Hot Cross Buns

Let me tell you about my first experience making Hot Cross Buns.

Our smoke detector went off. In my defense, it is sensitive. Unfortunately, so is my firstborn. He went screaming off to bed (of his own accord) just to escape the "bad noise."

So...where was I? Oh yes. Well. I got hot and cross and the buns got burned.

However.

Once I cut off the burned bottoms, they tasted wonderful. Yummy bread goodness with a touch of sweet.

Now I am off to clean up the disaster that is my kitchen.

(P.S. That picture is not of my buns. It's from the recipe site.)

And they want her back? Really?

We pass this during our afternoon walk almost everyday.

She probably has a great personality.

*Sigh*

So, the after-nap potty trip went something like this...

I walked downstairs to see Sharks standing on the step stool (yes, from that far away), pants at ankles, facing the toilet, "like Pops."

Yeah. 'Bout that.

Definitely can't shoot it that far.

Get up, sleepyhead!

One of my favorite times of day is getting the boys up from their naps.

Deedo just grins a huge grin and drools, which of course, I take to mean that he is thrilled to see me.

Sharks always says, "Good morning! Wake up!" Even if it is 4:30 in the afternoon.

It is usually followed by, "Potty!" which is not so much about the joy of seeing his mama, but more about the joy of relieving himself.

Which is fine by me.

I'm hoping for a discount

My day was great. (Organized all the kids clothes, hung out with my mom, played with the kids, read a new book. All fun and dandy). My evening, not so great.

What? You want a play-by-play? Well, certainly.

Went to the library.

Got in car after leaving library.

Tried to turn on the car. Nothing.

Tried again. Nothing.

Started to get anxious. Also got me nothing.

Sat there for five minutes panicking that I was stranded. At the library. (Though it is kinda like a second home, I'm there so often.)

Finally realized I was using the wrong key. Doofus.

Spent almost an hour at the grocery store loading my cart full of food so that I could create delicious meals for my family.

Cash register not working. Did you catch that? CASH REGISTER NOT WORKING!!

Had to leave all my food there, the cashier having already rung it all up. That's right, I didn't realize the machine wasn't working until AFTER all my food had gone down the conveyor belt part. I had even put some of it in bags! So so close, and yet...

Arrived home empty handed.

So now I have to REPEAT the whole saga tomorrow, with the kids, which I was trying to avoid by going to the store in the evening.

I am so writing an angry letter to that grocery store. Or maybe I can call and ask to 'speak with a manager.' (I have never done that so I will feel very grown up.)

Could they not have announced it over the intercom, or put a note on the door that said something like, "If you are planning on paying with debit or EBT, turn back now! Don't waste your time here when you could be doing something productive at home like reading or getting a bubble bath or eating a whole chocolate cake by yourself!"

Grrrr.

And if my mean letter doesn't work, I will just tell them that my husband is a lawyer. What? You never know what will get results.

The Seven Tasks and Thomas

I have been trying to do these seven tasks every day. My goal was to do them for two weeks, evaluate how well it was working for our family, and then adjust as needed. So far, it's been one week and I feel like a new woman. Who knew maintaining a clean house could be so theraputic? Chet has given it two thumbs up as well. (Probably most normal stay-at-home moms already do these things - but since I need all the help I can get, having a set list of simple, quick, do-able tasks has been sweet.)

One of the tasks is to do a 10-minute pick up before bed. That's when I put stuff that's gotten out of place during the day back where it belongs (stray toys, piles of paper to be filed, mugs of coffee that I've forgotten to finish, etc). It is wonderful to wake up to a tidy home, so I love straightening up at the end of each day. (Did you ever think you'd hear that come out of my mouth?)

Today during naptime I was reading on the couch when I looked up at the mantel and saw this:

Do you see what I see? (candle.train.candle.train.candle.) Oops. Something missed the tidy-radar.

Those trains are so perfectly placed it's like I decorate with Thomas the Tank Engine.

(I put them out of Sharks' reach since he always gets them stuck under the couch and I promptly forgot about them.)

So I'm not perfect, but my house sure looks a lot better, even with a couple of trains here and there.

I love this book and since I never read non-fiction, you know it must be good

I have been thinking recently about all of the things we must hold in tension in our lives as Christians, and when reading The Life You Save May Be Your Own, I was struck by these quotes from the saints, paraphrased by Dorothy Day.

“When things get tough, I like to recall St. Teresa’s ‘Life is a night spent in an uncomfortable inn.’ And from the way she wrote about her adventures, she agreed also with St. Catherine of Siena, who said: ‘All the way to heaven is heaven, for He said, I am the Way.’”