Word to the Wise: If you find a past-date, forgotten-about gallon of milk in the back of your refrigerator that doesn’t seem to smell too funny… Do not pour some into a cup, swirl it around, sniff it, and finally take a gulp in an effort to determine whether or not it’s still good.

It’s just not worth it.

See if you can figure out who is:

Saint Benedict

and Saint Rose of Lima

And to anyone who is tempted to be impressed with my seamstress skills, I have two words for you:
GLUE. GUN.

Happy All Saints Day! Happy Halloween!

“He who is greatest among you shall be your servant;
whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever
humbles himself will be exalted.”
Matthew 23:11-12

Lord, this week help us to remember the importance of serving others.

“You forgot again,” Eamon greeted me with a sullen expression as he came down the stairs this morning.

Oh. Darn. It.

“It wasn’t me,” I protested. “It was that ditzy tooth fairy!”

But he wasn’t buying it. When he disappeared into the bathroom, I raced upstairs with a wad of cash and stuffed it under his pillow.

“You better double-check,” I told him when I returned. “She might have come and you just missed it.”

He looked skeptical but headed upstairs anyway. Later, as he stood in the living room counting his bills with an air of satisfaction, Juliette’s eyes grew wide at the sight of her older brother’s good fortune.

“I thought the tooth fairy never brought more than one dollar,” she said.

“Usually she doesn’t,” Eamon grinned in my direction. “But this time she had to pay a late fee.”

So I was reading this fascinating article in Scientific American the other day

Heh. I am just going to pause for a moment and leave that hanging there so that some of you might be impressed. Perhaps some of you might actually believe for a moment that this Mother of Many spends her free time perusing scientific periodicals and discussing high-brow topics with her intellectual friends

Okay, enough of that. I never read Scientific American. The truth is that Dan brought home a copy of this particular article because he thought it might interest me. And it did.

Listen up, mommies: Baby Brain is real.

You know how we are always complaining that pregnancy and childbearing seem to affect our brains and our abilities to concentrate? You know how when you have a newborn you lose your pocketbook several times a week? And then you find it in the freezer? You know how during those last few months of pregnancy, you awake at 4:00 in the morning and just lie there unable to sleep and unable to think of anything more complex than, “I’m pregnant!”

Well, it’s true. It’s been scientifically investigated and confirmed. At least the part about pregnancy affecting your brain. It really does! According to this article, researchers have found that cells from fetuses can migrate into a mother’s brain and apparently develop into nervous system cells:

“Scientists have known for years that fetal cells can enter a mother’s blood; in humans they may remain there at least 27 years after birth. Like stem cells, they can become many other kinds of cells and in theory might help repair damaged organs.”

Did you catch that? Our babies affect our brains for up to 27 years after their birth. 27 years! The evolutionary advantage, it is theorized, is that because these fetal cells adapt so easily to repair organ damage, the mother is more likely to survive and therefore so is her baby.

Whatever the reason behind it, I am just basking in the fact that I have been vindicated. I am not losing my mind. My children have just invaded it.

Lucky me! The power was still out last night at dinner time, so that meant either cold cereal or Burger King. Not surprisingly, the gang voted for Burger King–a rare and special treat. So we packed ourselves up, rushed through the pouring rain, and belted ourselves into the van.

The children were cheerful, but the driving conditions were less than optimal. It was really raining. Pouring. Sideways because of the wind. Everything was so damp the windows kept fogging up, so Dan cranked up the heat and forced the van through the driving winds.

I am pretty well over my recent cold, but I think that there must have been some kind of allergen in the van’s heating system. Whatever it was, it was blowing straight into my face. Suddenly my eyes started to itch. And water. My throat got dry and my nasal passages swelled. I sneezed. I coughed. I cleared my throat. Mascara streaked my cheeks and my left eye began to twitch.

“Could we… turn off the heat?” I choked.

Dan said that doing so would make it impossible for him to see. But I needed air. Cold air. Clean air. Anything but that awful dry heat that was blowing into my face. I rolled down my window and stuck my head into the stinging rain.

“You’re soaking my seat!” complained some small voice in the back. Tough luck, kid. Mama must breathe.

By the time we reached the restaurant, my entire head felt swollen. I could not breathe through my nose and my eyes were burning, itching, and inflamed.

“Are you okay?” Dan asked as he took the baby and held the door for me.

“KER–CHOOOOOOO! ” I answered him, ladylike, as I fumbled for a Kleenex.

“You look like that lady in the cold medicine commercial,” Eamon observed as we sat down. I don’t know which commercial he meant, but I am pretty sure he meant a “before” lady, not an “after” one.

While waiting for our meal, I decided to try to salvage my hair. I pushed stringy strands from my face and attempted to gather them into an elastic, but as I leaned backward in graceful, feminine motion, I whacked the back of my head against the booth.

I cried out in pain. Then, through squinty, blood-shot eyes, I caught a glimpse of my husband watching me. And–the nerve!–he looked like he was swallowing a smile.

“You’re beautiful,” he assured me.

And I think he meant it. Not in an everyone who sees you must be astounded by your stunning good looks kind of way. But in a you are my wife and I love you no matter what kind of way.

I wiped my reddened nose and held my throbbing head high. Yes sir. That was good enough for me.

that I inspire a sense of calm in my children.

This is what I found on my white board
when the lights came back on.

At Catholic Exchange you can read a thought-provoking piece about one woman’s experience at her local food pantry. Do we give to those in need as generously as we should? Maybe not always.

We haven’t lost our electricity so far, but we sure are getting a soaking.

I thought I would post a picture of what has been keeping kindergarten hands busy this morning.

And of course rainy days are good for baking these.

Hope you are warm and dry!

There’s an ugly-looking storm headed in our direction. We expect still more flooding and strong winds tonight and tomorrow. As I anticipate that we will lose power sometime soon, here’s a recent column of mine to keep you busy until I get back here: Poetic Pickles from the National Catholic Register

Please pray for all those in the path of wild weather.