Good morning, all! Here’s a little something to go with our coffee today. I used a whole cup of milk and substituted whole wheat for half of the white flour. Now they’re health food! What’s on your minds today?

UPDATE: Duh. Perhaps I should open comments.

Technorati Tags: catholic moms, discussion

In an effort to make this blog a bit more user-friendly, I am beginning to categorize my posts. My list of categories can be found near the bottom of the far right sidebar. As you might imagine, going through and categorizing old posts is a bit of a project. But it will be a labor of love. I’ll try to do the more useful things first — like Your Turn and some pregnancy-related stuff that gets asked for all the time. In the meantime, I am just grateful that Google Reader hasn’t been recognizing my category changes as new posts. At least that!

“Hello?” I answered the phone yesterday afternoon.

“Gah!” said the caller.

“Uh, hello?” I said again. I looked quizzically at Juliette who stood nearby, but remained polite. The Caller ID had told me it was a cell phone but didn’t list its number. I figured that it might be somebody important.

“Gah!” the caller repeated before bursting into giggles. Familiar giggles. Very familiar giggles. In fact, these very familiar giggles were coming from nearby, I realized.

I looked across the living room and saw baby Daniel with my cell phone pressed against his ear. My open, gutted purse lay at his feet; its contents covered the floor. When his eyes met mine, he shrieked with the thrill of his own delicious naughtiness.

I was right. It was somebody important.

This has me laughing so hard I am crying this morning. And I don’t think it’s just because I had two mimosas with my Mother’s Day brunch.

Click the image above to get to the card. Click a flower on the left to hear what the kids think they say and then the corresponding flower on the right to hear what a mom actually hears.

And incidentally, if ever I put out a soundtrack to go with my blog, it will sound exactly like any one of those right-hand flowers. Or all four. At once.

HT: Da Momma

Father in heaven,
grant me the grace to appreciate the dignity
which you have conferred on me.
Let me realize that not even the Angels
have been blessed with such a privilege –
to share in your creative miracle
and bring new Saints to heaven.

Make me a good mother to all my children
after the example of Mary,
the Mother of your Son.
Through the intercession of Jesus and Mary
I ask your continued blessings on my family.
Let us all be dedicated to your service on earth
and attain the eternal happiness of your kingdom in heaven.

prayer: Living Catholicism
image: Mary Cassatt

Dear Mom,
Thank you for the years of prayer and sacrifice. Thank you for the tears and work. Thank you for doing right by me even when I hated you for it and it broke your heart to have to. Thank you for always loving me without reserve and without condition. God bless you on this special day and always.

I love you,
Danielle

Technorati Tags: mothers day, prayer

Look what the kids dragged in.

It’s a crushed deer (we think) skull. There are more bones and lots of fur. But those I’ll keep for my own private viewing pleasure.

Sharing the wealth — Here are some cooking-related websites I’ve bookmarked lately.

Chocolate of the Month: collection of indulgent recipes

Joy of Baking: videos, recipes, step-by-steps, hints and tips

Taste Spotting: the good stuff, the weird stuff, the fun stuff — the latest cooking posts from all over

Cooking by Numbers: I’m not so sure about the recipes, but this is a cool idea. Plug in what you have in the fridge and pantry, and it gives you recipes you can make with those ingredients. I think what I find most charming is that this is a British site. Tinned tuna, anyone?

HT: Kim via email

He brought me a dandelion yesterday.

“Thank you!” I gushed, stooping to smooch him.

This was too much. He squirmed from my grasp and hurried back out the front door. But minutes later, he returned. With a rock this time.

He presented it to me without fanfare and this time I knew better than to smooch. I nodded and smiled at him before placing it casually in my pocket.

After this, I got two more rocks, a pine cone, a leaf, and a tuft of grass. My pockets bulged with these tiny tokens, these heart-felt gestures of toddler affection.

My heart swelled too.

My big baby was out discovering the world yesterday. He was doing his own thing in the sandbox, in the field, and in the woods. He was busy. But not so busy that he forgot his wintertime companion — poor old Ma stuck back in the house (and, ahem, watching through the window, but he didn’t know about that). He was doing fun things and finding good stuff. And his first inclination was to share it with me.

“Happy Mother’s Day,” his fat little fingers told me as they dumped the goods into my cupped and waiting hands.

“Happy Mother’s Day,” his awkward, bashful smile told me as he accepted my nod of thanks.

“Happy Mother’s Day,” his tuft of platinum hair told me as I watched it disappear out the front door and bounce down the walkway.

I’ll take it.

If you missed Bella in the theaters, here’s your chance to see it in your own home. Now available on DVD!