Whenever You Feel Guilty

Updated: St. Maximilian Kolbe says:

"Even if it is because you have consciously committed a sin, a serious sin, something you have kept doing many, many times, never let the devil deceive you by allowing him to discourage you. Whenever you feel guilty, offer all your guilt to the Immaculate, without analyzing it or examining it, as something that belongs to her… 

My beloved, may every fall, even if it is serious and habitual sin, always become for us a small step toward a higher degree of perfection. 

In fact, the only reason why the Immaculate permits us to fall is to cure us from our self-conceit, from our pride, to make us humble and thus make us docile to the divine graces. 

The devil, instead, tries to inject in us discouragement and internal depression in those circumstances, which is, in fact, nothing else than our pride surfacing again. 

If we knew the depth of our poverty, we would not be at all surprised by our falls, but rather astonished, and we would thank God, after sinning, for not allowing us to fall even deeper and still more frequently."

{This quote has been attributed to Pope Francis via an unofficial FB page; that is not correct.}

#7QT: How Clever! How Wicked.

Another week come and gone... joining Jen's circus for this Labor Day weekend mayhem!

ONE

One delicious pie.

Perhaps it is because we're all settled in (ignore those boxes of books at the top of the stairs); or maybe it's because I'm in my third trimester; or maybe it's because I've realized that a kitchen without sweets is a very, very, very sad kitchen.

Will is not a dessert person (or a fruit person, or a vegetable person, for that matter). I never considered myself a dessert person until there were none to be found. They were not exactly "necessities" in our budget. I tried to think of creative ways to get them in the house.

To date, I've made Fourth of July cake, banana bread, snickerdoodle cookies, peach and berry pie, and carrot cake.

Will, in a sing-songy voice: "My wife is the best! My wife made me cake!"
Me: "It's carrot cake!"
Will, still singing: "My wife made me vegetable cake!"

Will didn't actually eat any of the carrot cake, but he supports my domestic endeavors, and our friends enjoy the sweets of my labor. Next up: muffins!

TWO

I devoured a British mystery show recently: Rosemary and Thyme. It centers around a plant pathologist, Rosemary Boxer, and Laura Thyme, a former police constable. After a twist of fate in the first episode, they become friends and business partners as gardeners. Gardeners, of course, who also solve murders! Quirky, very British, and quite enjoyable.

THREE

"I never speak lightly of murder... I hate to tempt fate." --Miss Marple

I've moved on to Agatha Christie's Miss Marple series (starring Geraldine McEwan). The title of this post is another quote from the infamous Jane Marple. Have you read the books and short stories, dear readers? The Complete Short Stories: A Miss Marple Collection by Agatha Christie is one of my favoritest books. If you're looking for a good puzzle and mystery read, I highly recommend picking it up.

FOUR

Happy 36 weeks to my Bambino Baldwin!

FIVE

My awesome friend Andrew sent me Bill Watterson's commencement speech at Kenyon College in May 1990, and it is just wonderful.

Slate published a comic based on part of that speech -- also really excellent.

SIX

Back in college, a few friends/ fellow American Studies majors and I would celebrate "Founding Fridays" and go out after class for a beer. So, when I saw this on St. Charles Street yesterday, it made me very, very happy.

I reviewed Stephen Mansfield's The Search for God and Guinness at TIC, and it is another fantastic read.

SEVEN

Any plans for this Labor Day weekend? Will has Friday AND Monday off, so he'll be studying for Step 3, listening to lectures, helping me decorate the nursery, and relishing in his time off. I am tying up loose ends, trying to enter September with less on my to-do list than when I moved down here!

Talk to me, birds!

Birth Class: Worth It?

Tuesday was our last birth class; I let Will stay home because

A) He asked;
B) He's already learned all of this, and has even delivered a few babies;
C) He spent last class drawing this... No c-section is complete without a shark, Viking, monkey or turtle. Or dinosaur, for that matter.

The classes were broken down into four topics: Signs & Stages of Labor, Medical Intervention & Pain Management; Indications of Caesarian birth & Physical/ Emotional Changes After Delivery; All About the Newborn. I also took the extra lactation class offered.

The classes mentioned above were all free; there were more comprehensive ones offered, but since my MIL and SILs gave me a doula as a baby shower gift, Will and I did not think additional classes would be necessary.

Were those above mentioned classes necessary? Maybe not. Will certainly did not enjoy them, though he attended most because I wanted him to be there. I did not learn anything particularly new, but it did give me a better peace of mind. I enjoy being in the classroom setting; Will preferred reading the slides later, verses sitting through the slides being read at him for two hours. (But you got to munch on cheese and crackers the whole time... they offered us a cheese platter, people! Yum.

The two best classes were the lactation class and the newborn class. The information provided at the other three were pretty standard, but, again, I liked listening to the nurse talk about it in an organized fashion. It helped me wrap my mind around the fact that I am going to be giving birth in a few weeks.

Waiting for the baby feels like this:

Heidi, the family dog, being a lioness and waiting for her "prey" at the dog park

Waiting, waiting, waiting... but not particularly wanting anything to happen. People have asked me if I am excited (well, yes), if I am counting down the days (never), and if I'm prepared (sure... but my bag has yet to be packed).

Other days, it feels like this: MUST READ ALL THE ARTICLES. MUST KNOW EVERYTHING THAT IS HAPPENING TO MY BODY ANY WHY. WHY WHY WHY WHY.

Heidi and I are both on the prowl...

Then, Will asked me to stop reading all the articles because it was playing games with my emotions, and we had a nice talk instead about why contractions hurt and what's happening in my body and yes, I am strong enough to do this.

Though he's taking a very practical approach to our baby, I will say that I am glad he's got medical opinions based on medical facts, verses my "feelings" on the matter...

Now, I'm as content as this pigeon eating a beignet:

Life happens.

I still have to write up a short birth plan (I considered natural, but am now on Team Epidural), register at the hospital and pack a bag (recommended: robe, socks, chapstick, conditioner, toothbrush & paste). I've considered charging my ipod and bringing that along too... although I have no clue what kind of music I'll be interested in hearing while contracting.

Birth class is a good place to be - there are also method classes, which may help moms and dads with more specific pain management techniques. I'm satisfied with having a doula and an epidural because it won't be guaranteed that Will is going to be there during the whole of the new couple deliveries (I'm not sure how his future hospitals will work), and I'm trying to be realistic about that. Wait, did I just say future pregnancies? Girl, get yourself together! Have this baby first!

I'm especially glad I took a lactation class - that is probably the best class to take,  because breast feeding may be the most common and best for you and the baby, but it is certainly no cake walk. Cheers to all moms who do it!

When it comes to having birth, for those fellow type-As who just want to "know!!!!!!" what is going to happen, I comfort myself this way: women have been having babies for millions of years and with way less pain killers and knowledgeable staff members around them. I'll be fine, even if it's going to really, really hurt. Pain with purpose.

The biggest thing for moms to take away is that they've created a little individual who is not going to fall into all the categories nicely. Babies are born with the instinct to eat and the ability to poop/pee and sleep, but they are also brimming with potential. They're new to this world too! Sure, I did not have a small person depending on me before, but the small person did not have to depend on me either. Hungry? Eats. Bathroom time? Shazam. Warm and cuddly while training for the Olympics in the dark? Nice place here. Sleeps without interruption? Yeah, well, you and me both, buddy.

I suppose the thing I'm really waiting for is my heart to explode. I distinctly remember meeting my baby sister (14 years ago...feeling old...) for the first time, and my heart growing 3.5 times bigger to accommodate the love I felt for this person I had been waiting for, and just met. It was amazing, and I bet it is going to grow even bigger for Bambino Baldwin #1. And no class can really prepare you for that.

The Sitting Dance

For when you don't feel like getting up:



Brilliant.

Hat tippin' to my very funny sister Katie.

Five Favorites: Take Two

Editing articles is leaving me in need of a brain break... linking up with the fabulous Hallie!

ONE

Disney (Children's) Radio on Pandora. 

Yes, Pandora. I have a Spotify too, but there is nothing more fabulous than this station, especially when I am under deadline. Disney songs and soundtracks, as well as the likes of a Motown mix, Jack Johnson, Regina Spektor, A Fine Frenzy, New Republic, Joshua Radin, Florence + The Machine and even Adele.

More importantly, though:



and



Et cetera, et cetera - more where that came from!

TWO

Netflix.

I know, we're terribly behind on this. Will and I opened our own Netflix account because we wanted to watch the fourth season of Arrested Development after re-watching the first three seasons. We are pretty disappointed with how it started, so we took a break and watched Sherlock. ZOMG. Now we're watching the sixth season of Burn Notice, in between viewings of childhood favorites. We watched the Great Mouse Detective a few nights ago -- still fabulous!

We love our Amazon Prime, but daaaaang guurl. Netflix, you fine.

THREE

Care packages.

My mom sent me a hug in a box! Two jars of jam (blackberry from my uncle's farm; tart cherry from Michigan), peanut butter cookies (more Michigan love), gummy bears for me (devoured), gum for Will, a maternity shirt, a few pieces of non-forwarded mail, and letters from the family.

Overly happy picture I sent my Mom

I adore mail of all varieties, and feel very blessed with the correspondence family and friends have been keeping up with us since we moved down South almost two months ago! I am trying to keep up with writing thank you and regular cards; e-mails too!

FOUR

Will.

Okay, maybe unfair to put him under my "favorites" since we're married, but how else can I categorize this drawing he did during birth class?

Let's just say, things got interesting once he added the shark.

Or how he asked the nurse unnecessarily complicated questions during birth class... (hopefully not sparking terror in any of the ladies there!)
Or the straight face he kept when she queried about his level of knowledge about sutures...
Or the crazy grin on his face when the nurse confirmed that we could skip the tour of the postpartum ward... (He gave me the breakdown anyways: bed, table, desk, bathroom, chair/couch, bed for baby. Bam.)

Then, in the midst of swinging my arm ridiculously high as we sauntered down the hall away from the other suckers couples, we began to literally skip away from class 30 minutes early. That was his favorite part of class: leaving!

My husband is a good sport during this whole third trimester adventure. He makes sure we go to the pool almost every day so preggo here can get my 30 minutes of movement in; he lets me sleep in past 7 a.m.; he asks me how the baby is doing and humors me when I tell him to LOOK! THE BABY IS MOVING!!!!! (but mostly, never when he is looking); he attempts to not give me a technical medical answer when I am looking for an emotional/ empathetic one; he is always up for the adventures I propose, be it an impromptu walk outside, trying out a local snow cone shop, or a triple whammy library/ art museum/ bank day.

See? Favorite.

FIVE

The Mirror Magazine.

Mary C. Tillotson and Joy Pullmann, two college friends + reporter colleagues, and I started a new online publication: The Mirror Magazine. It's still new and budding, and I just love it. "Women speak about living traditional values in the modern, post-feminist world" is our mission statement. We're taking submissions, we're on Facebook and Twitter, and we're gearing up for the long-haul. We'd love for you to read along!

Here is one of our readers, and one of my new favorite blogs: This Felicitous Life. Laura, this is my public shout-out that I can't wait for you to write for us too!!

Happy Wednesday, y'all!