I still remember that iconic Sesame Street skit, and how we thought we were so really smart at age 5 or 6 to repeat it at nauseum. I guess it should be a warning to parents about childen and things in their ear. It just is not a good idea. Unfortunately I forgot this rule today during mass.
Due to the extra hour this morning we had time for some breakfast, so I didn't see the need to load up on snacks for mass. It is a bad habit and one I hope eventually to break, but.. quite often we just do not get Joseph to eat breakfast in the morning before mass. After laying still a whole night long, in the morning it is just too much to ask to actually sit still.
During Mass Joseph seemed very dissapointed when mamma told him that her purse did not contain food. (What a travesty! A mamma purse without cookies, crackers, mints or cheeiros!). All in all though, he was very good about that dissapointment. He was very well behaved, especially since dadda was reading and mamma had to take care of him and Michael alone for the first part of mass.
While putting something in my bag (probably a toy of Michael) I stumbled over two hershey's kisses and could not resist. In the age old gesture of favorite unles and grandfathers who conjure a coin out of your ear, I pulled a hershey's kiss out of Joseph's. After communion, with Joseph still amazingly good, I pulled a second kiss out of his ear, with wide eyes and a whispered "look what grew out of your ear'.
It seemed so cute at the time. It was. It was also not very smart. Because by now Joseph has already been trying to investigate dadda's ears in the hope of harvesting some more chocolates. Yes... I have convinced my three year old that chocolate can grow out of your ear. Bad mommy!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Video
I've tried posting this one before, only to realize that the blog cuts off videos because the width is not long enough. So... please have a look at this video and give me your opinion. I hope you will like it. Be loved and blessed !
Pint sized theology
I used to pray a lot more before I was a mom. Or maybe I should say that I prayed a lot more elaborate prayers. I had time for quiet adoration, for chaplets, personal prayer, and the rosary. And yet with all that, I doubt any prayer has born more fruit than the one I did today: just one decade of the rosary. But I prayed it together with my oldest son who is learning the prayers. I held the rosary, he had a hand on my head (don't ask me why) and kept turning circles around me while praying. He was paying atention though, because when I stopped.. he supplied the words. I prayed with my youngest son next to me, who repeatedly grabbed the rosary and put it in his mouth.
I doubt any prayer could be more valued by Our Lord who said "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them." I know that since I have gathered the children in my prayers instead of being bothered by their interuption, I pray more. And I pray more fruitful. Even if it is just one decade of the rosary, on brightly coloured wooden beads as big as my fingertip, while one child tries to play tug-a-rope with the rosary, and the other is trying to wind my hair in a birds nest, milling around like the blades of a waterwheel. BTW, the most beautiful part of it all? After we finished, Joseph said: "Shall we do again??"
Praise God for children.
Now, the road to the rosary did not always go over roses. We had a few theological incidents on the way. Maybe I am trying to teach a bit too much. Occupational hazard anyone? But everything is a teaching moment. A few weeks ago we were reading a boardbook on the couch, Joseph, Michael and I. The book is called "What is Easter?" and it's a favorite of Joseph since he received it about two years ago. It tells about how fun easter eggs and bunnies and parades are, but that easter is not about that stuff, but all about God's son.
So.. we come to the end. "Okay, I get it. The Easter Bunny is okay, and Easter eggs are fun. But Easter is not about that stuff, it's all about God's son." The end. So... I decided to throw in a bit of theology in the mix at 9 am.
So Joseph... do you know who God's son is? It's J... J... Jesus!
Joseph repeats enthousiastically: Jesus!
Me: Yes. Jesus is the Son of God. He is the Father, the Son and..
Joseph and me together: the Holy Ghost.
Joseph: AND AMEN!
Hmmmmmm....
Oh well, prayer according to your capabilities is what is pleasing, right?
I doubt any prayer could be more valued by Our Lord who said "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them." I know that since I have gathered the children in my prayers instead of being bothered by their interuption, I pray more. And I pray more fruitful. Even if it is just one decade of the rosary, on brightly coloured wooden beads as big as my fingertip, while one child tries to play tug-a-rope with the rosary, and the other is trying to wind my hair in a birds nest, milling around like the blades of a waterwheel. BTW, the most beautiful part of it all? After we finished, Joseph said: "Shall we do again??"
Praise God for children.
Now, the road to the rosary did not always go over roses. We had a few theological incidents on the way. Maybe I am trying to teach a bit too much. Occupational hazard anyone? But everything is a teaching moment. A few weeks ago we were reading a boardbook on the couch, Joseph, Michael and I. The book is called "What is Easter?" and it's a favorite of Joseph since he received it about two years ago. It tells about how fun easter eggs and bunnies and parades are, but that easter is not about that stuff, but all about God's son.
So.. we come to the end. "Okay, I get it. The Easter Bunny is okay, and Easter eggs are fun. But Easter is not about that stuff, it's all about God's son." The end. So... I decided to throw in a bit of theology in the mix at 9 am.
So Joseph... do you know who God's son is? It's J... J... Jesus!
Joseph repeats enthousiastically: Jesus!
Me: Yes. Jesus is the Son of God. He is the Father, the Son and..
Joseph and me together: the Holy Ghost.
Joseph: AND AMEN!
Hmmmmmm....
Oh well, prayer according to your capabilities is what is pleasing, right?
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Birthday pictures
These pictures were taken in honour of Joseph's third birthday. The first set was taken with grandparents and aunt. A week or so later, Joseph's Godfather was in town and he also had his portrait taken, since they live so far away and opportunities are far and few between. Thus my two boys were photomodels twice in a ten day period.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
A Very Thomas Birthday
On the 21st of September Joseph will be three years old. We are celebrating a few days earlier though, so the family can be here together on a sunday. Besides, this is the day he should have been born if he had not been stuborn enough to keep mommy in three days of labour. Not that I will keep that hanging over his heard for the rest of his life of course..... but I just thought I'ld mention it.
Last night, my wonderful Husband spent his evening and part of the night putting together Joseph's birthday gift: an Imaginarium Train table. Joseph, as you may know is utterly insane about trains, particularly Thomas the Tank Engine. Ama (Joseph's name for my mother) and Bill worked together for two hours to get the table done, then I helped the last hour after my mother went to bed putting some of the smaller things together. We applied some magic and wall stickers and.... presto we had a Thomas the Tank Engine traintable!! Hurray! It was well past midnight when both of us saw our bed, but it was worth it.
This morning Mommy, Dadda and Ama gathered around Joseph's bed to sing happy birthday and then he was carried downstairs to discover his birthday surprise. I wish I had words to describe his delight. I have however a video and if I can manage to upload it, you will see what I mean. He was not just happy, he was over the moon. He kept looking, touching, running his trains over the rails. We had serious trouble convincing him of the necessity to actually get dressed to go to mass!
At Church several people wished our boy a happy birthday, but his main interest remained getting back home to play with the traintable. Even the arrival of Aunt Sarah, Mimi and Pa, his aunt and paternal grandparents just meant that there were now more people to drag along to come and admire him as he raced around, pushing trains on the tracks, through tunnels and over bridges.
After everyone had gathered, the trains had been admired we made ready for a birthday tradition: pictures at JCPenny! But even here Thomas the Tank engine could not be excluded.
We skipped naps today, always a big risk, but a present from Mimi while at the restaurant made Joseph behave well and stay on his side: Cranky the Crane, a college of Thomas at the docks and a take along set provided lots of fun while the rest of us played pass the baby with Michael and ate.
Then finally we could go back home to play with the unbeatable train table again. I am convinced Joseph has run more than a mile in small circles around that thing today. Even the Thomas cake and further Thomas presents (Thomas boots, a Thomas rain coat and an umbrella, together with some fun grow along toys) were only sufficient for a break of half an hour, before the race began again.
That cake was a story by itsself. We wanted to order one at our local Publix store and asked for some information. We needed to decide between a pull apart cupcake cake and a cake. When I came back, they informed me, three days before the birthday party that they were out of Thomas the Tank engine kits. And I already had promised my little boy a Thomas cake. Oops. And I have never in my life decorated a cake. Double oops! I decided to be creative. I asked the bakery to make a plain round cake, with happy birthday on it, and red and blue (Thomas' colours) icing around it. Then I had the genius idea (if I say so myself) to use the heads of Thomas the tank engine Pez candy dispensers for decoration. The only thing I needed to add were some tracks.
Reluctantly we said goodbye to Mimi, aunt Sarah and Pa shortly after the cake and presents and played with the trains till it was time for the bedtime rituals to start. Mommy even snuck in a nap!
James received the honour of going with Joseph under the blankies and Ama read a Dutch story about, what else, a train, and then Joseph went off to the land of Dre.... well.. the island of Sodor I am sure, in his Very Thomas Bedroom.
Last night, my wonderful Husband spent his evening and part of the night putting together Joseph's birthday gift: an Imaginarium Train table. Joseph, as you may know is utterly insane about trains, particularly Thomas the Tank Engine. Ama (Joseph's name for my mother) and Bill worked together for two hours to get the table done, then I helped the last hour after my mother went to bed putting some of the smaller things together. We applied some magic and wall stickers and.... presto we had a Thomas the Tank Engine traintable!! Hurray! It was well past midnight when both of us saw our bed, but it was worth it.
This morning Mommy, Dadda and Ama gathered around Joseph's bed to sing happy birthday and then he was carried downstairs to discover his birthday surprise. I wish I had words to describe his delight. I have however a video and if I can manage to upload it, you will see what I mean. He was not just happy, he was over the moon. He kept looking, touching, running his trains over the rails. We had serious trouble convincing him of the necessity to actually get dressed to go to mass!
At Church several people wished our boy a happy birthday, but his main interest remained getting back home to play with the traintable. Even the arrival of Aunt Sarah, Mimi and Pa, his aunt and paternal grandparents just meant that there were now more people to drag along to come and admire him as he raced around, pushing trains on the tracks, through tunnels and over bridges.
After everyone had gathered, the trains had been admired we made ready for a birthday tradition: pictures at JCPenny! But even here Thomas the Tank engine could not be excluded.
We skipped naps today, always a big risk, but a present from Mimi while at the restaurant made Joseph behave well and stay on his side: Cranky the Crane, a college of Thomas at the docks and a take along set provided lots of fun while the rest of us played pass the baby with Michael and ate.
Then finally we could go back home to play with the unbeatable train table again. I am convinced Joseph has run more than a mile in small circles around that thing today. Even the Thomas cake and further Thomas presents (Thomas boots, a Thomas rain coat and an umbrella, together with some fun grow along toys) were only sufficient for a break of half an hour, before the race began again.
That cake was a story by itsself. We wanted to order one at our local Publix store and asked for some information. We needed to decide between a pull apart cupcake cake and a cake. When I came back, they informed me, three days before the birthday party that they were out of Thomas the Tank engine kits. And I already had promised my little boy a Thomas cake. Oops. And I have never in my life decorated a cake. Double oops! I decided to be creative. I asked the bakery to make a plain round cake, with happy birthday on it, and red and blue (Thomas' colours) icing around it. Then I had the genius idea (if I say so myself) to use the heads of Thomas the tank engine Pez candy dispensers for decoration. The only thing I needed to add were some tracks.
Reluctantly we said goodbye to Mimi, aunt Sarah and Pa shortly after the cake and presents and played with the trains till it was time for the bedtime rituals to start. Mommy even snuck in a nap!
James received the honour of going with Joseph under the blankies and Ama read a Dutch story about, what else, a train, and then Joseph went off to the land of Dre.... well.. the island of Sodor I am sure, in his Very Thomas Bedroom.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Consequences
Joseph loves Thomas the Tank Engine. Joseph loves playing with the Thomas the Tank Engine table at the toy store. Joseph loves it so much that he will ask to go there a few dozen times a day. Since we do not want to aggravate the people of the toy store by playing there every day and never buying something, we ration visits to once every week or two. I try to explain Joseph how this works by using the calendar and showing him what day we are and when we will go. He dutifully listens and then just ask again.."Shall we go to the Thomas Table?" "Shall we go in the car and go bye bye to the Thomas Table?" Needless to say that today when we actually DID go to the Thomas table, I almost felt a sense of relief. Yes.. we are going to the Thomas Table.
Unfortunately, we did not stay long at the Thomas Table.
Joseph knows he needs to be gentle with his little brother. He also knows that he can not just do anything, or there will be a consequence. If he deliberately crashes into his brother when we are all playing on the bed, mama takes the little brother away. This is a big punishment and usually followed by wails of "I want him. Mama needs to come back!" He knows that if he throws his toys, they get taken away. (except for squishy toys that are allowed to be thrown). And he knows that kicking, hitting, or blatant disobedience mean time out. He knows all this.
So I do not understand why, after two warnings, he decided to deliberately push down his little brother, who is just learning to stand, while he was holding on to the Thomas table. "Michael can't play." is just no excuse, right?
So... up we grabbed Joseph, Michael went in the stroller and we moved out of the store, with a screaming and crying todler in his fathers arms who kept wailing that he wanted to go back to the Thomas table. His cruel parents however did not relent, and just kept saying that he should not have pushed his little brother (after two warnings, where we had intervened no less). Once at home I tried to explain to a still crying and hicupping Joseph that this was a "consequence" (hey, if he can learn the word metamorphosis, he can learn this one). If he pushed his little brother down, he was not a good boy. And if he is not a good boy he can not play with the Thomas table. Through hiccups and crying he told me he wanted the consequence. I guess he did not really understand. Ah well, he will in time. And one day he will thank us, right? Right?
Unfortunately, we did not stay long at the Thomas Table.
Joseph knows he needs to be gentle with his little brother. He also knows that he can not just do anything, or there will be a consequence. If he deliberately crashes into his brother when we are all playing on the bed, mama takes the little brother away. This is a big punishment and usually followed by wails of "I want him. Mama needs to come back!" He knows that if he throws his toys, they get taken away. (except for squishy toys that are allowed to be thrown). And he knows that kicking, hitting, or blatant disobedience mean time out. He knows all this.
So I do not understand why, after two warnings, he decided to deliberately push down his little brother, who is just learning to stand, while he was holding on to the Thomas table. "Michael can't play." is just no excuse, right?
So... up we grabbed Joseph, Michael went in the stroller and we moved out of the store, with a screaming and crying todler in his fathers arms who kept wailing that he wanted to go back to the Thomas table. His cruel parents however did not relent, and just kept saying that he should not have pushed his little brother (after two warnings, where we had intervened no less). Once at home I tried to explain to a still crying and hicupping Joseph that this was a "consequence" (hey, if he can learn the word metamorphosis, he can learn this one). If he pushed his little brother down, he was not a good boy. And if he is not a good boy he can not play with the Thomas table. Through hiccups and crying he told me he wanted the consequence. I guess he did not really understand. Ah well, he will in time. And one day he will thank us, right? Right?
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
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