My Sunday Best and the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Sundays are treasured days because Daddy is home and we all go to Mass together as a family.  I used to somewhat dread the chaotic nature of Mass with a toddler; I would cringe when she was loud or sigh and grumble because instead of peacefully focusing on the homily I was busy keeping her from putting down all the door stops in the narthex.  But now I cherish that time, the three of us together, savoring these crazy days of early childhood and our young family, my husband and I deep in the trenches of raising this child and setting an example for her and laughing at her antics even as we try to gently guide her.  It helps to be sitting next to good friends who are in the same boat.

My skirt is Express, my blouse from Target, and E’s dress is from Zulily.  This is the first time I dared wear a white skirt since becoming a mother.  I guess I’m more confident in my abilities now, or I’ve just decided to throw caution to the wind and live my life!  Probably the latter!  Ha!

She is obsessing over a mockingbird and saying “daadada” (her interpretation of birds’ songs).  Just seconds later, she bolts out of my arms and into the street after the bird, her daddy sprinting after her.  She keeps us on our toes, and scares us to death sometimes!

Yesterday my husband had work 13 hours, so Baby Girl and I were on our own.  We packed in a very full day—read books, did puzzles, went to Walmart, the bank, Lowe’s, a local grocery store, and went for a walk—and then realized it was only 10 am!  Sigh.  So we did what works best for us.  We turned to the garden.  E, adorable little dictator that she is, does not let me accomplish tasks inside the house, and cleaning by myself with her is next to impossible.  But she loves to garden!  We could be outside for hours in the garden, and she remains content and occupied.  She was my little helper yesterday.

I am convinced that there are few things as wonderful in the world as roses and lavender.  Having them in the garden makes me blissfully happy.  I love pulling up to our home and having them welcome me.  I love sitting on the porch and marveling at the bees hovering on their pink and purple blooms.  And I love glancing out the window and seeing these plants as a backdrop to our daily lives.

For so long I dreamed of having hydrangea but lived in a condo without a yard.  When we bought our house 3 years ago, there were already hydrangeas all along the side of the house, as if someone knew I was coming and had planted them for me.  And blue!  Perfect!

My little garden helper’s favorite part is watering.  Because she usually gets wet.  And getting wet is super fun.  In fact, she goes out of her way to do it, standing underneath the hanging basket and imagining she is taking a shower.

We are probably too late in the season, but a couple months ago I had purchased seeds.  I was going to start them in the house, but then our lives were suddenly thrown in upheaval (see my last post) and I didn’t get to them.  So I just threw them in some pots, and we will see what happens.  It was more an experiment and something to do with E than anything else.

 

 

Later that evening to celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Heart I baked a heart shaped  blueberry cake.  I spread Cool Whip all over it, made flowers out of blueberries and mint, and inserted a cinnamon stick sword in it and called it a day.  Perhaps next year there will be flames coming out.  We will see.

Not too bad for an impromptu bake.

Linking up with Rosie at A Blog for My Mom for the My Sunday Best series!