Theology From a Three Year Old

On Sunday, we made homemade pizza.

As Anthony started eating his first piece, he said, "God can smell our pizza." 

Daddy:  God is everywhere.

Anthony:  I bet God would want to eat our pizza.

Daddy: God doesn't eat...

Anthony:  ...pizza.


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Anthony:  God makes people and houses.

Dominic:  God doesn't make houses. 

Anthony:  God makes houses because he has nails.  I saw them in church.

I'll Take It!

As I walked down the hall, I noticed something on the bathroom door:

This is what it said:

Here are my cleaners:

I didn't even ask them to clean the bathroom!  And no, this doesn't happen all the time. 

If You Got A Somewhat Mangled Gift From Us This Year...

...this is why...

...and this is the culprit.

Been There, Did That

Joseph, mischievously: Hey, Dominic, let's eat some Play-Doh and see what it tastes like.

Dominic:  No!

Joseph:  Why not?

Dominic:  Because I did before and it's yucky.

All Those Girls!

On Friday, one of my friends came over with her five girls to play.  So the boys were seriously outnumbered, 7 to 3.  The fun started out with a tea party, as you might expect.  However, my friend and I were surprised to later discover the kids playing a rousing game of what they called "War."  They divided into 2 teams and doled out all of the nerf guns, cap guns, pretend laser guns, bows and arrows, swords, shields, etc. that belong to the boys.  I don't think my friend has too many of those kinds of things at her house!  They all sure had fun, though. 

After they left, I asked Dominic if he had a good time.  He said yes, then thought about it some more and commented, "I just couldn't keep track of all those girls!" 

Miss Potato Head

Culinary Adventures In Watermelon

Here are some of the watermelon we have picked from our garden this summer.

So one day I went looking for watermelon recipes and I found Watermelon Pie!

It was very easy to make, required no baking, and everyone liked it.  A perfect summer dessert.  Find the recipe here.

Then the other night for dinner, I got even more adventurous:  Minced Pork and Watermelon Lettuce Wraps.  I didn't follow the recipe exactly, but they were pretty tasty.  The kids all ate them, even Anthony!  Find the recipe here.

Funny story:  As I was making the above dinner, the kids were sitting at the kitchen table doing some art, and I told them the ingredients as I added them in.  I got to Hoisin Sauce and the kids all yelled:  "Poison Sauce!?!"  Heh, heh, heh.  Watch out if you come to dinner at our house.  :)

Surviving the Weekend

Alternate title:  Surviving record-breaking temperatures (109 Saturday, 111 Sunday) with an air conditioner only partly working.

Next alternate title:  Surviving Anthony being sick, meaning extremely grumpy and keeping us up half the night (literally).

Next alternate title:  It was a weekend of ice cream, popsicles, and picnics in the basement!

Final alternate title:  Household Harmony Somewhat Restored; Air Conditioner Repairmen Arrives Monday Morning!

Sunday Funny

Today at Mass they were honoring the parish's high school graduates, who processed in wearing their graduation garb.  As the graduates filed into their pews, which were not that far in front of us, Anne whispered in my ear:

"Mommy, I see some people wearing envelopes on their heads!"

Another Friday Funny

The kids and I took Anthony in for his one year checkup (he's doing great, by the way) earlier this week.  He screamed when he got shots, which we expected.  The kids plugged their ears with their fingers when he started crying. 

Then, we had to go to the lab.  It was a tiny, windowless room and I sat with Anthony on my lap, while the four older kids stood next to the door.  As the lab tech got her stuff ready, I looked over at the kids and they were already stuffing their fingers into their ears.  Then Catherine said, "Oh, no!  I'm going to get earwax on my fingers again!  Gross!"

And, for the record, Anthony cried so loud through the poking and squeezing of his finger, that when we walked out of the room, everyone at the nurse's desk just looked at us and said, "Wow!"

A Prince of the Church?

The other day, when I was looking at our pictures from Bishop Brungardt's ordination, Joseph came and stood by me. 

Joseph:  I want to see when he gets his hat.

Me:  Would you want to be a bishop someday, Joseph?

Joseph:  No, I want to be a prince!

Time To Pause

Joseph:  "Sometimes I pause my dreams."

Mommy:  "How do you do that?"

Joseph:  "I open my eyes."


Maybe they watched too many movies over Christmas break!

Um, Thanks!

Dominic:  I like you, Mommy.

Mommy:  I like you, too, Dom.

Dominic:  I like you because you make us breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

A Funny From Anne

Anne: Mommies are better than Daddies.

Mommy, laughing: Why is that, Anne?

Anne: Because Mommies have cute, little babies come.


(True, Anne, true, but Daddies have a little something to do with it. I don't think I'll be talking to her about that for a few more years, though!)

Overheard

After scolding the boys for playing in their room when supposed to be napping, I stood outside their door for a minute and this is what I heard:

Dominic: I don't like Mommy as much.

Joseph: Yeah, I don't like Mommy.

Dominic: When Mommy is nice to us, I like Mommy.

Joseph: I like Mommy.

Dominic: When Mommy is mean to us, I don't like Mommy as much.

Joseph: Yeah, I don't like Mommy as much.

Living Dangerously, Newborn Version

If you have a newborn baby (boy, especially) and you want to live dangerously, all you have to do is fail to have a new diaper ready to go when you take the old one off. Eventually you will be "rewarded."

Heard At The Dinner Table Last Night

Dominic: Daddy said the baby is coming in two minutes!

Mommy: Whoa, I'd better go get ready!

(Minutes, days, weeks, it's all the same sometimes. I guess we'd better work on that concept a little more!)

A New Saint?

Last night at the end of family prayers, the kids did the usual litany:

Mary, Queen of All the Saints ... Pray for us

Padre Pio .... Pray for us

Fr. Emil Kapaun ... Pray for us

St. Catherine ... Pray for us

St. Dominic ... Pray for us

St. Anne ... Pray for us

St. Joseph ... Pray for us

Mary Joseph ... Pray for us


Then Joseph piped up: "St. Daddy, pray for us!"

Of This And That

Our fun two weeks of playing, watching movies, eating goodies, opening gifts, and visiting family has come to an end. So now we are in detox mode, getting back into a routine, catching up on laundry and the hundred other things that have been stacking up while we were busy celebrating the birth of Jesus. Dan was either on furlough, vacation, or on call from home the whole time, so that only added to the fun and playtime (and the need for detox!). We have finished our second day back to school and that has actually seemed to help get the kids back into the usual routine. The baby and I are doing well, no more crazy pregnancy episodes. I have a bunch of blog posts I want to do - we'll see when that happens. Likely you'll be reading about Christmas for some time to come!

In the meantime, here are a few little snippets:


Child to Mommy: Your tummy is getting really big!

Mommy: It sure is.

Child: It is even bigger than your bottom!

Mommy: (uhhh, thanks)

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Two good ways to start the day:

1) Have the heater kick on while you are in the shower, and thus when you get out, your towel, which hangs over the heat vent, is nice and toasty.

2) Have your children, unasked, make your bed for you. They did a good job, too!

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Spotted after school time this morning:

We have a ton of new toys in the house and I saw the twins playing with a long cardboard tube from a used-up roll of wrapping paper. Hmm. Maybe we need to make a few old toys disappear.

I Guess She Did Feed The Poor

Last night at dinner, Catherine excitedly said, "Guess what, Daddy? Tomorrow is the feast day of one of my patron saints!"

Daddy: "St. Catherine?"

Catherine: "No! St. Elizabeth!"

And then Anne pipes in: "Yeah, Daddy, St. Elizabeth of Hungry!"

So, Happy Feast of St. Elizabeth (of Hungry) to you!