melted smoosh

one of my favourite questions to ask the girls at the dinner table is what their "roses and thorns" were for the day, meaning good things and bad things. (asking about things that were funny, or sad, or surprising, also yields much conversational fruit!) today, I've got a few roses and thorns of my own to share. the weather lately has been absolutely beautiful (except for today, when it's gloomy and rainy). I love this sweet spot in spring when we can open up the windows and let the fresh breezes blow through the house.  on the flip side, allergies have been acting up in full force, especially for Greta and myself. fortunately, Flonase and children's Zyrtec work pretty well to control things.  last weekend, the girls stayed with my in-laws and I had almost an entire day to myself, to sleep in, read my book in bed for a little bit (!), grocery shop at a leisurely pace, and fold laundry without a toddler trying to unfold everything. I also replaced my broken sunglas

  Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! The strife is o'er, the battle done The victory of life is won The song of triumph has begun: Alleluia! Happy Easter Monday! Holy Week and the Easter Octave are my absolute favourite times of the liturgical year. growing up in a devout non-denominational evangelical home, my most consistent experience of Holy Week was that we went to church on Palm Sunday, and then again on Easter. there were a few years where we participated in a Seder service to commemorate the Last Supper, sometimes including foot washing. one memorable year, we celebrated this memorial dinner with friends who lived on waterfront property. they had constructed a small wooden cross and placed several votive candles in glass holders on the cross. we each privately wrote down some sins on small pieces of paper, folded up the papers, and placed them into the flames of the candles to burn. then the cross was launched out onto the waves, bearing our sins with it. (I very well could be r

  1) Soccer season for Cecilia! her Little Kickers team meets once a week on our school field to practice soccer drills and scrimmage games.  the practices are hilarious to watch -- this team is for preschool and kindergarten, so there's lots of running around, cartwheels, and shenanigans interspersed with actual soccer. (they won't start playing games against other teams until first grade.) their coach does a great job keeping them focused as much as possible. I think Cece's favourite so far was a version of flag football they played -- she collected the most "duck tails" by far!  running fast! (she's in the white top and black pants) collecting duck tails like it's her job handstand break just taking a minute to herself :D 2) a trip to the Children's Museum. our local children's museum is nationally ranked as one of the best, but I have always felt that it doesn't have much to offer the 2- to 5-year-old crowd (the science center and natural h