Quick Takes - still with zero editing!!

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I keep meaning to blog more. I keep meaning to do a lot of things. I've said it before, and it bears repeating; I'm going to have some top-quality pavement if I go to hell. But what has kept us busy is a host of wondrous duties that include a dental appointment, an emergency doctor visit, a misbehaving four-year-old boy, a stubborn and ill mannered baby and a five year old who needs a little extra attention because there isn't anything wrong with her at all.

I've learned to pay attention to the kid who doesn't need it. When everyone is sick and off kilter, the one flying under the radar is usually feeling left out. There is nothing worse than watching your kid self destruct just because she wants a little of mama's focus. Scott and I are making a concerted effort to wrap our arms around each of the kids and work them into even our most mundane tasks. Molly now gets to read to me while I cook dinner, which is usually the time I stick in my bluetooth and listen to Catholic media. She's getting to be such an adept reader, and her voice is adorable, even if she doesn't have the inside scoop on the conclave

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So the media coverage of the papal abdication has been fascinating from a sociological point of view. The secular media is down right hilarious, if you don't take it too seriously. The people they choose to call Catholic "experts" Yahoo even had a lovely little piece on Andrew Sullivan's take that the Pope is gay. I probably should have gotten offended, but I was both tickled and saddened by it. It made me laugh because his reasons were:

He's soft spoken, has nice shoes, has a handsome prelate and is choosing to keep his prelate in his abdication.

Here I was under the impression that it takes something a bit more to be gay. Silly me.

The sad part about it was that it's clear that Andrew Sullivan couldn't see that what they were calling a "celibate love affair" is a friendship. It seems to me that he could not separate love and affection from sex. How incredibly sad.

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Speaking of the Pope Emeritus, the very sweet news of his driver bursting into tears after kissing his ring just warmed me. I love that of all the people who were saying goodbye, the common man showed exactly the right emotion. The cardinals were calm and collected, others were cheering and yelling their goodbyes. The driver knelt, kissed his ring, and cried. That's my favorite story from the entire day.

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Last night I started a notebook for Kate and one for Charlotte. As I said, Scott and I realize that we are very busily busy, but sometimes our kids need us while we are otherwise occupied. So I bought two notebooks and wrote a note to each on the first page. They were simple notes. In one I commented on how This is the third pope in Kate's life and Charlotte was born when there was no pope. In the other I just commented about how I used to write notes in grade school all the time. I hope we can keep up with it and just remind each other of our affection even when things are crazy.

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Mariana is still not crawling. I realized, after my dear friend Mary commented on the last week's post, that I may have never explained why crawling is such a big deal. Crawling helps the left and right side of the brain communication. The pressure she puts on her hands is key to her fine motor development and the longer a baby crawls the better for brain development.  Many children, Charlotte included, have crawling as part of there therapies even at older stages. Charlotte was completely ambidextrous, and with that came many issues, especially in reading comprehension. Part of the solution was to have her crawl around the house several times before sitting down to do school work. Crawling is a big deal.

Now, many children don't crawl, or crawl for a short time before walking. Many times they compensate with other skills to help development. The problem is, Mariana won't just crawl when she's ready. She won't compensate with similar skills. Instead, as she gets stronger, she has begun to move with compensatory motions. She scoots on her bottom, she writhes her way forward, she rolls. There are so many benefits for her if she crawls, so we are doing what we can to encourage that. We prop her up on all fours and put things in front of her that are interesting. We move her legs and arms in a crawling motion while making certain we don't topple on to her. It's exhausting, but we do it because even if she never uses crawling as a mode of transportation, she will have to do it for therapy.

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How's your lent going? Mine is quite sacrificial, thanks for asking. I hope a lot of souls are getting to heaven. I can't find the source, but I heard on Catholic radio that the original purpose of Lenten sacrifice was to join in prayer with the "elect" or those who were preparing to come into the Church on Easter Vigil. In other words, the entire church made sacrifices and fasted for the sake of those who would join them. I love that, and I wonder why that is no longer highlighted in today's world. 

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 Please pray for Charlotte. She is suffering from an allergic reaction and still has strep. She may need steroids, but the doctor hasn't returned our call yet and it's the weekend. Right now her feet are swollen, itchy and hurt. But she's so dang cheerful. I love that girl!

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