Cute Quick Takes

___1___

You know you’re in a breastfeeding home when your three-year-old BOY says, “Mommy I gonna nuss da baby.” And you turn around to see this:

(Notice the pulled-up shirt. Naked doll mandatory.)

___2___

Things to warm a Catholic mama’s heart: the boys dressing up in Indian clothes, going on a hunt-and-fish expedition, and setting an imaginary Thanksgiving feast in front of the couch, which they preface with the sign of the cross and “Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts…”

___3___

Nicholas came wailing down stairs one morning while Julianna was playing with SonoFlex (a communication app). “I can’t find any long pants!” he said. (End of the world, you know.) Julianna, at this precise moment, hit a button on the iPad and the electronic voice said dryly, “Are you kidding?”

___4___

Sunday night, we made Christmas cookies. We finished dipping peanut butter balls in chocolate, and I told the boys they could use spoons to clean out the bowl of paraffin and chocolate. Ten minutes later they came into the living room, where I was rocking Michael, with very red mouths lined with very black chocolate. Nicholas had chocolate all over him. “Nicholas, you have chocolate on your arm,” I said.

Alex piped up, “Yeah, he fell.”

“He fell in the chocolate?”

“Yeah.”

Okay, then.

___5___

Nicholas has not learned the fine art of secret keeping. I should have known this, but I thought I started including Alex about this age. We went shopping and had a pointed conversation about keeping it secret so it would be a surprise for Daddy. He came home and helped me wrap the present and put it under the tree.

And when Christian came home? “Daddy we got you TIES!”

When we all stopped laughing, I said, “That’s it, Nicholas, you’re fired from Christmas shopping!” Good thing that’s not his only gift.

___6___

I wrote a post for Catholic Mothers Online about celebrating saints’ days in Advent–the easy way. Here’s what we did as an Advent Calendar activity for St. Nicholas’ feast day yesterday: