Kids and the Prayer to St. Michael

The Prayer to St. Michael has long been one of my favorites (see my sidebar!).  I've always had a competitive, fighting spirit, especially when it comes to defending what's right.  Now that I'm a pro-life activist, this prayer has infinitely powerful meaning.  We are fighting a war, after all.  It's just such a tough, positive, warrior-like prayer...it keeps me motivated.

We recently decided it was time to add another prayer to our son's bedtime repertoire.  He's had the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, Guardian Angel Prayer, Glory Be, Hail Mary, and Our Father down pat for a long time now.  He's definitely ready for a new one.  So we chose the Prayer to St. Michael.  He followed along and repeated for a few nights and then something went awry.

Apparently that prayer doesn't have quite the same meaning to a 4 year old.  I hadn't thought of that.

We said it 3 or 4 nights in a row and he was just starting to get it.  Then one night my husband was working late so Jack and I were saying the prayer together.  We said the first few words, then he stopped and said he didn't want to say it anymore.  I asked him why and he, terrified, started bawling and said, "Because I don't want to go to Heaven!!!!"

I was heartbroken!

Not because I think he wants to go to Hell, but because to a 4 year old, "I don't want to go to Heaven" is the same thing as "I don't want to die."  He was terrified of dying!  This isn't something we've discussed in very much detail yet, but he has always gotten the idea of what dying is - basically going away and not coming back.  But I think the St. Michael prayer's graphic imaging of "snares of the Devil" and "casting into Hell" were really too much for him!

He started asking me when he'd be able to come back to Earth after going to Heaven.  He told me he didn't want to be away from Mommy (*tear*).  But most of all, he "heard on TV" (not sure if that's true) that there's no food in Heaven!  That one really opened the flood gates.  He just couldn't continue.

We didn't know if it was a one-time thing, but ever since then when we ask him to say the Prayer to St. Michael, he tells us that he wants to say his own prayer instead.  Which is fine - they're usually adorable, though some are just ridiculous stall tactics that go on an on about nothing at all (lots of "um, well, see...").

From now on I think we'll save the Prayer to St. Michael until he's a little older.  Maybe we'll switch to Come Holy Spirit for now.  It's more upbeat and who could be upset with "fill the hearts of thy faithful?"  He's always been a big fan of hearts!

Go HORSE!!!

All I'm posting for today is GO COLTS!!!  We'll be hanging out inside all day watching the snow and the Boys in Blue!!

Sick Little Boy

I've been up since 3am with my poor sick little guy.  He woke up twice throwing up, the second time with a 103 degree fever.  After a bath, some ibuprofen, and a popsicle, we spent the rest of the night in the recliner watching movies.  I dozed off, but my li'l dude stayed awake the whole time!  Needless to say he's napping right now!

I took him to the doctor, certain he had pneumonia.  Thank God the verdict was negative.  But he does have a sinus infection and an ear infection.  He's such a trooper.  As we pulled into the driveway at home, he asked if he could play in the snow!  If I were him I'd be milking this illness for all it's worth!

Jack being sick is a great source of stress for me.  Every single cough, fever, and runny nose makes my shoulders tense up.  (Which is odd, because I always used to be so laid back!)  I'm not the type of person to get on the phone with the doctor at every whim, but I just hate hearing him suffer (although clearly he's not suffering too much if he's still asking to make snow angels, God bless him!).

So it's times like this that make me remember how much respect I have for parents of special needs and terminally ill children.  Tragically, nearly 90% of children who are diagnosed with Down Syndrome in the womb are aborted.  Yet families of Down's children always say they can't imagine their lives without that child.  There are so many people out there even waiting and praying to adopt Down's and special needs children.  I call those people saints. 

As stressed as I get when my child is sick with something as benign as a hacking cough, I don't think of myself as being emotionally capable of having a special needs child.  HOWEVER, I would consider myself blessed if God ever entrusted one of His special children to my care. He knows better than I do what I can and cannot handle.  And I would be honored if he considered my husband and me good enough parents to care for one of these little angels.

God bless all of you special needs parents out there.  You can be certain there's a spot in Heaven with your name on it!

"We" Fit!!

So puuuuumped! We finally got our Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board today and I've spent far too much time on it this afternoon. I mean, I had to set it up, right? Well, more than being excited about getting it was finding out my Wii Fit age! It's...drum roll please...30!! And that's 2 years younger than my real age! Woot woot! The reason I'm so ridiculously excited about it is because my Wii Sports age was 63. Yes. I know. Seriously, what?? To make matters worse, my husband's was like 18. Which is a real crock b/c his joints & back are totally broken! Eh well, who's laughin' now?!?

And speaking of 18, my 4-year-old set up his profile and that was also his Wii Fit age! Ha. I don't think they should give kids under, say, 8 Wii Fit ages. They don't understand the balance tests and other measurements. Oh well...I'm not too concerned. He's a very active boy...he's gonna be fine!

The power of advertising

I was shopping with my little guy the other day and since he was such a good boy at the store, I promised we could get a big soft pretzel. As we're walking to the pretzel store, Jack yells, "Look, mom, that's the place that puts your business on the map!" I didn't really understand what he said so I stopped, turned, and asked him to repeat it. He points to a sign in the Verizon store window and says, "The place that puts your business on the map!"

Ok. Seriously. He doesn't even watch any shows that have commercials!! So the only way he could have possibly knows that Verizon "puts your business on the map" is from watching sporting events with us. I swear! But man, if you think your kids aren't paying attention to what's going on around them - think again! They absorb everything!

Birthday PAAAARRRRGHty!

Though he's not officially 4 until tomorrow, we had the official celebration this past Saturday at a local pizza joint. Clearly, it was a swashbucklin' good time!

I found an adorable pirate cake on Family Fun Magazine's website, and took a stab at it. The recipe calls for 2 9-in rounds, cut in half and all four pieces "glued" together with icing. I first used Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate cake mix. For some reason they fell apart right out of the pan. Then I went back to the store and bought what I thought was the same thing (because I thought one of them might work and wanted them to match). But I got home and realized I had instead purchased Chocolate Fudge flavor. For some other odd reason, these two worked just fine and stayed together nicely! So I froze them overnight so they'd be easier to cut in the morning.

I got up very early on Saturday and put all the pieces together, iced them, and decorated them. It actually turned out pretty darn cute. Which is quite an amazing feat for me because my performance around the kitchen has never gotten me mistaken for Sandra Lee...


...which was soon evidenced by the time the party started. My joyous jubilation at my birthday cake triumph was short-lived. Evidently, this cake was not meant to be transported (though I missed the fine print about that in the recipe). As soon as we got in the car, not 3 minutes down the road, my mother-in-law, who is holding the cake in her lap, yells, "Oh my gosh!"

In complete denial, I ignored the declaration and chose to assume she was referring to the conversation we were having. But when no more said in reference, I finally had to come to grips with reality and look to my right. Slowly and sheepishly, I turned my head, wanting to transcend space and time, and instead of seeing a crumbling cake in her lap, envision that I had built not a pirate ship, but a Taj Mahal of birthday cakes. But alas, I was driving so drifting off to Neverland wasn't really an option. And there it was. My creation was taking on cannon fire.

And it only got worse. By the time we arrived at the restaurant, not only had we taken on cannon fire, but we had run aground and been set ablaze. And trying to piece it back together only made it worse! Yikes.

Epic fail. However, as disappointing as it was, it wasn't a complete disaster. The kids actually thought it was fun to dig for the "buried treasure." Yeah. That's what I meant to do! It was like a treasure hunt. You're welcome, kids!

Eh, well. Four-year-olds are easy to please. As you can see, I still had one happy Pirate on deck!

If I won the lottery...

The first thing I would buy is a boat exactly like this for me...ahem...my pirate-enthusiast 4-year-old son. Yeah, my son. That's right. Him, not me. He's the one who's into pirates!

Did I mention I love the name?!? So clever!

The Naming Craze

Jack has been on a "naming" kick lately. Most recently he got a dragon in his McDonald's Happy Meal. He told me in the car that he wanted to name the dragon. I said, "Ok, what would you like to name it?" "Trrooonnn...dafe." "Trondafe?" "Yeah, Trondafe." Oookaaayyy. So while I was cracking up while driving, trying to stay between the lines, he informs me that he doesn't like "Trondafe" anymore and wants to change the dragon's name. "Ok, what do you want to change it to?" "Dave." But of course!

An Easter follow up

Just had to post one with the whole get-up! Forgive the major cheeze-ness. The husband got much better ones with his professional camera. This is the best I could get out of him!

Zhe Zoo!

This week is spring break! I wanted to do something special this week so I called up a friend and we went to the Philadelphia Zoo. I've lived in the area for 5 years (!) now and had NEVER been there before! It was a lot of fun. I'd been debating on getting a membership and I think I will, especially after I found out they're also good for the Wilmington and Baltimore zoos as well! Here is some photo evidence of our fun little trip!

My Li'l Monkey

Have YOU hugged a leopard today?

Those are LEGO penguins! Amazing!

Just...too cute for words! :)

HAPPY EASTER!!!

What a beautiful day here in Maryland for Easter Sunday! Early mass, then home to see what the Easter Bunny brought and a little egg hunt in the backyard. Between the weather, the family, the food...it really is a day to rejoice!

I was just going to post a quick link since it's Easter, but I have to mention a cute story quickly. We got to mass a half hour early so we had our choice of seats. Our son initially sat in the very back pew (we typically sit towards the back to make potty breaks easier). My husband asked him if he'd like to sit a little closer since the altar was decorated so beautifully and so he could see things better. So he walks towards the front of the church...and walks...and walks. Until he's in the VERY FRONT ROW!! Now I inherently don't mind sitting in the front row, it's just that with a noisy, squirmy, potty-inclined preschooler, it's a little nerve-wracking. And I HAVE sat in the front row before, but it was years ago, I was not married, had no children, and it was in my very small hometown church. But yet again, my fears were in vain because Jack was the perfect angel all through mass. Even more fascinating was the feeling of how much more intimate mass is from the front row. We go to a pretty huge church and typically sit towards the middle/back, so we're always surrounded on all sides and can see everyone there. But when you're in the front and no one is in front of you, it's almost like it's a private mass! The church seems smaller, you're closer to the priest (sometimes even making eye contact), and closer to the altar. It was actually a beautiful experience.

I just want to leave you with this thought-provoking post from Conversion Diary (my absolute favorite blog on the web). As a cradle Catholic, I guess I never really questioned why Jesus had to die for our sins so that we could go to Heaven. I think this post (and some of the comments to it) is a wonderful explanation.

HAPPY & BLESSED EASTER!!

Eggin'

Since the Disney Pixar CARS Easter Egg Decorating Kit has been sitting in my kitchen cabinet for over a year, I finally decided it was time to put it to good use. Jack was so excited to "make" Easter eggs! I thought the kit was going to include something a little more interesting, but all it was was dye and Cars stickers. Oh well. He's 3 - it's all the same to him!

Loving this cake for our pirate party next month!

So, I don't get Family Fun magazine, but all the moms at school rave about it. So instead of subscribing, I checked it out online. And...voila! It's awesome! We're having a pirate party next month and I'm in love with this cake!

How cute is that?? Love it! And it seems super easy. If you'd like the instructions, click here.