An Explosion of Activity

In the dead of winter, when there is time to write, the ideas eventually start to peter out. I wonder if I will run out of things to write about. Then spring comes and – BOOM! – there is an explosion of activity, with ideas speeding around my head like a group of electrons threatening to collide, and there is no time to write!

Things have gotten worse in regards to my schedule. I am having very un-Christian thoughts about the people who decided it would be a good idea to have all the grades have their science fair on the same date this year. However, I am wishing I hadn’t gotten myself all stressed out by worrying in advance. Everything is getting done, although I am losing my cool more often than usual.

I keep having wrenches thrown in the works. Like a jury summons. In order to request an excusal, I had to write a letter explaining that I am the primary caregiver to four minors, enclosing copies of birth certificates as proof, and explaining why I could not get someone else to watch them. Just one more thing to add to the long list of things to do this week.

Things are coming together for my son’s First Communion. We got the hardest part of the banner done today. He picked out the symbols he wanted and I cut them out and glued them on. I may add some embellishments later, but the basics are done. Most of the food shopping has been done, and the order placed for heroes and salads. His hair was freshly cut and he looks adorable.

I spent the day cleaning his room. On a daily and weekly basis, this is his own responsibility, but once a year or so it becomes necessary to really get in there and do a thorough revamping. A glance behind a dresser reveals a wealth of socks, legos, and other small items that have fallen back there. All furniture must be moved, dusted, and vacuumed behind. As my husband left for work, I joked about being like the Holy Spirit who restored order to the Earth that was void.

Several hours later, my son arrived home to find all his toys sorted. Cars, legos, Lincoln logs, assorted figurines, blocks, marbles, baseball cards, and miscellaneous small items. He really does enjoy having things organized like this, but things do tend to get out of control when several creative children live in the house! (I also did this for my ten-year-old last month, while she was at a sleepover, but my almost-twelve-year-old has gotten the hang of it, and values her privacy, so I let her room be.)

Here is where you may think I am a little crazy. I spent a good part of the weekend out in the rain watching my girls try out for the summer travel softball team. Why, oh why, would you want to extend the season for several more weeks, you might ask. This is where I agree with my mother-in-law, who likes to cite a study in which people were asked to select a problem they would like to have in lieu of their own; most people chose their own problems.

I am not trying to boast here when I say my kids have athletic ability. All kids have some kind of God-given talent and it is up to us to nurture that. This travel team is professionally run by a group of soft-hearted guys who really teach the girls how to play ball, and display good sportswomanship. The girls they play with are really terrific kids, and I would love for my girls to get to bond with them before high school.

I am having a problem wrapping this up, so I’ll leave you with this helpful list.

Tips for coping in times of stress:
Don’t stress out if it’s not going to be helpful.
Remember to pray throughout the day.
Carry a pocket devotional with you – there are always periods of waiting when you can get two minutes of soul food in.
Carry nuts (if not allergic), granola bars, water, and baby wipes in the car.
Never rush in and out of the car even when in a hurry – this is when driveway accidents happen.
Close the day with prayer and time with God’s Word.

“The Creation” by Matthaeus Merian the Elder, 1625-30

Hungarian Cookies

This is our version of “Non Plus Ultra”. We turned them into miniature sandwich cookies. The entire original family recipe appears in the classic by George Lang (1971), “The Cuisine of Hungary” (Crown Publishers, Inc., New York).

This is a multi-step recipe. First you cook the cookies for 15 minutes. Then coat one side with meringue and let them sit in the hot oven to dry for 30 minutes. Then you put the jam on the uncoated side and make the sandwiches.

In the family recipe by George Lang, you would cut out 2-inch cookies, then cut out a 1-inch hole in half of them. The whole cookie would go on the bottom, then the jam, with the disc on top so that the jam shows through the middle. You can use any kind of jam. We used strawberry.

I made the batter and meringue and my 11-year-old daughter did the rest of the work, to bring in to school as samples of Hungarian cuisine. The reason we made them so small is we had run out of eggs and could not make more batter!

My daughter saved me one. It was so flaky and moist that it melted in my mouth! If they didn’t take all day to make I’d make them everyday!

Palm Sunday 2009: The Week in Review

For the first time perhaps in our entire family history, we got to church early enough to get seats for Palm Sunday. I love it when we can get a whole pew for our family. Usually there is a solitary person sitting at the end of the pew, and they look like their peace was disturbed when all six of us trip past. Then they have to tolerate all the bumps and nonsense that occurs throughout the mass. Often the person disappears right after Communion. I wonder if they found a better spot or left entirely.

“Wasn’t it worth getting there ten minutes early?” I ask my husband as we leave.

“What’s the difference? We have to stand for most of it anyway,” he replies.

He’s not the one the little one usually goes to, so if we are forced to stand I wind up holding all 30 pounds of her, while wearing heels. Just knowing we can sit if we need to is a relief.

So I enjoyed our Mass. As soon as we got home, my ten-year-old daughter and I went to get our raggedy hairs trimmed. Then we all went for a bike ride.

The kids and my husband spent what seemed like hours washing the cars. They haven’t been cleaned for the entire winter, so there was lots of scrubbing to do. Meanwhile, I worked in the kitchen, making up my own special dish I christened Chicken Extravaganza, which will be featured in this blog tomorrow.

I also helped my eleven-year-old daughter with her Hungarian culture project. There was research to be done for the report, and for the class food sample we made these lovely little cookies that are similar to Linza Tarts. These also will be displayed on this blog this week.

We got some fun shopping last night. I am not big on shopping, but I do enjoy buying Easter dresses for my girls each year. I took my two older girls to Kohl’s where they each tried on about twenty dresses. They were really hysterical, laughing and commenting loudly to each other through the stall. I wondered how many people outside were listening to the songs they made up.

They finally settled on what they called “seaweed mermaid dresses”. They are matching, flowy, green and blue dresses with thick straps, which they will wear with white sweaters on Easter. They reminded them of mermaids because of how flowy they are, and of seaweeds because of the surreal mixed green and blue pattern.

This week at softball practice I commented to another mother on how cute the girls were at this age. She looked at me like I was crazy. She looked at my toddler and said, “I’d like to bottle them up at this age and keep them that way forever.”

What I thought adorable was the pure enjoyment that girls take in their friends and teammates. My girls have been playing in the same league since they were five, and have played with each of the other girls on the same team at least once, and against their team on the other years. When they met for the first practice, they literally jumped into each other’s arms, hugging one another.

God made babies to grow up, and watching them fulfill their potential as they grow through each stage is such a blessing.

Painting by Fra Angelico, 1450, Entry into Jerusalem