Potty Adventures, Advent Projects, and an Iconic Find

 

1.) Impromptu Potty Training 

Well worn, much used. 

Bitty Baby has decided, more or less out of the blue, that she's a big girl now. As such, she's going to use the potty. 

I've been encouraging her to sit on the little toddler potty we have more or less on a whim-- I figured it might at least be a way to occupy her while I go to the bathroom. But she really seemed to take to it, and she's successfully used the potty several times now. 

We stopped by Walmart and got her some training panties (which are VERY baggy on her: they're made for a two year old and she's petite). Half a day in, and so far so good. Three successful trips to the toilet and no big accidents. 

I'm fully aware this won't last. But I'm enjoying it while I've got it. 

2.) Do you want a free Christmas cartoon with Vincent Price in it? 

Of course you do. Here it is. 

One of the greatest horror actors of the twentieth century takes a turn as King Herod in a Hannah Barbera cartoon from 1986. It's an episode of a series about two archeologists and their comic sidekick friend who stumble upon an ancient artifact on a dig that takes them back in time. They go on various Biblical adventures (where no one bothers to ask them why they have such pale skin and why there's a blond woman traveling with them without a head covering and in shorts, but I digress) through both the old and new testaments. 

We had a couple of these on VHS when I was a kid, and I remember them fondly. They're cheesy, but in a mostly endearing way. Enjoy. 

3.) Iconic thrift store find 

$4 Saint Nicholas icon, still wrapped in plastic and bearing the seal of a Greek Orthodox Monestary in Massachusetts. 

I bought it. I'm not sure what I'll use it for. His feast day is coming up in a couple of days, maybe I'll just display it on the kitchen table. Or, since it's of the "original" Santa Claus, maybe that makes it Christmas decor. 

It was an impulse buy, but I stand by it. Eastern Christian holy images, particularly ones actually produced by a monestary, aren't usually found at Goodwill. 

4.) Shoe Repair 

My pair of canvas sneakers were starting to come apart at the sole, so I cleaned out the dirt from the separation-- 

 got out the Shoe Goo, 

Put some on there and squished it together (do not do as I did here, wear gloves)--

And then wedged it in between a big trunk and a wooden block until it cured. 

Been wearing the repair for a few days now, it's held together pretty well. 

5.) Jessie Tree 

Last year, we did a Jessie Tree devotion and stuck a corresponding magnet on the fridge every night. 

This was a bad idea on my part. I made the magnets out of this weird baking soda/ cornstarch dough that took a couple weeks to dry, and was fairly bulky and heavy when it did. When we opened the fridge door, it wasn't uncommon for one to go flying out into the kitchen or inch it's way down the fridge until it fell off and broke. 

Pair that with actually having to remember to do the devotion every night and referee fights about whose turn it was to put the magnet on the fridge, and it quickly became not worth it. I threw away the magnets and vowed to simplify. 

This year, we are doing ten ornaments, we're doing two a night, and we're only doing them on Sunday. Eight for Advent, two for Christmas. I'm drawing simple drawings on cardboard circles, and we're taping them to a tree drawn on butcher paper. 

Simple, squabble free (I hope), and still brings the devotion into our lives. 

6.) Advent Candles 

Our local grocery store wasn't selling purple and pink regular candles, so we had to improvise. 

They were selling Mexican devotional candles that were colored, with the saint printed on flimsy, easily peelable plastic. So three St. Cyprianos and one St. Alejo later...

We had a set of perfectly serviceable Advent candles. 

Note: I'm not a Franciscan alumni, I just have an inordinate amount of people in my life who are. 

The final wreath. The other candle is the last bit of our homemade paschal candle from last Easter.

 Lent will be here before we know it; we've got to get this one used up before then. (Well...we don't have to I guess, but I don't like throwing useable stuff away). 

7.) Dog Issues 

There's been a neighbor dog getting into our yard, and I'm beginning to think that creature has some sort of supernatural power. 

We've fixed all the entry points we can think of, and the little guy just keeps getting in. Our dog isn't in heat, so we don't have to worry about puppies, but it keeps going after our cats. 

We need those cats to stick around. The mice and rats become unbearably bad when we don't have cats. 

We just made the gate taller (the rest of the fence is topped with a strand of barbed wire). We'll see what happens.