Things Kids Say – Page 3 – Susanna Spencer

Seven Quick Takes, April 11

1. We have a walking one year old! F at 17 months has been our latest walker so far. She is a bit of a perfectionist, I think, and did not want to commit to walking until she was sure she could do it completely. She is now walking about 95% of the time, a huge difference from about 2% of the time. It is pretty cute to see her stand up, get set to waddle, and walk with her elbows at her side and her hands sticking out to each side with her fingers spread wide. It does make life a little more complicated since she wants to spend every second she is awake “‘side” in the backyard waddling around after her sisters. When she is not out with them, she stands on the kitchen nook bench and watches longingly. Occassionally, while watching she will get down and go to the door demanding, “Socks! Shoes! ‘Side!” And becomes angry when she is refused.

2. Last night F woke up around 1:30am with an awful cough, wheezy breath, and a hot little body. I nursed her and put her back to bed only for her to wake up again 30 minutes later. The poor girl was so sad and could not even say words without talking. We decided to give her some pain relief and I finally got her comfortable after nursing again. She slept until 8am, but was still coughing ans wheezing, so we skipped gym co-op and went up to the doctor instead. I am maybe a little over cautious when it comes to breathing issues, but we do have a family history of asthma on both sides, and L has already had episodes. By the time we saw the doctor she was acting a lot better and did not cough for him once. He said it would be okay to nebulize her until the wheezing goes away even though her lungs sounded clear. I do wonder if maybe she is developing seasonal allergies, and they were triggered by the crunchy leaf bath she received from L in the backyard yesterday.

3. To encourage the big girls in our outing to the doctor this morning, I promised them fried cheese curds from Culvers, if they were good. There is a Culvers just past the highway we take home from the doctor, and since we realized that they have this delectable wonder of a food, it has always been in the back of my mind. We might have to make it a tradition. First of all, they are meatless, so they are okay on Friday. Second, they are cheese not potato, so healthier because of protein. I can’t believe I never stopped there while pregnant with F. I just always went to Burger King across the way for fries and a milkshake. Now it is Culvers all the way. Thirdly, a large is just the right size for the girls and I to split, and once they cool a little bit they squeak! I am going to try using my HSA card next time, because I am pretty sure the necessary stop at Culvers is a medical expense that counts towards our deductible. Just saying…

4. The best fried cheese curds we have ever had are not from Culvers or the State Fair, but from a family restaurant in Albert Lea, MN called The Trumbles. They have typical family restaurant fair and quality, but when we saw the cheese curds on the menu, we knew that they would be done to perfection. And they were. We have stopped there twice on our way home from St. Louis, but usually we just stop at a Culvers 30 minutes from Minnesota, because it makes a perfect second and only stop in the 8 1/2 hour drive. If we waited for Albert Lea, we would have to make three stops.

5. Today at lunch, L (3) told me her understanding of Hell and Purgatory:

L: “If you are just a little bit bad and a little bit good, when you die, you go to Purgatory for a time out, and then you go to Heaven. If you are really bad, when you die, you go to Hell and stay there forever!”
Me: “That’s right. Where did you learn that?”
L: “G told me!”
G (5 and in a matter of fact tone): “Daddy told me all about Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory last summer.”

6. For those of you not in Minnesota, I just want to let you know that, while we have snow on the ground in some places still, Wednesday was sunny with a high of 75! It was glorious. Next week does not promise to be as warm, but anything about 30 is okay with me! Above 40 is even better, and I dare not hope too much for 50s, since this is April in Minnesota after all. M is going to build a garden box this weekend, and we might get some things in the ground next week. And since F is finally walking and loves to run around the yard, I can spend a good amount of time gardening.

St. Gemma in her final resting place in the Sanctuary of St. Gemma in Lucca, Italy. M took this photo when we stopped in Lucca for a couple of hours.

7. Finally, I want to wish you all a happy Feast of St. Gemma Galgani. She is my Confirmation saint, and had a really intense life in sickness and in prayer. Here is an account of her last months of life during which she experienced the Passion on Good Friday with Jesus and passed away on Holy Saturday. To celebrate I made some hot cross buns, using this delicious recipe:


Leftover after breakfast.

For more Quick Takes head on over to Jen’s Conversion Diary!

Pondering the Long Lived Snowman

First of all, if you follow me through facebook normally, and are not using Facebook during Lent, you can follow me in two ways, add me to your RSS feed or sign up to receive email updates!——>
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I have a lovely view outside my front window.

To the left is the three month old snowman and to the right is the two month old snowwoman. They were once young and beautiful, and now they are shriveled heads. Their grotesque look makes me think that they are more appropriate for October along with the skeletons and goblins people put on their lawns, but then I think that maybe they area appropriate for now. Lent starts tomorrow, and if they were human persons and could go to church, they would get ashes and be reminded that they are dust. They are not dust, though some dirt has mingled with their once pure white snow. But they will return to the earth eventually. But how many snowmen survive all of Advent and make it to Lent?

Here in Minnesota we must persevere through the rest of this severe Winter, and join it to our Lenten penances. I was explaining to G (almost 5) this morning about what penances our family is doing for Lent together, and then suggested she might like to do something herself for Lent. She thought for a moment and said, “We should make a cheesecake!” I think maybe someone is not able to distinguish between feast day celebrations and penitential seasons. She also declared that she loves Ash Wednesday because she really likes getting ashes.

We Spencers had a Shrove Tuesday Feast of bacon, creamy potato “risotto”, and sauted strawberries baked in crepes with ice cream. Have a happy Fat Tuesday, and tighten your belts for the Lenten season!

No, that is not my sippy cup.

I need to figure out how to make my camera make food look as good as it tastes…
Yes, yes, that is my wine…

Seven Quick Takes: Friday, February 7

1. For all of you who have been asking, my dad is still in recovery mode from his emergency surgery. He is tired out very easily, and is still sleeping a lot. But that makes a lot of sense considering that he had his chest cut open, his aorta partially replaced, and was sewed back up just three weeks ago. He is getting physical therapy now, and I think it motivated by the thoughts of seeing grandchildren in March to keep on track. Thank you again for all of your prayers and support to my family. It is a great blessing to me to hear about friends who have been taking care of my parents when I live so far away.

2. I have been a little bummed about the Olympics this year. I don’t understand why publicly broadcasted things can only be seen when one has a TV with an antennae. When will stations just start having a live stream on their website? It makes total sense to me. If they have the commercials and everything, why can’t it be there? Further, I feel like the Olympics should be broadcasted more freely than normal TV. If it is this internationally unifying event, why leave out those cool enough to not have a TV.

3. I have been making soups this Winter from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The one last week was garlic soup. It was a little strange. Basically I cooked whole garlic in water with salt, whole cloves, parsley, thyme, and pepper for 30 minutes and then strained it. Then I beat slowly into the soup egg yolks that had been beaten with oil. It is supposed to be really good for your health, but the cloves gave it a weird flavor. There is an alternative ending to the recipe without the egg yolks, but with potatoes and saffron. We are thinking we might like that better and still get the healthful benefits of the garlic.

4. Some of our friends spent all of January in Texas, and apparently their kids cannot handle being back in Minnesota because of the cold. However, I am really glad to have them back especially because my friend R is very encouraging of my writing. I make no promises, but I hope to be writing a lot more as long as we manage to have good conversation over children playing.

5. M has been extra busy these last two weeks, since his department has been interviewing for new hires. He has gone to dinner three times in the past two weeks and not gotten home until after 9pm. Once again, I am so thankful that I only have to manage bedtime alone on occasion and am in awe of parents who do it alone all the time.

6. G (4.5) and L (3) were competing today about who’s imagination was bigger. Arms outstretched, “My imagination is THIS BIG!” G said her’s has a billion pictures in it, and L retorted that her’s has 20. At least L can count to the number of pictures. And if you are wondering these are pictures of monsters. Some of them are good and some of them are bad, but the bad ones only cause nightmares when you are awake. They must have been having a lot of nightmares while they stayed up until 9:15pm tonight.

7. This kid won’t walk, but stairs are not a problem. 15 months today!

Linking up to Jen and her Conversion Diary! Click over for more Quick takes!

Seven Quick Takes–Saturday, November 23

1. And it is the weekend again already! The days just fly by with the kids and keeping house. I am really thankful for my Monday resolution, which I might need to alter to include email. I missed a few important emails during the day this week, so I think I need to allow myself a quick email check. Facebook, however, can wait until the kids are in bed.

2. G (4.5) picked out a book at the library last week about a little girl and her grandma. At the end of the book the grandma dies, and the girl discusses death and how she misses her grandma. Out of the stack of 13 books, this is her favorite to have read to her. She has not yet known anyone who has passed away, but she will someday. I don’t really know if literature can prepare a little child for such a loss, but maybe it will help her understand what has happened better when she encounters it in her own life. Maybe I will follow up on the book by discussing praying for the souls of the dead.

3. I am cooking my own Thanksgiving turkey this year for the first time in my life! Our first three married Thanksgivings we were traveling, and last year our aunt and uncle cooked dinner for us in our home since I was three weeks post-partum at the time. This year my in-laws are coming to visit, and my mother-in-law and I planned the meal earlier this week. Everything but the turkey and L’s birthday request of mac and cheese is going to be vegan for the benefit of M’s youngest sister. However, this meal should be no problem compared to the Pate de Canard en Croute that I made Wednesday and Thursday.

4. We bought a treadmill last weekend, and it is a good thing we waited until we bought house to get something so huge and heavy! We got it safely down into the basement study with the help of M’s colleague. Many thanks to him for his help! It is just in time for today’s high of 18°F. If I was cool and had a smartphone I would post a screen shot of the weather forecast here.

5. In case you are wondering, I am still working my way through Crime and Punishment. I am over halfway now. Maybe I should have a two week deadline for myself. I will try to have it done by St. Nicholas day. Speaking of St. Nicholas day, when one emphasizes that with kids instead of Santa, one hears things like this from one’s 4.5 year old, upon seeing Christmas displays with candy:

“Look, Mom! They are getting ready for St. Nicholas day!”

Photo by Brian Behrend. This is not the dog we saw.

6. The world from the perspective of a nearly three year old gets pretty interesting. Today I found L looking out the front window at a lady walking her dog. She said to me, “That dog broke his poor little body!” I took a closer look at the dog. He was wearing a sweater. I almost did not want to explain to her that he was not in a full body cast, because it was so cute that she thought this.

7. Please take a moment to pray for a friend’s (from grad school) wife and newborn baby. She just had an emergency c-section and apparently the baby is not doing well.

Linking up with Jen’s Conversion Diary. Head on over for more quick takes.

Seven Quick Takes, Oct. 18

This is my second post of the day after a weeks hiatus. Let’s just say that mothering three children does not always allow for blogging…

1. For number one, I want to thank Fr. Z for turning my latest Truth and Charity post into a “Guest Post” on his blog. I really appreciate that he read my email and took time to read my post. Thanks, Father!

2. The Saga of the Leaky Pipe Continues… Here is the current look of our basement:

This one is not quite current, the ceiling in this family room is mostly put up.

The laundry room is painted.

Spare Oom. Maybe we should skip carpet and go for a marbled cement look?

While entertained hopes of the basement being finished by next week, the carpet is not due to be manufactured for two more weeks and the ceiling is slow in going up…

3. I was trying to convince L (2.75) to go outside today by telling her that it was going to be cold soon. Her response: “When it gets cold out then it will snow and then we can go ice skating!” She has no clue what ice skating it like… though maybe we need to look into taking her sometime this winter…

4. I bought a large squash at the farmer’s market this morning. The farmer told me that it would be good for pie. He cut one open to show the inside. It looked orangey-red and fleshy. I think it will be good. Last year we tried out the blue hubbard squash, and it made delicious pies and breads.

I am not sure what kind of squash it is, but it looks like a pretty close relative of the pumpkin.

5. I first read Dostoyevsky while in college, starting with The Brothers Karamazov. It took me a really long time to read the book. Until now I thought it was because it was a long book, but now I am realizing that it probably was because whenever I read Dostoyevsky I get so caught up in the story and the characters that I lose track of myself. I started Crime and Punishment a couple of weeks ago, and am only about 70 pages into it. Wednesday I spent about 30 minutes of naptime reading it, and got caught up so much in Raskolnikov and his emotions, thoughts, and actions it took me about 10 minutes to realize that I had not just committed an awful crime for which I was probably going to get caught for… Dostoyevsky, yeah… read him.

6. I am currently watching Game 6 of the NLCS with my MLB app. It is possibly the last baseball game I will watch this season because of our voluntary lack of television. If the Cardinals hold onto their 9-0 lead then I will have to listen to the KMOX broadcast of the World Series games.

7. And I leave you with Carly Simon singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” And the video I want won’t imbed so you have to go there.

Head on over to Jen’s for more Quick Takes!

Seven Quick Takes, Oct. 11

1. Today I am pretty sure I hit the ultimate level of mom-coolness. Well, probably not, but I felt pretty cool cruising home from our home school gym co-op in our Honda Odyssey with all the windows down including the sun roof with three little girls giggling and shrieking about the wind on this gorgeous, warmish Autumn afternoon.

Photo from The Adventures of Kristin and Adam.

And then we got to the High Bridge. I sped across with Mumford & Sons blaring, and the fall colors blazing. It was a truly fun drive. Okay, I am done, and now you all know that we are slightly obsessed with Mumford & Sons in our home. I am not even sure what the social stigma is that comes with that, but there it is…

2. Saga of the Leaky Pipe Update: Do you smell that? That is the smell of latex paint coming from my basement. The sheetrock is up and the mudding is complete. I directed the proper paint cans to the right rooms this morning and the painting has begun. Tomorrow is supposed to be trimming and ceiling day. Then all we will have left is lighting and outlets, and our flooring. Maybe it will be done before the end of the month! Next week I will post some pictures for sure.

3. L’s head: The poor girl was really feeling her concussion for ten days, like the doctor said she might. I think she is finally recovered now that she is up to mischief again, as opposed to lying on the couch with a headache all day. Yesterday she dumped milk out of the jug all over the table and floor. This is a good sign that she is healed.

4. Cardinals v. Tigers in the World Series? They both still have to win their pennants… M and I being in a relationship has really boded well for both teams. The Cardinals have gone to the playoffs five times since M and I started dating eight years ago. Plus, they have won the World Series twice (which they had not done since 1982). The Tigers have been to the playoffs four times in the past eight years and won two pennants. I think this is clear evidence that the Tigers and the Cardinals will both be winning teams until death do us part…

5. We have my dear friend C visiting us this weekend. She ranks pretty high on my kids list of favorite people. L (2.75) ranks her visit as highly as she does the next snowfall: “Tomorrow Miss C is coming and it will snow! Then I will eat the snow up and jump in it and play in it forever and ever.”

6. I discovered that our library has picture books with audio recordings. I have been allowing G (4.5) to listen to them during her quiet time with my old stereo that I have had since middle school. It does keep her happy for awhile, but I am wondering if it is stifling her ability to imagine on her own during quiet time. “I’m bored!” she just told me, but she is also going through a phase where she does not want to take things out because she does not want to have to clean them up…

7. We have been going to the 7:30 AM Extraordinary Form Low Mass at our parish St. Agnes. I wrote a piece on it for Truth and Charity this week: “The Holy Quiet of the Low Mass”. Even with three little children, the low Mass is a very moving experience.

Head on over to Jen’s Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes.

Seven Quick Takes-Saturday, August 3

1. I have no excuse for not writing these yesterday, except that I wanted to sit and read Sense and Sensibility during naptime. I am on a rereading kick this summer, and Jane Austen has been come to again. It is also in research for a writing piece I am mentally working on which I hope will be written eventually. It is taking more thought that I expected.

2. M and I both have finished rereading The Lord of the Rings, and so we decided to re-watch the movies. The Hobbits just made it to Rivendell and well we decided we cannot watch anymore. Peter Jackson did not get Tolkien and I am pretty sure that he did not actually read the books, because his way of telling the story is so different from the book that it is not even the same story. I really need to stop watching movie versions of books that I think are great and that I love… don’t even get me started on how the movie of The Last of the Mohicans totally got Natty Bumpo’s character wrong…

3. House update: The asbestos should be removed early next week as long as the contractors and the insurance company keep things moving, and the main basement room is going to get a total redo so that it all matches. Hopefully we will get to go over the details of what will be done this week, ie. redo knotty pine paneling or switch to dry wall, carpet style and color, etc…

4. G (4) picks up on random phrases from books and nursery rhymes (which is what makes reading them to her so great). This week her phrase has been “I don’t think I can bear it!” or a toy will “not be able to bear” something. It is pretty cool to hear her explore language and use new phrases without any hesitation.

5. G and L (2.5) like to act out the stories we read to them. I overheard them playing the other day and L was pretending to be “Baby Carrie” from the picture book based on Little House in the Big Woods. I asked G who she was pretending to be, and she explained that she was pretending to be one of her friends (who happens to be the daughter of T).

6. Since he does not have his own blog, my last two quick takes are one’s inspired by M. He has been into Leonard Cohen this week and he shared Cohen’s song “Suzanne” with me. Now he really wants me to feed him tea and oranges from China (picking at my dislike of people forgetting that my name is not Suzanne, but Susanna, as in “O, Susanna”). M has decided that Cohen’s way of combining sexual and theological references is very incarnational and makes him think of the Theology of the Body.

7. This song just came into M’s head. And I reminded him that it was one of my theme song the summer and autumn that we were broken up while he was discerning his vocation.

Head on over to Jen’s Conversion Diary to read more Quick Takes!

Princess and Dragon Music

We listen to classical music fairly often in our family, the kids usually ask for “music with words”, but today something different occurred.

In the car I turned on the classical station music and L (2.5) immediately requested as usual her favorite song (on a CD which is perpetually in the car). G (4) said, “NO! This is princess music! This is the dragon part!” As the music changed, she interpreted the parts to be sad or happy, or about various other characters such as step-mothers, wolves, princes, princesses, etc. When a new song came on she still explained what was happening in terms of the princess world.

I have a feeling that the girls are going to be more open to listening to the classical station than they have been, and I am a little bit impressed with G’s ability to interpret the music into stories and emotions. Now, if they would only go to sleep for me while M is teaching tonight…

A Queen in This World: Fairy Tales


Rumpelstiltskin in the Blue Fairy Book.

Once upon a time I wrote a post about nursery rhymes as one of the best forms of first literature for children. Another category of good literature for children is fairy tales. There is something about the strange twists and turns of the world of fairies, princesses, and giants that draws in a child and her imagination. They are drawn up into the story and then they act them out. Children know that the fairy tales are not actually part of real life, but they love to think about them and imagine with them. Further, like nursery rhymes they are apart of the English speaking tradition. The stories also often contain great moral value, teaching children a lesson about how to be virtuous, manners, or simply what makes a person good or bad. Fairy tales do this better then a modern tale, since they tend to not water down consequences, but exaggerate them to make the point more clear. Children love this.

Some of our favorite collections are: The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (and his other colors), Hans Christian Anderson (some of these are really wacky), various versions of the Grimm Brothers tales, The Wonder Clock by Howard Pyle, and the Children’s Book of Virtue. I also look for picture fairy tales at the library, including the classic tales such as, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and so on. I will read my kids any version that looks good, except for the over-commercialized Disney princess tales. They know who the princesses are by site, but I do not want that to be there only encounter with princess fairy tales.

And now G (4) is aware that princesses and queens are not just in fairy tales. Tonight as we were getting the girls ready for bed, my husband and I were discussing the new baby prince over in Great Britain causing all the hype in the media. We also said some about the queen.

G looked up at us with bright eyes and asked excitedly, “There is a queen in this world!?!”

Yes, there is sweet child, and there is now way you will ever really get to be royalty in our so-called democratic republic we have here on this side of the lake, but now you know that queens have and do really exist…

Seven Quick Takes-July 19

1. Jen who hosts the Seven Quick Takes link up is going to post everyday next week and is also going to make a link up for those committed to joining her. Maybe I will give it a try. Though I am scheduled for a Truth and Charity post for next Thursday as well. Let’s see if I can pull it off.

2. Another part of the ongoing house saga includes another pipe leaking. This time we were home and got the water off quickly. M and I used our water mitigation skills and 8 bath towels to sop up the water and the dehumidifier is taking care of the rest. The leak appears to be a place where the previous owner drilled a hole in the pipe to connect to the ice machine in the refridgerator that he patched and moved the hole to the first pipe that leaked. M was able to patch this leak on his own with a handy pipe patching kit.

3. Halfway through the heatwave this week our A/C capacitor and the fan motor died together. We are working on repairs and thankful that tomorrows high is 75°F. Hopefully we can get the house temperature to drop below 80°F.

4. G (4) and L (2.5) and I were talking about people getting old and dying (yes, we talk a lot about death for some reason). G wondered, “If everyone gets old and dies then there won’t be anymore people!” I explained to her about how people get married and have kids before they die so that we don’t run out of people. Then we moved on to talking about getting married. L then interjected, “We I get married we are going to find a moon!” (We drove through the town where M and I honeymooned while on vacation, and the girls don’t quiet get the idea that it is a vacation after a wedding and not a trip to the moon.)

5. M brought home Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child by Anthony Esolen from the “Free Book Box” in the philosophy department. I have been wanting to read this book since it was published three years ago, and never found it at the library. Now I can read it! Hooray! Maybe I will review it here.

6. F (8 months) is getting ready to crawl, but still is mostly satisfied staying where ever she has been plopped as longer as she has something to play with. I am really curious to see where she chooses to go once she has the choice. I am thinking I may be cooking a lot more dinners with a baby underfoot rather than in the other room…

7. M and I are both still rereading Lord of the Rings. We are both in The Return of the King, and to make reading it less complicated I borrowed a copy of it from the library. I think we are getting a little bit geeky or nerdy or whatever here, but hey, we got to read!

That’s all folks! Have a great weekend!