There were many happy updates over the course of this long weekend, for which I am very grateful. The big one is that my grandmother is home from the hospital and doing well. She's still pretty uncomfortable, but that's to be expected. When she came limping in the door, my extremely frail grandfather just lit up and stood to greet her. Then they shuffled their way over to kiss each other say "I missed you, Honey!" It was too precious for words. They'll be married for 64 years in November.
The other big one is that it seems (for the time being, at least) the furlough threat has passed. It's possible there could be an appeal, but for the foreseeable future, we're safe in this regard, and for that I am unendingly grateful.
My car is still hot, but hey, you can't win 'em all.
On Friday after work (after receiving the furlough news...), I treated myself to a few new skirts at Old Navy since they are quickly becoming a staple of my summer wardrobe and I have so very few of them. As I've mentioned, it's really hard to find skirts that I consider to be an appropriate length. I never used to wear skirts much, but now I'm a total convert. They're *so* cool for the summer, especially with the car situation. Love them. I have 2 skirts from Target, and one long black skirt that I've had for so long I can't even remember when I obtained it. I needed a bit of a bump up in the skirt department.
At any rate, I wore the church skirt to Mass on Sunday, and as expected, it performed up to task. Long skirts have the added benefit of staying firmly put and not doing anything scary when Henry inevitably messes with them and tries to hide under them. We don't want me being permanently uninvited from my parish.
Every parent has their own set of rules when it comes to managing unruly children during Mass. I have mine, but I don't begin to cast judgment on others who may see things differently. Wrangling children during Mass is *hard*, and as long as the kids aren't doing anything completely objectionable, I keep my opinions to myself.
Stage 1 - Infant. Lots of holding, soothing and rocking. If baby cries, take to narthex.
Stage 2 - Ages 1 to 2. This, my friends, is when things get hairy. So, so much squirming. And talking and crying. LOUD talking. For a month or two, I didn't bring Henry to Mass at this age. It was just unrealistic to expect him to keep quiet for an hour. When I did bring him, I did employ *neat* snacks such as a small container of dry Cheerios or those little packaged fruit jelly things, and 1 sippy cup (the non-spill kind) of milk. I was fastidious in making sure that we didn't make crumbs. I know some parents don't do this, and to each their own. I know that children can easily go an hour without eating, it's just all about noise control. Trying to keep a 1 year old quiet for a full hour on your own could make a grown man cry, trust me, so I saw it as justifiable.
Stage 3 - Ages 2 to 3. Pretty much a continuation of above with possibility of full scale tantrum now added in. See Stage 2, supra. Good times.
Stage 4 - Ages 3 to 4. Some improvement here. No more sippy cups and I gradually phased out the snack. Books are key.
Stage 5 - Ages 4 to 5. I still bring books with us every week, including his little Bible, but I do tote along some secular books like the Look and Finds he likes or a super hero book. I've been noticing that he doesn't look at them as much anymore, and this brings me to what Greg and Jennifer were talking about. As your kids get older, how do we engage them and get them to participate at Mass?
This past week, I had him look at my Missal a bit, and tried to whisper explanations in his ear as things were happening. That seemed to go over fairly well. We do always sit near the front now, which does appear to engage him more. I'm thinking about Magnifikid, but he can't read yet, so I'm not sure the time is quite right for that. Suggestions?
For my church, the roll over skirt would be a welcome sight of modesty. Believe me, I see a lot worse all the time.
As for long skirts that aren't expensive, try the thrift store. Long skirts are usually stocked in the winter time. And for long skirts that are thinner for the summer, they are harder to find and much more expensive. I just go to the thrift stores. It's good for the environment anyway.
You know, that's an excellent point about the thrift store! We've gotten some furniture from our local thrift stores and have loved it. End tables, that sort of thing, good stuff :) Thanks!