"PIG!"

Apparently Monkey has no moral qualms about eating meat. (which he shouldn't because the small amount of meat that we do eat comes from farmers we know and has been raised ethically...) The other day we were eating bacon and he lifted a forkful in the air and shouted, gleefully, "PIG!"

Maybe I should worry a little bit though, because today we had this conversation:

Monkey: (while shaking a small toy dog around in a small container) I am frying this dog in my frying pan.

Me: Why?

Monkey: I eat Dog Meat!

File under "Things NOT to do"

If you are like me, you probably find that two hands are often not enough. So, like me, you probably sometimes hold things in your mouth to compensate.

Word of warning, then -

Don't hold duct tape in your mouth, even for a fraction of a second. It will take a layer of skin off your lips like nobody's business. Take my word for it.

We're sick again.

If we were actually well for more than two weeks THAT would be news worthy. The Little One is completely miserable with a cold. He is leaking like a bad faucet and can't nurse because he can't breathe through his nose. Poor thing. And Monkey and I are both under the weather too. (The Music Man, as usual, is right as rain. He's Super-Immunity-Man.)

So, I just wanted to stop in and say, "I have some really good blog posts in my head, but no chance to sit down and write them." Soon. I hope.

(I think our next computer needs to be a laptop...)

Merry Christmas

Here we are in the warm-fuzzy week of celebration between Christmas and New Year's. I hope you are all enjoying yourselves and your family. I'll leave you with a wee Traditional Scottish poem...

Christmas comes but ance a year,
An whan it comes, it brings guid cheer:
A pouchfu o siller, a cellarfu o beer,
An a guid swak grice tae lest ye aa the year.


"See you" all in the New Year!

(swak grice = juicy pig)

In Praise of Christmas...

My dear husband, The Music Man, had a really neat email exchange last week. He was asking the folks at Quinlan Road if they could help him with a problem. See, it was Dec. 1st, which happens to be my birthday and also the day when it is acceptable to begin listening to Christmas music. Unfortunately when I put "To Drive The Cold Winter Away" by Loreena McKennitt on, it was very scratched and started skipping quite badly. The Music Man ended up contacting Quinlan Road to ask if there was any way that they would be able to replace the disc. In the end, because Dec. 1st is also Robin-from-Quinlan-Road's birthday (!) and because we are from Loreena's home town, they ended up sending us a one-time link to download CD quality files of the songs to replace our CD. Yay! So, because the folks at Quinlan Road were so helpful, and because "To Drive the Cold Winter Away" is one of my favourite Christmas albums (and the rest of Loreena McKennitt's music is pretty great, too) here is my almost-last-minute Christmas shopping suggestion for you:


Head over to the Quinlan Road website and order a CD for someone you love.

You will be giving the gift of great music, and supporting a company that did what they could to make me happy on my birthday.

You can't fault his logic

(The following is a conversation that took place this evening at the supper table)

Monkey: ~a made up song with the final line having to do with one being a big pile of poo~

The Music Man: I don't think we should talk about poo at the supper table.

Monkey: Well, poo is left-over food that your body doesn't need, and we talk about food at the table.

Anticipation

I love Christmas, that is no secret. But I am able to love Christmas because I also love Advent. And it is here, and so is winter and I am a happy girl.

Last year, Advent was especially meaningful for us because as we awaited the Christ-child, we were also anticipating our own wee one. The Little One arrived as scheduled on January 1st. I was able to identify with Mary on a very deep level last year at this time. And especially as Advent came to a close and the Baby in Mary's story arrived and the arrival of mine was imminent.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. Luke 2:6 KJV

That verse became very important to me last year.

This year the Anticipation of Advent means something else. We are not waiting for our baby to arrive. We have a four year old and an almost one year old who will experience the season very differently from each other and from us - we anticipate the wonder they will bring to our home this season. There are times of uncertainty in the lives of people dear to us and we anticipate resolution. There are lessons to be learned about living well on this Earth and we anticipate clarity. And, as always, there is a Baby coming who will teach us what it means to have God With Us and we anticipate his birth.