RealChoice has an excellent post with some responses to the recent LifeReport podcast on Gosnell.


Among other subjects, she addresses the concept that we (the anti-abortion/pro-life crowd) are somehow anti-women in a fight between women and their offspring:

"We don't oppose abortion because we are taking the baby's side in some sort of baby versus mother conflict. We're taking the mother-and-child side in a mother-and-child versus abortionist conflict. An abortionist is no more helping a woman than a drug dealer is helping an addict. Instead, he is making money from somebody else's self-destructive behavior."

I know I know, this is my mantra of late. What can I say? It seems self-evident to me that the abortion industry has resulted in some incredibly heinous things. I have seen very little evidence, all of which is subjective and questionable (first-person testimonies about how abortion saved them from poverty, etc), to support the concept that the legalization of abortion is a positive thing in the world. On the other hand, I've seen a great deal of pain, damage, hurt, and violence in many forms come from out of the world of abortion.

We must reach out to women. Young women, pregnant women, mothers, single women, married women, all women. We must let them know that there is hope, and help. When they're pregnant, but also before they become pregnant. We must become stronger advocates for the organizations that offer free & low-cost services to pregnant women. We must reach out with a helping hand.

And of course, pray. We must must must pray.

 

7 Fri-er-Saturday Quick Takes

My thanks to Jen at Conversion Diary for hosting!

-1-

I am new to the 7 Quick Takes community, and am therefore a day late and a dollar short. Sorry, folks. I'm glad to be joining you all, though!

-2-

N has started using his words while crying for me at naptime. Let me be clear. He always cried for me at nap time, but now it's things like, "Mommy don't leave me! Mommy I'm lonely! I can't wanna sleep, Mommy! I'm not tired! Please I wanna hug you, Mommy!" Anything and everything to stall nap/get up. There is very little that I have experienced which wrenches my heart quite the way my 2 1/2 year old crying for hugs and that he's lonely does.

-3-

Learning to recognize when my emotions are damaging my relationship with God. For various reasons this morning, I found myself angry at D. It started to brew and then fizzed out with the distractions of the household while he slept in (not actually why I was mad at him, for the record). During a moment of peace, and with both boys secured in high chairs, I made my way upstairs to hug & kiss him good morning, but on the way, found that anger resurfacing as resentment. Funny, though, it hit me as I was walking that the resentment was a trick of Satan's. So, I offered up a quick prayer for grace, and found myself happily embracing my husband soon thereafter. Funny how evil works in our lives, carving out little pits of emotion and dwelling & digging in....

-4-

Filed our taxes. Woo-hoo! :) Yes, I know it's a silly thing to celebrate.

-5-

N's sweater now has a body piece, an arm, and the beginning of a second arm. I have intended to knit it for over a year now. I did not follow directions perfectly but I don't care because I think it looks great, aside from the fact that my tension leaves much to be desired.

-6-

Though I advocate thanking God for every day, strong dislike is a mild expression of how I feel about the phrase "TGIF"... Friday is my first or second workday. It usually signifies the start of a lot of running on empty for me.

-7-

Fruit smoothies are the new fad in our household. It strikes me as odd that I hadn't thought more about making the little ones a smoothie on occasion. I just use frozen fruit, 100% juice, and yogurt. No sweetener necessary, because the fruits they love the most are blueberries, bananas, and strawberries. It is an easy, mindless breakfast beverage that I can make while chomping on a quick breakfasty food like cereal or toast, and then I can worry about getting them some protein or grains as they suck down the drinks.

N's very difficult week

Ever have one of those weeks when you feel like your kids are falling apart on you?

Well, I've seen it happen before, but this is my first time truly experiencing it as a mommy.

I mentioned that N got a dog bite (really, it was a nip gone bad) on Friday the 7th. That night, when we put him down to bed, I called the advice nurse and actually felt really good about things when the night ended. However, the wound got infected almost immediately, and on Saturday morning, we brought N into the doctor's office with a swollen face and a low-grade fever.

The on-call pediatrician looked at the bite area and sent us to the ER, where they drained the infection and then admitted us into the Pediatrics ward. D stayed overnight with N, and we got to go home on Sunday afternoon.

N kept a low-grade fever which concerned me until Monday night. I kept in contact with the advice nurse (for any mommies out there who don't utilize the advice line, I would strongly recommend saving it in your contacts. It's free for patients and it's so nice to have the peace of mind!)...

On Tuesday, N went in for a follow-up appointment. The doctor told us that the diaper rash he was developing was a result of the diarrhea he had from the Augmentin (the oral antibiotic routine they put him on) and we got him probiotics to help regulate his digestion.

The diaper rash got much worse and I called the advice nurse again Saturday evening. She said it was just a result of the Augmentin, and apparently antibiotics often cause yeast infections in children, so I should get antifungal for his diaper area and let him hang out sans diaper as much as possible.

Monday morning, his diaper rash wasn't much better, and he had a full-body rash which looked like Roseola. Concerned, I brought him in to see the pediatrician who told us that N's rash was a reaction (not a true allergy because it didn't bother him, but a reaction) to the amoxicillin in the Augmentin. Apparently it's related to a penicillin allergy, so we need to watch out for that.

The pics are of him AFTER we stopped the antibiotics.

So, in the past week and a half, my little guy has had a bite, an infection, a fever, a diaper rash/yeast infection, and a full-body rash. I brought him out of the doctor's office with a splotchy red face, a scab on his chin (where the bite was), and a big red painful diaper rash (we're talking chemical burn bad, and it developed in under 24 hours).

That said, ever since he stopped taking the antibiotics, his rash has gone waaaay down, his diaper rash has gotten MUCH better, his diarrhea is gone, and the bite still appears to be healing and the fever hasn't come back.

I'm not sure I knew anything about parenthood before these last 2 weeks, really!

Learning to Fall

My darling husband believes it is extremely important for young children to learn how gravity works on their bodies and how to fall.

That's the fancy way that he usually uses to explain why he loves tossing N in the air every which way till Sunday.

I kid you not, D throws him up by his hips, feet, waist, etc, always catching him (so far*fingers crossed*) and always eliciting squeals of joy, giggles, and insistent pleas for more.

Sometimes, I swear, it looks as though he's abusing our 20-month-old son... except for the smile and laughter.

Now, I know... I know ... that D is always in control and never performs these tricks over hard surfaces. Still, I cringe a little every time he starts up, and I've given him grief before about the claim to need to know how to fall being complete bunk.

Well, never again will I assert that knowing how to fall comes naturally and needn't be taught, nor will I argue the unimportance of parents teaching such a trait.

Yesterday, when he tripped on pavement, my 20-month-old son briskly caught himself with his hands, allowed his weight to continue down, and managed to fall without a single scratch. Zero bleeding. A few tears, admittedly, but far better than I've done even recently when tripping.

And his face hit that pavement. Not hard, because he knew how to fall with it. But I picked him up and I know that the little face hit pavement.

Poor guy, I felt so bad for him.

Lest you argue that I should have been more alert, I was standing next to him and holding his brother when it happened. He simply caught his foot and tripped in the blink of an eye. And he was in my arms the moment he reacted.

Yes, my darling dearest husband, I cede to your wisdom in this matter of falls and tumbles. Teach away, oh wise one. ;)

Brotherly Love

They were just being cute and I had to share! :) Now for a walk...

Knitting Adventures

In a recent attempt to be more productive with my time, I started knitting... and when I say started, I mean started. I used my good friend youtube.com to teach me how to knit, purl, increase, decrease, bind off, and after some time, what k2togtbl (or p2togtbl) means and how to do it... I am amateur at best, but I have 2 finished projects (rather, 2 of the same finished project) under my belt.

The first one I did wrong. Rather than moving the yarn in front of the needle each time I did a knit stitch, I moved the yarn behind the needle each time. This, it turns out, makes all the difference.

So here's N in my *first* finished project:

Having successfully (if incorrectly) completed my first ever knitted project, I started on another sweater vest, same style, for my 3 yo godson, KC. After researching why N's sweater vest came out so thick and bulky, I came up with this for KC:

So there it is! My second-ever knitted project! Looks a little lumpy in the left photo only because it's sitting funny, by the way.

Next on the agenda is this handsome sweater ... if I can actually figure out knitting on circular knitting needles and/or in the round. I have the tools, I have the ambition, do I have the skills? We'll find out, I guess!

Baby T Talking & Smiling

Love from The Hastings Home!

Yay!!!!

Well, after a looooong hiatus because of mommy's laziness and general distractions in our lives, N went pee-pee on the potty again today like a BIG boy! Yay!!!!

He is currently enjoying his orange m&m (I should comment that m&m was his sixth word, behind "daddy" "mommy" "hi" "no" and "yes"... not that he's had many in his little life, but they've always been mentioned by name and hey, they're sweet!)

We're all excited!

Okay, I was having a hard time with the camera so maybe I was a little strained.

But believe me when I say, EVERYone in our house is happy about this!

Getting back into the swing...

First, a great big THANK YOU! to Uncle P and the lovely HR, who helped D clean up the kitchen while N, T and I were out of town. You seriously don't know how much help you truly truly were.

That said, getting back into my old routine is proving to be increasingly difficult.



I went back and re-read my old post about cleaning for inspiration.


But all I want to do is knit knit knit.


That's what I get for starting a project.

Ah, well. Back to the grind. Because I just looked over to see what that noise was that N was making and this is what I saw:

And I'm still here typing!

Gotta go!

Happy Easter!

 Jesus Christ is Risen today! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Dinner menu:
Spiral cut brown sugar glazed ham
scalloped potatoes
asparagus
rolls

Dessert:
The hubby's fabulous dark chocolate cream pie

N had a bad cough/sore throat last night and kept D up all night. We brought him to mass anyway, but then put him right down for nap, after which, he had brunch and found his basket. Then it was back down for nap (poor kid was allowed only a very small amount of chocolate). He seems to be doing better now, though. We'll see, I suppose, how he does at bedtime.

This morning when we got home from mass I made a big brunch. Yummers. Then, N found his basket with some help from Mommy, who also found T's basket. D had hidden a basket for me, too, which I gladly searched out. I'll admit it: I was a bad wifey. With the funeral and family visit, I never finished getting his basket together. I did the walk of shame with what I had collected, which he greatly appreciated. He was, of course, extremely understanding.

Talked to Grandma M, who brought the family to DMN's gravesite to plant flowers after mass in NC. I'm glad. They also removed the dead flowers (the spray and stands from the funeral), which they're planning to bury in the backyard. It feels fitting. It just doesn't seem right to throw them away and they're dead so no one wants them hanging around forever.

I think about her a lot. She and T would have been so close. And part of me thinks that because of that, she and I would have grown close. I guess that's mostly my old preggers thoughts seeping into my what-could-have-been thoughts. Ridiculous, since we live across the country, but I never said I was sensible.

It's hard to be here when I feel like I could be so much more help there. Not that I'm not needed here; I know that life isn't stopping at home just because there's been a tragedy in my family. But I feel like I should be more helpful. I feel like they've done more to help me than I have done to help them.

Sorry. Today should be a happy peaceful day of rejoicing. It is, too. I'm just being contemplative now.

D bought me soda and brought it out so that I knew I didn't need to buy myself any. Haha, he knows how surprisingly difficult it was for me to avoid drinking any soda during Lent. I am happy to say, however, that I completely honored my Lenten commitment of no high caffeine drinks (hot cocoa was always okay) and no soda whatsoever (not even an Italian soda). Even though they offer you soda CONSTANTLY on plane trips. I mean, every time I looked over, there was a stewardess going down the aisle with the beverage cart, which is largely soda. It was good for both me and N to avoid the soda, though, as N usually wears me down in public spaces like that and would likely have gotten a few sips out of my glass even if it had been soda (it was orange juice and he had plenty of it).

Well, that's all for now. Have a happy and blessed Easter!

He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’
-Matthew 28:6-7

We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. 
-1 John 3:16

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
-Romans 6:9-10

Blessings

In times of greatest trial and tribulation, it is only necessary to open your heart and submit, and God reveals himself most openly.

I am in North Carolina right now; the Knights of Colombus at the Air Force Academy paid for N, T, and me to fly out here on 03/16 to be at the funeral of my baby sister, who was stillborn at 8 1/2 months of gestation. Hearts in my family break for the loss of DMN, who we were excited to meet and welcome fully into our lives. Grandma M went in on Th, 03/11 after noticing a lack of movement, and was told that she experienced something called placenta abruptio in which the placenta implodes, sometimes resulting in the death of the unborn child. Unfortunately, DMN was below the placenta and when the blood from the implosion pooled, my mom didn't know because the baby blocked the blood from escaping.

We buried DMN on Wed, 03/17. The funeral was beautiful but heartbreaking. Her casket was tiny. The attendance was much greater than expected, and many friends and family members sent condolences and flowers. My sisters NN, 18, and EN, 14, were the pallbearers. NN is in the Air Force Academy and she wore her dress blues for the funeral.

The cemetary was far from the church, and as we followed the hearse, we discussed how surreal it all felt.... Grandma M put it very eloquently, "I feel numb, and then I want to say, 'Give me back that pain! I want that pain!'" The grave was tiny, and didn't seem terribly deep. It was hard to see. Grandpa D began covering her casket, and we then took turns covering her up... N helped Mommy when it was her turn.

Then the church invited the guests to a small reception which was very tastefully done. Tablecloths, flowers, small sandwiches, and a buffet of other general reception foods.

We've received gifts of many varieties, from homemade and purchased foods to flowers to financial gifts to donations made in honor of DMN... We have been shown great love by many many people. DMN was allowed into a cemetary that's all but impossible to get into, on the graces of the Abbot. NN's Academy friends rallied and gifted a sum of money that will be used for DMN's headstone. My Uncle R, Aunt K and cousin L sent a beautiful nightlight of the Blessed Mother holding the baby Jesus.

As Father Buettner pointed out, there are two primary realities in motherhood: the reality of bringing life into the world and caring for that life, and the reality of surrendering and trusting that life to God. Just...most mothers don't experience the second in the sense of their son's or daughter's life in this world being extinguished. I hurt for my mother, but I know that her strength and her faith in God will pull her through this, though it will never be entirely gone.

So now I am here until the 31st. We didn't want to waste the time and money spent on getting N,T, and me to the funeral, so we are staying to spend some quality time with the family. D couldn't get the time off of work, and we're sorry that he couldn't, but sometimes that is how things happen.

Hopefully I'll be able to blog while I'm here, but I am focusing on family right now.

Lord, please grant my family healing in our time of need. Be with us and continue to reveal yourself to your servants. Please give us peace and humility. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. DMN, pray for us.

Work...

I'm going into work tonight for the first time since T was born.

They started calling, offering shifts here and there, a few weeks ago. I just wasn't really ready for it then, though. I thought I would be, but when they started offering, I realized I didn't want to go back yet.

But then I got an offer to work this shift.

And realized, "yeah! I am ready!"

So it's off I go. 5 whole hours away from both boys. We'll see how it goes. That's 5 hours that D is solely responsible for both boys. He's a good daddy, and I know he'll do great, but I wonder how worn out he'll be when I get home (it's always a little life-affirming when I get to see how he does when faced with my daily routine, but it's hard to see him so frayed).

*Wish us luck!*

Haircuts.. How do you?

We recently cut N's hair for the first time...

I had no idea what a time we were in for when we started!

I decided to do it at home. *BIG* mistake, given that our tools were...lacking.

First of all, N is an extremely curious child, and didn't want to sit still at all while I ran the clippers through his hair.

Add to that, he has incredibly fine hair which flows right through the guard without getting any shorter.

Mix in a nervous mommy.

Stir a bit and come up with...

An uneven head of hair...

So, how do you mommas do it? Cut hair at home? Bring them to a salon? Let Daddy worry about it? Share advice, stories, whatever. Let me know! :)

Our Photographer the Saint

Just got some of the originals from a couple photoshoots with a friend of mine. While going through them, I was blown away by her patience. I think I would have been yelling, "Hold STILL!" by some point!

I thought I would share a typical selection of some of them...

We didn't realize just *how* patient she'd had to be.

Because this is the sort of work that came back to us...

Now we realize how lucky and loved we are.

Thank you, RS, for all of your hard work! We love you!

A Good Time at Mass

Usually, I love bringing the boys to mass on Sundays.

That said, today I was not looking forward to mass.

D just had his work schedule change from 1:30-10pm (M-F) to 10:30am-7:30pm (Th-M). Knowing that he was going to be missing every *other* mass option, we had planned to bring the boys to the earlier 8am mass....

But then life happened. We ended up missing the 8am service and I set out to get the boys to the 10:30 service. Alone. (Yikes!)

We got to mass (5 minutes late... well, we can't do it all...) and I was prepared. I had entertainment and a tippy cup for N and a blanket and Snuggli carrier for T (my very favorite Moby Wrap was in the dirty laundry unfortunately).

N was FABULOUS! He sat in the pew all through mass, barely complained at all, and I only ended up needing the tippy cup. YAY!

After mass, the dad sitting in front of us turned around and complimented N on his good behavior. And then we went down for cocoa and donuts and N enjoyed running around with the other children...

I was worried, I'll be honest, that N would figure that he could get away with more without D there. And we're stick-in-the-mud parents about mass (when he misbehaves, he goes outside for a time-out, not to the cry room to play with toys/other children), so I was really worried about how I was going to be able to handle N during mass with T in the Snuggli.

I am SO proud of his good behavior!

Every week, I think about his baptism. He has always loved mass. It could be the peaceful setting. Could also be the music. He LOVES music.

My little guy. How can 19 months have passed by so quickly? And how is it that they seem to be moving even faster these days?

We're scheduling T's baptism soon...

How do they get so big so fast?

Cooking with Little Ones

I remember as a kid loving to be a part of just about everything that went on in the kitchen.

Of course, I stopped showing an interest in dishes when I realized they were work...

But I still love cooking.

And can hardly wait to involve N in dinner/dessert preparations!

A Meal Planning Mommy

I love my crock pot.

I have had it for years, but only really discovered it recently, thanks to Grandma E and Aunt MH, actually.

But now I know the secret that so many women have already known. The best meal plan involves preparing and freezing meals at the end of the weekend.


Because it's far easier to cut open a frozen bag of stew and slow cook it all day than it is to cut up stew meat, potatoes, celery, onions, carrots, etc, add all of your spices and flavorings, and try to do so in time to have dinner made by the time D walks in the door. Especially on the days when the counter is cluttered, N is screaming, and T is colicky.


My favorite recipes so far include Chicken Paprika, Chicken with apples and lemon, and barbecued meatballs.


Are you a crock pot cooker? Do you have other time cutting secrets? Favorite recipes? Tell me about them!

Forgive me for Gushing

N is getting to the age where pens and paper are some of the most entertaining toys I can produce. So, I thought, what better time to begin introducing him to his letters? The other day, he and I were writing his name (well, he was holding the pen and I was writing, really ^_^). I read the letters out loud to him somewhat slowly. When I finished, he got all excited and went and retrieved his other favorite toy, a stuffed dog named Scout. Scout has a song loaded onto him which consists of saying N's name, spelling it, and then saying it again.
N found the song.

And proudly danced to it.

Yes, I am aware that this does not qualify my son as a genius. But a mom can brag, no?

Park Days!

We at the Hastings home love our park days! With such b.e.a.utiful weather in the Pacific Northwest lately, it's hard for us to stay inside!

 

...So we didn't!

As you can see, T didn't much like stopping to take a picture... 

...And N is, of course, wearing Daddy's hat. At his insistence.

N's favorite playground activity?

 

Swings!

He practically touched the sky!

I love that I have such an energetic and happy little guy! He just loves seeing other kids, and playing on the swings and slides, and just generally being out of the house!

He jabbered away to me all the way there and all the way home, telling me in his own little language about the trees and flowers and cars and grass.... and who knows what else, really?

 

I guess all that activity took all of his energy right out of him, though, because, poor fellow, he couldn't quite finish his sandwich...

I wish I could have gotten a good photo of him as I laid him down for nap, but laying him down happy is a delicate balance and cameras just don't factor in!

Now it's off to clean and prepare for the second wave of energy... ;)