Melting Hearts.

It's one of those rainy days that you've saved up for. And when I say saved up for, I don't mean money. I mean movies.

In the last few weeks, we've been having some seriously sunny, and some warm, days. On these days, we don't let Ana near the T.V. (unless she's in my face and I need to tend to Toby Wan). We've been saving up for today. It's 35 degrees and dripping wet. A perfect day for this line up: The Jungle Book. The Fox and the Hound. And last, Mary Poppins.

I'm kind of looking forward to it myself.

In other news, Toby has been sleeping right next to me, and I'm not waking up with a kink in my neck. Wonderful sidecar crib? Check.

And it might be my imagination, but I'm pretty sure Toby likes it too. Last night, he gave mommy a big present by sleeping nearly four hours straight (I LOVE YOU TOBY!). But at one point in the middle of this splendorific four hours, he fussed just a little, stretching his arms out. One of his little hands reached out and rested on my arm, at which time he relaxed and fell right back to sleep. Oh, the mother's heart melts.

Sunny days.

That's right. I'm using one of my first spare moments of the morning to update the blog. I am just too excited to do the piling dishes and instead wanted to share this bit of info with you.

It's really pretty trivial really. But after the last few days of Toby nursing every twenty minutes, and refusing to take a nap, an elusively clean house (it's clean under all the toys and dirty dishes), and me getting no more than three hour blocks of sleep (on a lucky night), I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Now, there are much bigger matters to attend to. Such as, the demise of Mother Earth News due to their absurd and morally horrific insistence (for the second time now, in this month's issue) that in order for us to live "happily" we (the world) need to instutite population control. Two kids per family?!? I'm letting Dan tend to that, with a letter to the editor. I, on the other hand, am tending to the tired antics, but of equal importance, of running a house. Which has it's own sweet celebrations.

And here is my latest feat, fit for a celebratory coffee break.



Ahhhh, now I can do the dishes, pick up toys, paint Ana's toenails, read her books AND drink my coffee. All at the same time. Right? At least until Toby is ready to nurse again, which should be ... just ... about ...

Now.

Woody.

That reminds me of my favorite Woody Allen quote:

Some people try to achieve immortality through doing good works. I try to achieve immortality though not dying. It's not that I'm afraid of death. I just don't want to be there when it happens.

Immortality Through Architecture, by Dan

Just read a bizarre story in the Wall Street Journal, and had to pass it along.

It seems that one of the casualties of the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme was a couple who was attempting to achieve immortality through architecture. Yes, you read that right. The shocker here is not that Mr. Madoff stole their project's source of funding (that's so yesterday's news), it's that these two artists were - literally - trying to live forever by creating, and living in, houses with bizarre architectural features.

Their premise is that people die because they live too comfortably. So, the solution? Create houses and apartments that "leave people disoriented, challenged and feeling anything but comfortable." Their creations feature windows that are either too high or too low to see out of, floors comprised of a wavy, moon-like surface ("designed to throw occupants off balance") and rooms that are far apart. Seemingly guaranteed to make you trip and fall on that groggy 2AM bathroom run....

You have to see it to believe it:


I can't help but think of a very astute observation Pope Benedict said in his last encyclical, Spe Salvi:

"Perhaps many people reject the faith today simply because they do not find the prospect of eternal life attractive. What they desire is not eternal life at all, but this present life, for which faith in eternal life seems something of an impediment. [However,] to continue living for ever — endlessly — appears more like a curse than a gift. Death, admittedly, one would wish to postpone for as long as possible. But to live always, without end — this, all things considered, can only be monotonous and ultimately unbearable."

Eternal life in a carnival fun house like this might not be monotonous, but it would certainly be unbearable!

Yes, a whole jar of peanut butter.

I'm pretty sure these are the awesomest cookies ever, and it's been a while since I've posted a good recipe. So, as long as you haven't given up sweets for Lent, have a go. Especially if you like peanut butter!

Peanut Butter Cookies (the awesomest)
1 cup butter, softened
1 c. white sugar
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yoke
2 t. vanilla extract
1 18 oz jar of peanut butter
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 c. chopped peanuts

Cream the butter and sugars together. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix. Stir in peanut butter. Sift together the dry ingredients and stir in with the peanut butter mix. Stir in peanuts and chill the dough for 2 hours.

Form walnut sized balls with the dough and press down with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven and TASTE THE DELICIOUSNESS.

Super Sap.

We are pretty sure we have super muscle silver maple trees.
Dan spent all day yesterday, and half of the night, boiling down about 20 gallons of sap. Typically, 20 gallons of silver maple tree sap will give a lucky guy a couple of quarts of the liquid gold. But, upon crawling into bed at 4am, Dan happily announced that he had found almost a whole gallon of golden nectar hidden behind all that water.

Mercy!

So, syruping is going well this year. I'd say.

In other news, Toby is doing well. He sleeps at night (hoo ray!) and is the source for many of Ana's giggles and kisses. Life is grand.

Love Potion (by Dan)

Overheard, on Day 11 of Toby's life:

Joy, commenting on her post-partum hormonal changes:

Boy, the oxytocin must really be coming in... Every time I feed Toby at night, I come back to bed and see you and Ana, and think, well.... [sniff]... I love you guys...

Adjusting to Siblinghood

A new member of the Mystical Body of Christ

Toby was baptized yesterday.


Welcome to the Church, Toby!

About time.

I thought it was high time I actually posted to my own blog. Big kudos to Dan for keeping the machine well oiled. I love my husband. He's the best.

Anyhoo, what can I say that Dan hasn't already? Tobias (aka Toby Wan Kanobi) has been a gem. Up until this morning when he though mom had had enough sleep for one night and got up at 6 just to coo and look around a bit. Little did he know mom had a few tricks of her own. I popped him in the sling where he promptly fell back to sleep, did laundry, made coffee and am now updating my blog. I may be at his beck and call, but I am STILL IN CHARGE.

Ask me again in two weeks.

We are adjusting to a family of four. Which I think is more fun for me and Dan than it is for Ana. Poor Ana. She doesn't know which end is up. Luckily, grandparents abound and she is getting lots of attention.

In other news, it's supposed to hit 65 degrees today on the prairie. Here's hoping the winds won't be galing so hard that Ana can jump some puddles. Maybe even barefoot! Don't tell her I said that though.

Till next time.

Reading with Grandpa

True Love

Multi-tasking, Maternity-style (by Dan)

A scene from our house this morning:

Joy, operating the breast pump with one hand, and a cup of coffee in the other....

More Fun with Toby

We [heart] Toby

Announcing.....

Tobias John Wambeke
born March 9, 2009 at 11:43 AM
6 lbs 14 oz
20 1/4 inches long

Today was the big day! Joy woke up at 4:00 AM, and said, "This has to be it." We tried to get some rest (ha!), and the original plan was to have a nice relaxing morning of laboring. Dan even (foolishly) thought he could sneak in a task or two from work. Yeah right. Things went a little faster this time around. By 7:00 we called Grandma & Grandpa to come pick up Ana, and by 9:00 we were packing up for the car. At 10:00, when we were settled in at the hospital and they were giving Joy the once-over, the nurse suddenly proclaimed, "Holy cow! You're already at 8 centimeters!" Joy grined so large after that comment she practically swallowed her ears. And, well, Toby was born less than two hours later. Joy was a champ the whole way through. I'm so proud of her!!!

So far, we know that Toby likes to sleep. A lot. And he seems to have the nursing thing under control. So that's good.

Grandma & Grandpa brought Ana around for a visit, so she got to see baby Toby for the first time. We've been talking about him to her for so long, and Ana really had gotten to the point of understand some of what was going on, so she handled it really well. She wasn't surprised by him, but was curious about him, and very careful and very attentive to his well-being - when he cried she was visibly concerned. She did ask to nurse him once, so she's not quite getting everything yet. She'll figure it out eventually. She's going to be a great "big sister," for sure.

---

So, I know you're all dying to know about the name. Toby? What's up with that? Well, most of you know how fond Joy & I are of The Office. Well, lesser-known is the fact that my favorite character on that show is actually Toby Flenderson:



No, really.

Okay, the joke's up. I do have a special fondness for Toby, because on some level I see a little bit of myself in him, but that's certainly not why we named our son Tobias.

No, instead here's the scoop. Tobias, which in Hebrew means, "God is great," was a central figure in the Old Testament book of Tobit. (For you Protestants out there, go to the "Apocrypha" section in your Bible, if it has one. You'll find Tobit in there. You Catholics, just look in your copy with the rest of the Old Testament books.) He was the son of Tobit. In the story, God sends the Archangel Raphael to heal Tobit and to bring Tobias and Sarah together in marriage. Sarah had been the unfortunate victim of a demon, who had murdered each of her seven successive husbands on her seven successive wedding nights. (How's that for a curse?) Raphael gives Tobias instruction on how to cast away the demon, as well as how to heal Tobit upon their return home. The whole story's worth a read (read it here), especially the funny part where Sarah's parents basically ask Tobias, "you really sure you want to do this?" and then go dig a burial hole as they send him into what they assume will be a death-by-bedchamber-demon.

In the story, Tobias exemplifies the characteristics of honesty, devotion, and purity of heart that we hope our son will someday grow to emulate.

At our wedding Mass many years ago, Joy & I chose a Scripture passage from Tobit. It was Tobias' prayer on his wedding night:

Blessed are you, O God of our fathers, and blessed be your holy and glorious name for ever. Let the heavens and all your creatures bless you. You made Adam and gave him Eve his wife as a helper and support. From them the race of mankind has sprung. You did say, `It is not good that the man should be alone; let us make a helper for him like himself.' And now, O Lord, I am not taking this sister of mine because of lust, but with sincerity. Grant that I may find mercy and may grow old together with her.
-Tobit 8:5-7

---

Toby, we don't know where God will lead you in life, when you eventually leave our protective care. Wherever it may be, our prayer is that you will have developed those habits of honesty and purity of heart that will serve you and more importantly serve God. Right now, though, we're not too concerned. First things first - we've got to get to know you. And that's going to be a fun adventure all in itself...

Overheard (Maternity Edition), by Dan

Frazzled Wife, to Husband (after spending 5 minutes convincing Daughter to put on her jacket):

You know, as I survey the rest of my life, sometimes all I see are a massive sequence of motivational talks...

Fun in the Sun

It is a rare day when the day actually unfolds as I blissfully and dreamily imagined it would.

We woke up to gray skies and flurries. I mentioned to Dan how fun it would be to go for a hike, except that the weather didn't look too good. My pessimism was affirmed when we saw that the forecast did indeed include a blizzard.

So, I thought of plan B. How fun it would be to see some friends and visit. However, Sundays seem to have become a day when everyone scurries off to their homes and squirrel away some time for house projects, etc. Ourselves included. So, I hung that hope up as well.

Imagine my surprise when, as we drove home from church, the skies cleared up, the wind settled down and the sun shone warm. We took that hike after all. In fact, we spent the entire afternoon outside. First, we went to the pasture and spent two hours looking for field mice, spiders, strange looking mushrooms, and jumping off of tree stumps. Then, while I napped on the couch, Dan and Ana continued the fun without me by wheeling out the cold frame and tromping about the yard.

But what shall we do for dinner? Turns out St. Ed's in Minneota was having a fund raiser dinner. So, off we went where we got to visit with all of our friends and Dan's parents. Ana had a great time running around with other little girls (I mean, whose favorite memory isn't running around the church basement with your friends?). Not to mention all the fudge Fr. Jeremy snuck into her very willing mouth.

We finally made it home, around 8:30. Just in time for bed and a little time for mom and dad to relax.

But the best part of the day? Dan checking his work schedule only to reveal that he CAN stay home tomorrow instead of driving off to St. Paul on Wee Wambeke's due date.

Sometime during dinner, Dan wiped off some dirt from Ana's face. I turned to my friend Lila and said, "She could actually use that all over her body. Today she fell in the mud three times, still has ketchup on her face from lunch, her hands are full of syrup, and there's fudge (FR. JEREMY!) in the corner's of her mouth."

To which Lila replied, "Sounds like it was a good Sunday."

I couldn't agree more.

Overheard, Day #3 (by Dan)

Wife, to Daughter:

Ana, I don't think you should be coloring on Mama's belly.

Overheard, Day #2 (by Dan)

Daughter, holding a one-dollar bill, to Wife:

Is this Mama?

Wife, to Daughter:

No, that's George Washington.

Overheard, This Morning (by Dan)

Wife, to Daughter [after daughter had removed all articles of clothing]:

"Ana, can you put your diaper back on?"

Daughter, to Wife:

"No. I'm naked."

O Guacamole. Did I spell that right?

Last week I picked up a couple of advocados intending to make some guacamole, a little taste of summer when we aren't even into spring, really. I finally got to making it this morning, and was inspired to smear a heaping pile onto my toast, and top it with a fried egg and some cheese.

OMG! As the kids say these days. Can I have some more?

Here was my super simple recipe:
2 medium advocados
1/4 t. salt
2 minced cloves of garlic
1/4 t. cumin
2 T. lime juice

Mash it all together and, maybe, just skip the toast and smear it right into your mouth.

Some things are REALLY telling... (by Dan)

A phrase I heard, spoken matter-of-factly, in the middle of something Joy was saying this morning:

"So when I picked up my belly to move it over..."

Yeah, I think it's time for that baby to come out.