Happy Blogoversary, Praying and Oven Fries

With the start of a new year/ new semester and the upcoming milestone, it is time to get back on to regular posting! The past year of blogging has been sporadic, but I am now going to be more reliable with posting.

Praying at Bedtime

It is one of my new favorite things to do. Nico is 1 1/2, and not able to pray with me interactively yet, but he is never too young to enjoy prayer as much as I do.

First, I start with some extemporaneous prayers of thanksgiving. We pray for Mama, Daddy, Nico, Grandparents, etc. We pray for anyone hurting. We pray for all people who are helping others, missionaries, shelter workers, etc - the real forgotten heroes.

Then, chaplet style, with a few breaths in between rounds, we pray an Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, and a modified Now I Lay Me:

Now I lay me down to sleep
 I pray the Lord my soul to keep
God is with me through the night
and wakes me with the morning light.

After three or four rounds of this he usually gives one last great snuggle and then sits up and leans toward his bed. In he goes, and I leave him fall asleep while he sings to his animals. Adorbs.

Oven Fries

I have been on a great quest for yummy AND easy oven fries. Thanks to Rachel Ray, and a little modification, I found it. They were not perfect tonight, but I know the trick that will fix.

4-5 potatoes, scrubbed, leave peel on, chopped into wedges
3 tbs peanut oil
steak seasoning (I like McCormicks Montreal Steak Seasoning)
A GOOD cookie sheet/pan
Oven at 425

Rub oil on pan. Place wedges on pan. Cram on as many as you can fit if you like. Springle with Steak Seasoning. Place in Oven for a total of 40 - 50 minutes, Turning every TEN minutes. All done when Golden brown.

That is it. For every French Fry, turn turn turn, there is a seasoning, turn turn turn....

Newsflash: Babies are People.

I had every intention of posting today more of my thoughts of the idea of vocation, as a follow-up to yesterday's post, but I have decided to put that on hold for another time. Chapter gatherings are all about deep, meaningful, and consequential discussions and decision-making, so I am deep-thoughted out. Instead, let me comment on something that is a constant challenge in my life these days: Baby's Feet.

Okay, imagine this scenario. You are sitting in a coffee shop. You are gently sipping a mug of hot, frothy yum-yum, and holding the pages open of the book you are reading with the other. Adorable. The person passing by you on the way to the counter for an over-priced beverage of their own notices your lectionary bliss. So she reaches down and touches your feet. You pull them away, crying out "What?!" But such is her interest in your cuteness, lucky you, that she now proceeds to tickle your feet while saying, "Can I get a smile from you? Aww, come on, smile!" and then, noticing your frown, says, "Oh, are We feeling grouchy today?"

That is the situation faced by my 15mo EVERY DAY TIMES 50. He does not mind being touched in general. He likes people. But WHO likes to have their feet tickled, particularly by a stranger?!

Awkwardly this is one of those situations where the perpatrator of the crime, here unabash-ed foot-tickling, is well-meaning. And almost everyone does it. (Even when he is sleeping. Then they look at me and say, I just wanted to see him smile. Then they walk away and leave me with a crying baby who has been awoken and assaulted by a stranger and I still have most of my grocery shopping to do.) And I feel compelled to prevent it and protect my son from this annoying and fear-producing encounter, and potentially protect the tickler from my wrath, but it is difficult to find a way to do so politely. Any suggestions?