The plan was to double date on a picnic with Grandma Nancy. Unfortunately, Mother Nature (being a mother herself) was sleeping in and waiting for breakfast in bed. Continue reading
Category Archives: Holidays
Our First Easter
Easter symbolizes a time of rebirth. Springtime returns and the flora and fauna are resurrected from beneath the frozen ground. (Granted, this metaphor has a lot more impact in a location with actual seasons.) Continue reading
Lenten Finale
Easter has arrived. That means Lent has come and gone. Forty days and 40 nights without dessert. Easter morning arrived and I admittedly tore into my little bag of happiness before the muppets could rend their path of destruction through their basket of new toys. Continue reading
The New Normal
(This post is the latest in the recent series, “Down the rabbit hole: What the hell happened this past year.”)
Last year, on April 13, I posted the following on my fledging StreamDoubleTrouble blog.
I am normal! After what seemed like eons since our last visual visit with our little ones, Jon and I returned to the doctor’s today to see how the twins are faring…Our high-risk perinatologist, Dr. Crites, smiled at the four of us and proclaimed, “Congratulations. You are having a perfectly normal twin pregnancy. You are now RELEASED!”
I’m normal! I’m still paranoid, but we are no longer classified as high-risk. My next appointment is with my regular doctor – who serves the general population of pregnant people. (Although appointments every two weeks mean I’m still being monitored very closely. I bet it’s “normal monitoring.”)
Go ahead. I’ll wait. When you’re done laughing uproariously at the absurdity of my bravado in announcing such a silly thing, and shaking your head at the now well-chronicled reality of the situation, the rest of this post awaits you.
In Honor of the Irish
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I have a warm spot in my heart for today, as I consider it my personal patron saint day. (Patricia being the feminine form of Patrick.)
Never a traditionalist, I do not celebrate my holiday with tepid green beer, corned beef or cabbage. (For those wondering why – yuck.) I do, however, wear green. For many years, I also had a cute little button featuring a leprechaun stuck in the ground proudly proclaiming, “I’ve got Irish roots!” And I do.
Sweet Surrender
Today is Ash Wednesday. The Easter bunny will arrive in 46 days. ‘Tis the season for sacrifice.
Just about a decade ago (good grief did time go by quickly), G.G. and I decided to tackle Lent together. We gave up chocolate. The night before Easter, I stayed up until midnight – watching the seconds tick by until the moment I could maim my milk chocolate rabbit and devour his ears.
Last year, I didn’t give up anything. I figured I’d already given up enough to comply with pregnancy rules. And that which I had not voluntarily given up because of potential danger for my unborn children, my body spent the first trimester (including Lent) rejecting in a projectile fashion.
But this year, I felt that I should honor the vast amount of prayer lists the muppets and I spent months on. My boys are home and healthy, so in the grand scheme of the universe my Lenten sacrifice is not much to give up.
But just in case, I’m posting my promise publicly. Maybe that will make it easier to stick with it throughout the next 46 days.
This season, I decided to relinquish my desserts and junk food.
Perhaps it will make me more zen-like and serene. Perhaps it will result in a number of “oh my God, I need chocolate in the way the muppets needed air!” posts. Either way, I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to find me at an Easter vigil mass, staring down the clock, with See’s assorted chocolates stashed in my Easter bonnet.
And in case it wasn’t clear, back slowly away from my rabbit ears…
Read Across America
What should we do today?
Could we read, run or play?
Do I even need to say?
It’s Read Across America Day! Continue reading
Cupid’s Kiss
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!
I’ll admit, I’ve never been a big fan of this Hallmark holiday. I don’t really have a good reason why – especially since I’m such a huge fan of the assorted chocolates associated with it. Maybe it’s because there’s just so much pressure involved on what we’re “supposed” to do. Continue reading
Santa Tantrums
As a final conclusion to the holidays 2010, I would like to share one of my favorite posts of the year from one of my favorite parenting blogs – The Poop.
Sadly, I missed the call for entries for the 2010 Annual Santa Tantrum Awards. But the muppets didn’t let us down. Their first visit with Santa is one to be remembered…
But here’s what our entry would have been:
Both muppets remained calm and composed throughout the wait in line. The moment we met Santa, Destroy became entranced by all the glittering and blinking lights. Search was not a fan.
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Auld Lang Syne
Interestingly enough, I am closing out 2010 in the exact same fashion that I welcomed it – in my sweats, in my comfy chair, and gunning to be curled up in bed by the New York New Year. That’s about all I can same for the similarities between the years.
What a year. This has been a year of absolute elation and terrifying concerns. Absolutely nothing played out the way I’d envisioned. Continue reading