Seven Quick Takes

1.

 Peanut's been working on a front tooth for a while now. I keep swearing it'll be in by the next day, obnoxiously poking around to see if it's there; nope. Meanwhile, I can't be the only one who thinks teething rings are kind of lame these days. Didn't you used to be able to put them in the freezer?

Even little peanuts know that a one that is not cold is scarcely a one at all.

It's taking so long that one of the side teeth got a jump on it while I wasn't looking, leaving him looking kind of snaggly (in a cute way).

3.

The crankies haven't stopped him from doing things like this:

At left: Peanut protests his entirely just imprisonment.
At right: "Um, Mama needs to sweep."

As soon as my cherry tomato finally curls up and dies (can you tell I've had a great relationship with my garden this summer?), I'm commandeering that much-less-tippy pot for this plant. Also because this plant is literally trying to escape:

"Heeelp meee. Heeeeelp mee!"

4.

Eye of the Tiber: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Asks To Be Reinstated As Pope

"once we asked him where he was going, he simply said, ‘I’m back,’ then proceeded to put his sunglasses on even though we were inside.”

5.

I was poking around Amazon for Notre Dame stuff, and ran across this shirt:

 Is there any better way to say, "Yep, that's a place, all right."? But hey, it has great features like, "Never Worn" and "Awesome Shirt!" I'm thinking this would be a perfect gift for some of my SB friends about February or so. Right when they can't remember there was ever anything before the Permacloud.

6.

Speaking of South Bend, Knute Rockne's house is up for sale. In case you have $500K and massive piles of football nostalgia lying around.

 7.

I'll end with an admonition: PEOPLE. Buy books. Otherwise publishers start getting desperate, and then this happens:

Catch other quick takes at the linkup!

WIWS: Pancake Breakfast Edition

 Bean's Mass attendance grade was probably a C- today, which is pretty good considering we spent Saturday at a raucous get-together with eleven under six. And considering that he spent Sunday morning insisting that "We will not go to reg'lar church! We will go to parachute church and guys will jump out of planes!" (Cowboy churches: consider this a challenge.)

Though of course (of course), on the once-in-a-blue moon that we got a stewardship homily, he decided not to put his coins in the basket and instead insist (audibly to at least the next pew over) "No! No, put them back in the purse!" He also, I found out after Mass, decided to rescind his Sign of Peace to the lady behind us at the last second. Hmm... maybe we'll make that a D...

Anyway, he was not-terrible enough that we decided to go to the pancake breakfast in the gym after Mass. The kids ate four pancakes between them, so I'd say they got our money's worth for us, considering they were both free.  One of the Knights asked Peanut if he wanted to join them, but another insisted he was probably more pure-of-heart than their usual applicant. I think he'd still be up for it as long as they kept feeding him pancakes, though.

Anyway, on to the clothes.

Top: VanHeusen Outlet
Skirt: upcycled
Belt: Kohl's
Shoes: Steve Madden (these, in red)

I bought these shoes way back before I was married, which 4" heels were still doable for a day that involved walking. Now they mostly keep their appearances to brief Sunday morning forays.

The skirt was some sort of hand-me-down that was both too big and kind of a dumpy length, so I took it in up top to make it high-waisted and my size. I might do a little more tweaking, as it's a tad lumpy in spots, but the fabric is of the sort that you can throw it in the corner for weeks and it will be magically unwrinkled when you pick it up, so I think it's worth salvaging.

Oh, the best part of my Sunday? DH had to clean out his car because he's doing airport runs for a conference, and Bean insisted on helping, lest he miss out on any treasures, so I got a virtually uninterrupted afternoon for myself while Peanut napped. I may just have napped, too.


Find other "What I Wore Sunday" posts at the linkup.

WIWS: Game night edition

The "S" is for Saturday this time. Notre Dame was playing a night game, so, since we were already going to be up a little late, we decided to make a date of it (Netflixing "Ghostbusters," because we're hopelessly romantic sorts), and sleep way, way in on Sunday.

With apologies for the awkward angle. My camera holder was busy, so I tried to go it on my own.

Dress: Anthropologie (pretty sure I acutally paid the $19.95 that's listed)
Cardigan: me
Shoes: Kohl's (a little gold to go with my blue)

On a fashion note, I'm pretty sure everyone should have one pair of satin flats in a bright color. Wear them on your slobbiest day and you'll still get compliments.

The kids were both good at Mass (good enough that I tossed that box of pumpkin Krispy Kremes in my cart at the post-Mass grocery run, anyway), and Mass was a little higher than usual for the feast day. The Bean got to hear his name in the Roman Canon, and I actually didn't have any complaints about the music. There was even a bit of Latin!  Tack on an Irish victory and a Sunday morning that actually was easy, and it was about as good as a weekend gets.

Read about everyone else's Sundays at the WIWS linkup.

Book Review: The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane

Is there such a thing as reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder? Because if there is, I haz it. With this cold snap, my brain and my motivation seem to be returning, finally. So let's ease back into things with a children's book review, shall we?

Out of all the books at the Minnesota Catholic Home Education Conference this year, The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane caught my eye with the unique style of its cover illustration (the artist uses a combination of papercutting, printing, and watercolor).

The story is one that any lover of the Middle Ages, bright colors, daydreaming, or inventiveness will assuredly delight in. Brother Theophane is an Irish monk who loves God, but gets rather bored with his work in the (monochromatic) scriptorium. He gazes out the window and doodles little verses on the edges of his work (the poems in the book are taken from actual medieval marginalia. Finally, his exasperated prior sends him to work outside.

In the woods, he again gets distracted by a particularly tempting patch of berries, which gives him a brilliant idea, and the monk's manuscripts are never the same again.

I could hardly love this book more. The Celtic details throughout the book, along with the little poems of the monks and the story itself combine to create an atmosphere that captures the not-at-all-dark exuberance and humor of the Middle Ages.

The story is fun enough to be appreciated by preschoolers, but would (along with the notes and bibliography) also be a great jumping-off point to study the art and history of period with older children. Whomever you're reading it with, I recommend having on hand one of the many Dover coloring books based upon manucript art, because you'll likely be inspired to add some color of your own. (UPDATE: Here are two pages that have some colorable versions of illuminated manuscripts.)