At Home on Good Friday

This picture was not taken today, it was taken a few days ago. It came out with my kids looking like lobotomy patients but really they just wouldn't look at me because the sun was in their eyes. Like their matching shoes? Thanks, Grandmamma!

So.... my felt eggs are turning out okay... I ended up only making 7, instead of the 12 I'd planned on. The problem is not in the felting or the decorating... it's that they take DAYS to dry!!! But most of what I have finished is now dry and today I started decorating them with embroidery floss, and they aren't bad. And they seem to be big enough for at least a couple little chocolates or trinkets. We will hide plastic ones for the egg hunt in the morning for the girls because I don't think these wool ones are bright enough for the girls to find. I'm VERY excited for their egg hunt. And their dresses. And the food that we are having at all of our gatherings. And the TRUMPETS (!!!!!!!) at 9:30 Mass..... Easter morning is far and away my favorite Mass of the entire year. Christmas is good, but Easter is tops.

So, on this Good Friday, just like last year, I didn't go to church. I can't believe I've had two children for more than a year now and I am still afraid to leave the house with them by myself. Ugh! Some things I am able to do, but church is not one of them. In the end though, staying home was probably a better Good Friday for me. Instead of worrying over my bored/cranky/crazy/biting children (we had LOTS of biting today... more on that later) I took on my greatest homemaking "cross" (which has been sitting undone for MONTHS) and was actually able to be mindful of the hour. I think it was for the best. Later on in the day I talked to my friend Joannie who said that her mom said not going to church because of children was just "a different Holy Week." And she's right. So that made me feel much less bad.

Hahaha, somebody suggested to Martin today that we put Anja in daycare to cure her antisocial tendencies. His answer was, "Why? So she can learn to bite?" Ooooo, wrong comeback, Martino. She already knows. And so does Greta, unfortunately. (P.S. if you want your one-year-old entertained so you can finish your blog post, just give her an empty milk jug! Genius!) Anja has gone back to being a real biter, but today she recieved the mother of all bites on her finger. Greta bit her so hard on her little finger that she had a line underneath her fingernail and it was purple on both sides. Poor thing!! I'd like to say she deserved it, but I don't think she has ever bitten as hard as Greta bites. To be fair to Greta, she didn't really do it on purpose. Anja was feeding her macaroni (I'm not sure why. Obviously Greta is capable of eating by herself) and she got her fingers a little too far in, I guess. Anyway. I felt bad for her, but I kind of secretly hope it taught her a lesson on how much biting actually hurts.

We just got back from the BEST CONFESSIONS EVER down at St. Boniface. We went to Fr. Vath. It wasn't insanely crowded by any means, but Fr. Vath's line was especially short, and we had the girls with us (past bedtime) and I have only ever been to him once before (and loved it) but again, I came out thinking that I want to start going to confessions only to him from now on. So encouraging! So helpful! He asked me if I liked to read and gave me a book recommendation. Fun! And we were only there about an hour when it was all said and done. Excellent.





Here's a shirt I made the other day:

I made it specifically for that pair of jeans I mentioned a few posts back, the ones with the zipper that always falls down. I think it'll do the trick of covering up my open fly as well as being a cute, green fabric.

We--well, Martin--got the girls (he got them for Anja, but I think I'm going to split them between the two) these adorable little "pocket gnomes" when he ordered the kitchen. They are so cute! The girls will love them.

And speaking of the girls loving things, they stand at the door BEGGING to go outside these days, no matter how much laundry is needing to be folded, dishes are needing to be washed, or crafts need to be sewn. We've been spending lots of time in the sunshine this past week. Spring must really be on its way!