The scene unfolds like this: They know I'm intent on leaving the room and so they pretend to be asleep, until I touch the handle on the door, at which point they both sit up and scream "Maaaaaaaaaaamaaaaaa!!!!" It's a recent development, and I'm hoping it ends soon.
Yesterday I had a bit of a panic when, after 24 hours of a migraine that just wasn't going away (this migraine laughed at every migraine killing painkiller I threw at it over the course of the day), my eyes decided they were done. Everything went all foggy and through the fogginess blurry and double. Look, two Paul's! Two TVs! I sat down quickly, at Paul's suggestion, pretty sure that this wasn't a good thing, wondering: "How am I going to sew?!?!?! I have orders I need to get out tomorrow!!!!" It went away after five minutes. An admittedly panic stricken five minutes... I am very, very ready to get some answers, hopefully on the 17th.
And so, as a result of the sleep difficulties, my blog about New Year's Resolutions is still left unwritten. I filled the page of a lined piece of paper with resolutions for the coming year, and actually turned the page over before I began to have an inkling that it might be difficult to actually implement 40 different New Year's resolutions.
The list is written in sections, beginning with spirituality. That part was easy enough to come up with. There has been very little change over the years. It looks something like this:
- Pray the divine office (that was new!)... or at least pray morning and night time prayers... and maybe evening prayers too... if I can remember that it's "evening" before dinner... or bedtime...
- Pray the rosary every day as a family (we already do this one... but I like cementing the practice in place via yearly resolutions!)
- Read the Bible for 15 minutes a day.
- Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church for 10 minutes a day.
- Do some other sort of theological/spiritual reading for 10 minutes a day.
- Celebrate at least two feast days each month and teach the girls about the saints.
- Be kinder and more patient.
What about non-bathtub side reading? When I sit down Mae thinks it's time to nurse. Every time I sit down. And her ability to tear a book our of my hand while nursing prove that she believes reading and producing milk are mutually exclusive activities. And that is another trial I'd rather not put my delicate paged Bible through...
Moving on... My attempts at completing #1, throughout the day, would be kind of hilarious to watch. I kneel and begin reading from the Magnificat. Mae Bae's "Mommy is praying radar goes off" and she races into the room. She rips my veil, comb and all off of my head. If I have a snood on she goes for my nose and tries to pull it while laughing. I push on, praying, while hugging her. She attempts to put the veil on her head. Then back on my head. When prayer time is complete she goes back to attempting to remove the garland from the Christmas tree (is it Epiphany yet?!?!?).
I've also resolved to lose 20 pounds (unlikely!), or not gain the full 45 I usually gain if I find out I'm pregnant this year (a mere 35 would be my goal!) by trying to eat more fruit and veggies and a less ridiculous amount of carbs (Paul also suggests that I stop putting cream cheese in everything {a slight exaggeration} I cook and maybe only use it on Sundays...). We're planning on going on more walks again. And I'm planning on announcing an awesome (non-baby related) surprise mid-year!
Of course, the actual nearly two page list is much longer, but those are the highlights!
In other news Mae Bae is 1 1/2 today!!!
How are your New Year's Resolutions going?
Last year as part of my Lenten observances I added a similar resolution to read Scripture and the Catechism daily. While I've not always kept up with it as much as I ought, I have found this to be a very enlightening and enriching practice. I use this guide to keep up with it, it has three short readings from the Bible and one from the Catechism for each day. http://www.chnetwork.org/readguide04.pdf
ReplyDeleteI like to ease into my new years resolutions...trying to start out too strong usually means I fail. But so far, so good...not bad, anyway. :)
ReplyDeleteGaa! Do we really need to wait until mid-year for your surprise? It's like one of those TV shows that ends with a teaser and you have to wait what feels like ages to find out what happens.
ReplyDeleteI think that Katie at only 2 1/2 months would agree with Mae that reading and milk production are mutually exclusive. I try to sneak it in. Or prop my laptop so I can read a blog or something but she always finds a way to make sure that I can't do it for more than a minute.
My only resolution is to be more organized which I think it far easier said than done.
Been through the little kids and spiritual reading issues. Try this one: set them down with colors and paper and tell them you are going to read to them from the Grown-up Bible (or something from a Saint like St. Teresa of Avila or St. John of the Cross...) and they are to color a picture to go with what you are reading. Then if you have a nice ugly wall you are not yet ready to paint, begin papering that wall with their art. Each piece of art can be enjoyed and they can help you choose the spot it goes on.
ReplyDeleteI did this with a wall in the livingroom and it was fun. We papered floor to ceiling. The kids chose what to cover when there were no new spaces. Years later when it was time to paint I peeled the papers off, one at a time, and enjoyed watching how their art had developed over time in reverse.
I hope to do the same with the Little Tiger's art work but as yet have not chosen the wall here...
Prayer time. I have perfecting praying on the toilet, in the shower, and while doing dishes.... these are the only moments in my day where I am not interrupted. Of course, it means the books I would like to look at are not used much, except for the one sitting near the toilet, but it works for the memorized prayers and for just telling it all to God.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I love it when I read your blog because now and again it will inspire a nice long post to my own blog. This is one of those days.
ReplyDelete