It’s been emotional over here. Tuesday would have been the due date for a dear friend’s baby that she lost to miscarriage. My heart hurt for her all week. Late Wednesday night another friend delivered a healthy baby boy and I was filled with joy for their family. Thursday was painful as it was two years to the day that friends lost their little girl, Ava, at 38 weeks due to complications from preeclampsia. We took flowers to a park bench dedicated to her memory. Two years later I think of her often and I’m inspired by the love and faith that her parents have shown each day since losing her. So, there was a lot of love and a lot of sorrow to process this week and I’m downright worn out. I’m also pregnant, so I cry about everything. Second trimester evens out the emotional outbursts, right? Please say yes.
Coming up in the Liturgical Year: Martinmas, or the Feast of St. Martin of Tours is right around the corner (November 11). In the past Daniel has made Almond Crescents (like the horseshoes of St. Martin’s horse) and last year Benjamin and I made a lantern. Molly Makes Do has a great post up this week all about Martinmas and inspiring ideas to celebrate it!
In the Garden: The Bright Lights Swiss Chard is just the prettiest green in the world. I would offer you a picture but I’m lazy.
Pregnancy Update: Queasy all the time, not puking anymore. Grateful. Also grateful that Miss Lucy self-weaned and that I get a little break from nursing before Baby Carrot arrives in May. Midwife appointment on Monday and hoping to hear the heartbeat for the first time! And because I can’t keep secrets about things I’m excited about: I really think it’s a boy (because the nausea has been so bad like with Benjamin).
Unrelated: How awesome is it when your kid learns to buckle HIMSELF in his carseat?! It is bliss, folks! Pure bliss!
Links:
Organizing Kids Spaces: Color Coding (Simple Kids) I love the idea of everyone in the household have a specific color for towels, dishes, etc. The more our family grows the more difficult it is to keep track of things!
Married in a Single Society: Baby en Pointe (Verily Magazine) This piece is just so beautiful. It’s the story of story of a dancer who married young and had a baby before graduating from Juilliard. Such an encouragement to hear about women who are supported in their role of motherhood even if their timeline isn’t the one we’re all told to follow!
Quotes:
“I’ve done many things that I thought I would never dare do because they were sins. But I didn’t realize then that the consequence of sin is that you have to trample on other people.” – Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
(If you haven’t read Kristin Lavransdatter, half of me is saying “shame on you!”and half of me is super jealous that you can enjoy it’s amazingness for the very first time. Read it. It’s truly wonderful.)
“The greatest challenge of the day is how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution that has to start with each one of us.” – Dorothy Day
Instagrams Worth Sharing (I’m carrotsformichaelmas on IG if you want to follow):
Me and my girl.
Bathtime hilarity.
I’m so grateful this child can dress himself. However, most days his shoes are on the wrong feet (as in Exhibit A above), and his shirt is inside out and his pants and undies are ALWAYS backwards. He does have a valid reason for the undies. There are pictures of superheroes and Mickey Mouse on the back that you can’t see unless you wear them backwards! Makes sense to me.
OK, so the election didn’t exactly go how I’d hoped. In fact, I don’t think ONE THING I voted for passed. I consoled myself by the amazing fact that I got to vote for someone named “Ron Swanson.” (Do you watch Parks and Rec? We’re a little obsessed.) At least we know our right to bacon and eggs is safe with Ron Swanson in office!
Daniel can make sushi now. Bless him.
Is there anything yummier than Butternut Squash seeds roasted with olive oil and salt? Mmmmm.
And the winner of the Toadily Handmade Advent Candle Kit Giveaway was Sarah, chosen by random number generator. You’ll be hearing from me today, Sarah! Thanks everybody for entering and sharing your Advent traditions with me! I just loved reading about how your family celebrates Advent and I might steal some of your wonderful ideas 🙂
Happy Weekend!
Love,
Haley
Thanks for the link love! Also, I’ve been trying to get a hold of the newer translation of Kristin for a while now! I tried to get thru the original translation, but just couldn’t – I hear the newer Penguin translation is so much better though!
Tuesday was pretty disappointing to a lot of us wasn’t it – though I had to be honest with myself that I’m not sure that the candidate I voted for would have done a thing about the issues I feel most passionately about.
That night I had a great conversation with another blog friend and we both came to the conclusion that this was our kick in the pants to start walking our talk at the local level and in the home – and then that great article by Matthew Warner in the Catholic Register (go look it up if you haven’t read it!) really brought it all home. “Elections are not the leading edge of change. Elections are the lagging indicators of what’s already changed. They tell us where we already are. So stop waiting around for politics to change this country back or to move it forward. That’s not what politics does.” – matthew warner
p.s. I think it’s a boy too, and I’m currently at a 75% accuracy on gender guesses!
p.s. you might be interested in this too – http://mollymakesdo.blogspot.com/2012/11/martinmas-hide-and-seek.html#
I’ve only read the new translation and it is fantastic.
Yes, I felt bummed when I woke up and heard the news Tuesday, but then Daniel reminded me that it’s not like we would have been jumping up and down if it had turned out differently. Just read the Matthew Warner post (thanks for recommending it!) and loved it.
Squee! So excited about the candles! And thanks for the Martinmas links…..I think we might actually have a little celebration this year!
Awesome! Sending your info to Toadily Handmade today so hopefully your kit will come very soon 🙂
I am a HUGE P&R fan as well. But how bummed were you by the episode a few weeks back, “Sex Education?” Not only was it remarkably offensive, it didn’t even try to be half as funny as the show normally is. I tried to write them an angry letter, but I couldn’t find any means of doing so. So I just submitted a comment through the NBC website attn: Parks and Rec. Not sure if that got anywhere.
I love the bathtime photo. So cozy!
We JUST watched that episode on Hulu last night and I completely agree. I was really disappointed, too. It seemed like they were trying so hard to promote a certain agenda that they forgot it’s a comedy show. It wasn’t funny and the message was so overbearing that it was hard to enjoy it at all. I think it represented Amy Poehler’s views and made a ridiculous strawman out of anyone who might disagree with her.