!

Have a great week, everyone!!