Captain Bogg

Way back when Max began his pirate obsession, he named Lucian "Captain Bogg", not knowing that "Captain" meant "head of the ship"... "person in charge".  He has since figured that out, and although Louie's name hasn't changed, Max makes it clear that Captain Bogg is actually his first mate and/or cabin boy, depending on the day. So far Louie doesn't mind, but I think I foresee a possible mutiny in the future...

Awhile ago, my dad brought both boys to see a puppet show by Heart of the Beast theater, called "Monkey Mind Pirates". Both boys really enjoyed it, and my dad bought the CD for them afterward. For a few weeks following the show, we listened to that CD at least seven times a day! I think I know every word to every song, and I know Max does. The surprising thing, though, is that Lucian is really the one who is hooked on this music! Every time he sees the CD player, he walks over to it and yells in a growly pirate voice, "Arrrr, Tee-Tee!" (This is Lucianese for "Arrr, Matey!", the name of one of the songs on the disc). The more we listened to that CD, the more Lucian began to turn into a pirate like his brother. It is now a rare moment that at least one of them does not have a cutlass, sword or pistol in hand... and often they spend their time sword fighting each other! Thankfully we have collected enough weapons and pirate hats around these parts to fully satisfy two buccaneers.

The defining moment came during prayers last week. It was a flash back to this day, over a year ago, when Max said all of his prayers in an enthusiastic pirate voice. Well, guess who decided to take after his big brother? Yes, even though he only knows the last word or so of each prayer, Lucian has started to pirate-growl his prayers... and his bedtime song! I sing "Twinkle, twinkle..." and he chimes in with "Yiddle tarrrrr!"

So even in the unlikely event that Max outgrows his pirate fixation, I think we have a new little scallywagg who's ready to take the wheel!

Shopping with a Pirate

I wonder how many of my blog posts have a pirate-related title? It seems like any time I have a story to tell about Max, those scallywags are somehow involved. Tonight it was a simple trip to Target for corned beef and heavy whipping cream (not to be used together, I assure you). We were waiting at the deli counter and Max started softly singing, "fifteen men on a dead man's chest... yo ho ho and a bottle of rum..." The deli worker looked up at him and asked, "So you like pirates, huh?"  "ARRR!" was his enthusiastic response, followed by, "Do you want to hear my pirate song?" Of course she did, and he repeated (at a much higher volume) "Fifteen MEN on a dead man's CHEST! YO HO HO and a bottle of RUM! Want to hear it again?" and hear it again she did, whether she wanted to or not. By then our meat was sliced, but as we wheeled away from the deli counter, he continued to sing at top volume until he finally got distracted by the frozen dinner aisle. I could barely keep a straight face, but I couldn't help wondering what all the other customers were thinking of me... "Where did that sweet, innocent child learn a song about dead men and rum? What kind of mother lets her child sing about such things??"

But crazy mother or not, I made no attempt to stop him. In fact, our pirate adventure continued into the kids clothing section, where Target was having some great deals on summer clothes. I started sorting through shorts and t-shirts and found not one, not two, but three pirate-themed t-shirts in Max's size. Meant to be? I think yes. I took the kids to the dressing room so Max could try on some shorts, and he Argh'ed his heart out to the dressing room attendant, who assured him that he made a very convincing pirate. When he took out his "hook" and began challenging her to a fight, however, I decided it was time to move on. By the time we made it to the check-out, Max Salty had retired for the evening and my own Maximilian was back. But what an adventure we had!

We Adore You, O Christ...

"Dear Jesus, I adore you. I love you and thank you for dying on the cross for me... Today I want to follow You up the hill of Calvary and to understand a little better at each station all that it cost You to make me God's child. If I had been the only person in the world, You would have been willing to suffer in just the same way... Thank You for loving me so much. Please teach me every day to love You more and more."
   -Stations of the Cross for Children, Preparatory Prayer.

Paul and I have tried to make a commitment this Lent to pray the Stations of the Cross with the boys every Friday. I am overwhelmed by the idea of bringing the kids to St. Joseph's parish Stations of the Cross, because although it doesn't last too long, I feel like the time would be spent more on shushing and juggling wiggly kids than praying and teaching. So instead, we have decided to go to the church by ourselves in the evening and walk the Stations as a family. We found a great children's version of the Stations at a blog called Family Feast and Feria. The link to the printable booklet is here.

This week, we are heading out of town today so we won't be able to make it to the church. Instead Paul came up with the idea of having Max draw each of the stations so that we could pray it in our living room! It turned out to be a great idea for our little artist- he took some creative license (Mary ended up with a pirate's hat, and Simon of Cyrene has a toy pirate ship), but he got the basic idea. The best part was that it gave us a great opportunity to discuss each of the stations as he was drawing them! When he drew Jesus being stripped of His garments, Max's big question was whether Jesus would ever get a new robe. We talked for awhile and decided that in Heaven, Jesus would make a brand new shiny robe for Himself! When he drew Jesus falling the first time, his immediate question was, "Who's going to help Him??" Out of the mouths of babes...

When we were done coloring, we placed the drawings in a line through our living room and up the stairs. Then we walked from station to station as we would at the church, stopping to pray at each picture. It turned out to be a beautiful way to pray the Stations right in our home!

Real Pirates: Aboard the Whydah

Months ago, it was brought to my attention that there would be a pirate exhibit at the Science Museum starting in February. Of course we marked it on our calendar right away, and soon we started to see Jolly Roger banners and posters finding their way into downtown St. Paul. The Red Balloon Bookstore hosted a pirate party a few weekends ago, and Max has been on pins and needles to visit the actual exhibit since then.

Thursday evening turned out to be the perfect time to go! We ate a quick, early dinner when Paul got home and  made it to the museum by 5:30. Apparently 5:30 on a Thursday is not prime museum visitation time, because we had the run of the place. Max got to spend as much time as he wanted at each piece of the exhibit, and we even backtracked to his favorite spots a couple of times.

And what an exhibit it was! I'm heartbroken that I forgot my camera, but I guess words will have to suffice. We started out in a dark room watching a short video on the history of Captain Sam Bellamy and the Pirate Ship Whydah, then the screen rose to reveal the actual ship's bell that rang as the ship sank into the sea three hundred years ago. It just got better from there. We learned how to load a cannon, make sailing rope and play "Sheep's Knuckles" - Max lost the game to a "real live" pirate and was told he'd have to be pressed into service on a ship til he could pay his debt. (Too bad it didn't really happen... it would have been a dream come true for our son!) The rope maker even gave Max a piece of the rope that he wound right in front of us... and that rope stayed tight in Max's fist for the remainder of the exhibit.

We also hoisted a Jolly Roger, learned about the different flags used by famous pirate captains, and touched actual pieces of eight-- real Spanish silver pieces recovered from the wreck of the Whydah. Interesting factoid: the treasure from this shipwreck is the only real pirate treasure ever discovered! And there were chests and bags full of it! Wow...

The crowning moments for Max were getting to step foot on a scale model of the Whydah's main deck, stand in the captain's cabin next to a model of Cap't Bellamy, and walk down into the hold of the ship. For the first time, all his imagining became totally real for him and he could stand among pirates on a ship! Unfortunately he wasn't allowed to climb the rigging (yes, he asked) but he still had a magical experience.

This was our first trip to the Science Museum, and we learned that they really know how to do things right! If we could, we'd go back again every day until the exhibit closes. Max certainly would never get bored, and honestly, there's plenty more I'd like to see again!

If ever his interest in pirates was in danger of waning (which I don't really believe it was), this trip to the museum was enough to solidify his passion for the foreseeable future. So shiver me timbers, mateys, we're off to sea!

Snow Day Baking

My mom's neighbor coined a phrase this morning that perfectly describes our current experience: we are "slushed-in"! West St. Paul is usually right on top of things when it comes to plowing, but I guess they decided it wasn't really worth it today. Our alley hasn't even been touched, and that's usually the first to be cleared! So it turned into a nice, quiet day at home, watching the pretty flakes fall... and then melt as they land... turning into messy slop on the roads. Well, at least the trees are beautiful!

One of my new favorite morning activities to do with the boys is baking. I love baked goods, and the boys love getting their hands dirty. Win-win. This morning, we decided on cinnamon-vanilla scones with vanilla glaze. (drooooool...) I gathered the ingredients and utensils on the kitchen table, and we went to town! Max has become quite a good little helper, and Lucian... well... he tries. As Max carefully measured flour into the bowl, Lucian scooped it right back out with a wooden spoon. After Max whisked an egg in a measuring cup, Lucian promptly knocked the cup over, spilling egg all over the table!

I tried to include him as much as I could, but it's a little bit of a wonder our batter turned out at all. I was helping him measure a teaspoon of baking powder, but he got so frustrated that I wouldn't let him do it himself that he flung the teaspoon up in the air, half of the powder landing in our already-measured flour and sugar. I estimated the correct amounts from there and attempted to keep him at arms length until the kneading began. That he was able to do just fine! The boys "smooshed" and "lumped" the dough, and I formed and cut it. We let the scones bake, glazed them, and my oh my were they good!

In case you want to try these yourself, we found the super easy recipe here. The glaze I added was just 1 cup of powdered sugar mixed with a couple tablespoons of milk (keep adding until it's the right consistency) and a splash of vanilla. We drizzled the scones with glaze after they cooled. Honestly, that was the hardest part of the whole process: waiting for the darn things to cool. But patience is a virtue... and they were worth the wait!

Lent for Little Ones

The season of Lent has officially begun, and we are all in! We began our Lenten journey with Ash Wednesday Mass and some tuna noodle casserole. (of course.) Lent has brought with it an interesting new challenge this year- I have a four year old son who asks questions about everything. I find myself fielding a continuous stream of "Why?" questions from the time he wakes up to the time he closes his eyes. Lots of his questions are easy, many of them are great, some are so silly I just fire them right back at him. Often he comes up with some pretty creative answers to his own questions.

But when it comes to questions of the faith, I try my very best to give straightforward answers that he can digest. NOT an easy task! And in a season that focuses on the suffering and death of our Savior, simple answers are even harder to come by. When he asks me, "Why did the soldiers put a crown of thorns on Jesus' head?" where do I even start? How do I explain sin and evil to a boy who still doesn't think anyone would ever purposely harm anyone?

So I'm putting it in God's hands, and I'm tossing up lots of quick prayers to the Holy Spirit for wisdom in those moments. And instead of focusing only on the pain and suffering that Jesus endured for us, we are focusing on the little things we can do to relieve His pain.

That's where this craft comes in. Together we made a Crown of Thorns, an idea that I first heard from some Catholic friends a few years ago and was reintroduced to just a few days ago. The baking directions I used are found here, and it was a simple project that both boys could be totally involved in. The idea is this: we made a braided crown out of salt dough, covered it in "thorns" (toothpicks), and baked it. Surprisingly (or maybe not...) I was the only one who managed to stab myself with a toothpick!

Throughout Lent, whenever the boys do something kind for someone or make a small sacrifice, they can remove a thorn from the crown. By Easter, we hope the thorns will all be removed, and we plan to paint the crown gold and decorate it with jewels to represent Jesus' triumph! Max is, of course, already stoked about this crown becoming a real King's crown, and every time he sees the crown he asks me for ideas of how to remove another thorn.

It's looking to be a very fruitful Lent!

The Big Reveal

I know you've all been dying to see it... the new, improved guest room and entryway! During the process of remodeling, we disconnected our computer and thus had no internet access, so I'm very sorry for the long wait. But I promise you, it's worth it! If you can't stand the suspense, feel free to scroll to the bottom of the page and ogle the pics a bit before reading my ramblings, but no home improvement project would be truly complete without giving the play-by-play! (I'll try not to go overboard)

It all started about a month ago, when my friend Jess and her husband decided to organize their kids' toys into a cool cube bookshelf with pull-out drawers. I decided right then and there that I wanted to be a copycat, so I started mentioning the bookshelf idea to Paul. He said it sounded like a nice idea, but our conversations never went beyond that. Finally, after a couple of weeks of no action, I told him that I wanted to go out hunting for a book shelf organizer for our toys. I was going to take action! All of a sudden, it was as if I had opened the floodgates...

It turns out that Paul's hesitation in buying any new furniture for our living room stemmed from a desire to finish and reorganize our guest room. Until we finished the guest room, we wouldn't know for sure which furniture would remain in our living room, and how much space we would have for a bookshelf. "So," I asked him, "What do we need to do in order for me to get my bookshelf?" (which was all I really wanted to begin with) Turns out, the answer was carpet! Not only in the guest room, but the stairs and hallway as well!

So we got some estimates, signed papers on Friday, planned the install for Tuesday... and then like any sane person would do, decided that as long as the carpet would be ripped out, we should paint! We hightailed it to Menards, chose our paint colors, and spent the entire long weekend prepping and painting the house before the installers arrived Tuesday morning. My dear, amazing, wonderful husband did the brunt of the prep work while I was off at a women's retreat Friday and Saturday... managing most of it with kids underfoot! Sunday we did as much as we could while the kids were awake, then we broke out the paint after bedtime... finishing the trim work at 1:00 am. Ouch.

On Monday, I took the kids down to my parents' house to get them out of the way while Paul painted all by his lonesome, all day. I came home, put the kids to bed, and got down to work. I did the best I could, but crashed sometime between 12:30 and 1:00... I don't really remember going to bed. Paul never told me what time he finished the last of it; I'm not sure I want to know. Oh and did I mention we both had terrible colds? And, oh yeah, I'm pregnant? Talk about the will to succeed! (talk about running on fumes...)

The installers came Tuesday and did a beautiful job. Now I no longer care if I get my toy shelf; I'm too busy basking in the glow of a fully finished bedroom and a beautiful new entryway! Ready for it? (or did you cheat?) Our latest home improvements!

Before (Doesn't do justice to the icky hue of brown paint on the banister):

After (Oooohhhh):

Before (you can't see the hideous unfinished floor or baseboards):

After (Aaahhh):