Ambrose: If someone saw you at the grocery store right now, would they think you are pregnant or just a little bit… fat?

Ever since I posted this many months ago,”Sponge Bob” has consistently been the second most popular searchstring that brings people to my blog. That’s right. Second only to”Danielle Bean” and leagues ahead of more sensible searches like “a boywearing disco pants and picking his nose.” That’s a real one. I’m notkidding. What do people think we do here anyway??

Anyway, since the sponge has done so much for me, I figure I owethe world wide web this picture. Here he is… My 18 month old done upin his Sponge Bob finest this morning. Courtesy of Grandpa, of course.

Ambrose: (as he snuggled baby Daniel)
Before a baby is born, he’s just “the baby” and nobody knows what he will be like. But once a baby is born and you see him and know what he is like, you don’t want him to be any different baby in the whole world.

Take the family to a local museum for free!

On September 30, 2006, for one day only, museums across thecountry will join the Smithsonian Institution in its long-standingtradition of offering free admission to visitors.

More details here. Find a participating museum near you here.

Does this mean I am a bad person? I just can’t stop laughing at these people and their fabricated nutritional dramas:

Janet Dracksdorf, an educational publisher in Boston, saidthat a sitter she employed had been taking her daughter — a toddler atthe time — on regular candy runs. Ms. Dracksdorf did not learn aboutthem until “two years later, when my daughter was articulate enough totalk about it,” she said. “Maybe I should have suspected something whenthe baby sitter gave my daughter the Candy Land game for athird-birthday present.” Her current nanny has a degree in nutrition.

I’m all for encouraging healthy eating habits, but to talk about a”candy run” like it’s some form of child abuse is insane. These womenare so bent on controlling their children’s eating habits that theyrequire nannies to document every bite taken in a food log? I hope theyare at least as discerning and fanatical about their children’s soulsas they are their bodies.

Thanks to reader Kathleen who emailed the link.

So today is the feast day of the Archangels Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael.

So that means it’s a name day for two (three if you count Eamon’s middle name) of my kids.

So I am supposed to be baking up angel food cake or some other liturgically correct confection.

But maybe I got up early and made buttermilk apple pancakes thismorning before I even realized what day this is. And maybe it’s noteven 10:00 am and I have already emptied the dishwasher of cleandishes, re-loaded it with pancake mess, and am running it again.

So maybe we’ll make do with a pancake breakfast and a few extra prayers to the Archangels for our celebration this year…

Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
obedient to his spoken word.
Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his ministers that do his will.
Psalm 103:20-21

Litany to the Holy Angels

I havefinally gotten around to going through my emails and it appears thatmany of you like to cook with apples every bit as much as I do. Hereare some of the recipes readers have shared:

First, Sarah shares her recipe for Fresh Apple Cake with these comments: Ican make this in my sleep. It requires no special technique and can notbe messed up. My husband once made it and didn’t peel the apples. Itwas still darned good.

Next, we have Laura’s Pork Chops with Apples and Stuffing. She says: Whenyou requested apple recipes, this one came to mind first, even thoughit is not a sweet treat. It only takes 3 ingredients and is absolutelydelicious. I make it frequently when we invade the in-laws - this waythey don’t have to cook and it’s really no hassle on my end either!

Then a couple of potential Thanksgiving side dishes are Margaret’s Sweet Potato Apple Bake and Robin’s Baked Carrots and Appples.

Then for tea time, Barb offers her version of Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake, Helene shares a Better Homes and Gardens recipe for Apple Bread, and Carolyn recommends Swedish Apple Cake.

For variations on traditional apple desserts, Robin shares her recipes for Sour Cream Apple Pie and Apple Chip Cake.

And finally, we have Ellen’s deliciously simple Apple Bundles (The Bean kids are making these this afternoon!) and Maureen’s lovely Apple Crisp.

Okay now… no excuses! Get to the kitchen and enjoy!

When I look at my “big baby” from this distance, he doesn’t seem sovery big after all. Such a little person couldn’t possibly cause memuch trouble at all, right?

A reader recently wrote me a touching email in which she reflected onthe different “seasons” of our lives— childhood, teenaged years, youngmarried life, mothering small children, mothering older children, emptynesting, aging…

It’s a theme you read about and hear about often, but I realizeit’s not one I give nearly enough thought to. It helps to stop everyonce in a while and realize: Today is not forever. Each stage of life,however long it might seem, is exactly that: a stage, a step, apassing, fleeting season.

Motherhood can be hard and its days can be long. I have beenfeeling this quite acutely lately as Daniel has awakened from his postpartum slumber and become more demanding in recent days. And nights. Mynewborn needs me.

And of course Raphael is still rather small himself. He needs metoo. As a result, many times during the day I find myself holding thetwo of them at once. Lightweight Daniel slumps over one forearm andhefty Rafey sits solidly on my opposite hip. That leaves only my thirdarm for accomplishing things like meals and laundry.

“You have two babies!” Juliette observed yesterday afternoon.

I do. And sometimes it’s hard. If nothing else, my years ofmothering have taught me this: It’s okay to not be Super Woman. It’sokay to admit that it’s hard. Because sometimes it truly is. Andsometimes we know that it will be for many days to come.

But not forever. One day these babies will be grown and I will beleft to wonder if I loved them well enough when they were small. If Ithanked God enough for their sweet innocence, their simple dependence,and their tiny perfect bodies. If I fully appreciated the privilege ofbeing their mother—the one they needed so very much.

I have two babies. And today it’s hard. So I will slow down and Iwill sit with them. I will sing them songs and love them hard. Becausetoday is not forever. But one day I might find myself wishing it couldbe just one day more.

Carnival of Homeschooling
This week’s Carnival of Homeschooling is up at Palm Tree Pundit.

Diaper Deal
Want Not points us to a disposable diaper deal at Amazon. Buy $99 worth of Pampers, Luvs or Kandoo products and receive a $30 Amazon gift certificate.

Warning: Offensive Christian Vegetables
Could someone please tell me what on earth NBC thought the Veggie Tales cartoons were all about when they first decided to air them? Did they really not know that the shows would contain some of those scary, offensive references to God?And for that matter, did Veggie Tales creator Phil Vischer really notknow what he was getting himself into when he signed a deal withnetwork TV?

Disney Princess Quiz
To go along with our princess discussion going on below, go here to take a quiz and find out which Disney princess you are. I, of course, am Cinderella. Gabby would be so proud.