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| Best outfit shot I can do of myself! |
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| Scarf, sweater, and skirt |
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| Skirt and wedges |
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| Closeup of scarf print and earrings |
Sweater - Old Navy
Skirt - Old Navy
Wedges - Target
Scarf - Target
Earrings - gift from my mom
I may have just revealed my two favorite clothing stores - well, those and American Eagle.
So as you may have guessed from the title, something's different today. That "something" is my husband running a half marathon this morning. Normally, we go to Mass once on Sunday morning and leave feeling like we couldn't pull that off again for another day at least. But the schedule of the marathon's start had us all up before 6 this morning, and dropping Dan off at 6:35 am a ways off from the starting line so he could warm up a little. I decided on Friday that it would be a good idea to go to 7:30 Mass, since we were all up and ready anyway. I dressed Erin and Emily in cute matching pajamas last night, got myself dressed and ready this morning, and packed my big new mommy bag full of toys to entertain them. We filled the time in between dropping Dan off and Mass with a quick pit stop at Starbucks, where the babies enjoyed a snack and I got some coffee for afterwards.
Unfortunately, the only stroller I had this morning was our big double jogger, which is entirely impractical unless it's being pushed out of our garage for a walk. I opted to try wearing Emily in the Ergo and carrying Erin on my hip, hoping she'd play in the pew next to me. We found the church mostly empty, with the back "for families with small children" pews empty. The empty church meant every baby noise echoed loudly throughout the sanctuary, though, and after a few attempts to keep the noise down, I realized I was fighting a losing battle. Only one of the many toys I had was enticing enough to get their attention, and they both wanted it (more noise) and once Erin started to play with it, she wanted to bark with joy. The harder I tried to keep them quiet, the more upset they got. During one of our sojourns to the corner, I discovered the source of Erin's crankiness: her pajamas were all wet. Realizing that in all my preparedness, I'd left the diapers in the car, I packed everything up and went out to the car. I found the diapers in the car - and no extra clothes. So we got in the car and went home. We'll go again this afternoon, but this time Dan will be there. Today will be the Sunday we go to Mass 1.5 times. Here's to the one being less exhausting than the half!
I'm sure there's a lesson to be learned in all of this, probably something along the lines of bringing extra clothes and diapers into church and making sure to always have a spare pair of hands when bringing two little ones. I think I'm also going to start making quiet books for the girls, since I'm sure the noise problem is just going to get worse. For the record, had the noise been the only problem, we would have stayed - I don't believe that there's a way to teach little ones to behave without being in church, learning week by week. Obviously, teaching those less than a year old is particularly challenging, but you have to start encouraging good behavior at a young age!
The topic of noisy babies in Mass has been a hot one this week, and I'm sure you've read other posts on the subject. My personal feeling is pretty well summed up by what our priest said a few years back: our church is pro-life (anti-birth control, anti-abortion), so we have to be pro-babies, and that means babies in church. We all start out as babies, and we can't grow or even perpetuate our faith without welcoming little ones. Obviously, a screaming toddler is different than a fussing infant, and even my babbling, barking little ones don't have the right to protest without our attempting to distract them with toys or a bottle. Cry rooms and nursing areas have a purpose, for sure (the cry room was locked this morning) but young families belong at Mass in the church, not behind closed doors where they can't disturb the peace. We owe it to our children to baptize them and raise them in the faith, and taking them to Mass is part of that. That being said, if you have great suggestions for entertaining babies during church (especially on your own!) I'm all ears. Send them my way, please!
I'm linking up with FLAP for What I Wore Sunday - head on over to see more cute church outfits!
I'm sure there's a lesson to be learned in all of this, probably something along the lines of bringing extra clothes and diapers into church and making sure to always have a spare pair of hands when bringing two little ones. I think I'm also going to start making quiet books for the girls, since I'm sure the noise problem is just going to get worse. For the record, had the noise been the only problem, we would have stayed - I don't believe that there's a way to teach little ones to behave without being in church, learning week by week. Obviously, teaching those less than a year old is particularly challenging, but you have to start encouraging good behavior at a young age!
The topic of noisy babies in Mass has been a hot one this week, and I'm sure you've read other posts on the subject. My personal feeling is pretty well summed up by what our priest said a few years back: our church is pro-life (anti-birth control, anti-abortion), so we have to be pro-babies, and that means babies in church. We all start out as babies, and we can't grow or even perpetuate our faith without welcoming little ones. Obviously, a screaming toddler is different than a fussing infant, and even my babbling, barking little ones don't have the right to protest without our attempting to distract them with toys or a bottle. Cry rooms and nursing areas have a purpose, for sure (the cry room was locked this morning) but young families belong at Mass in the church, not behind closed doors where they can't disturb the peace. We owe it to our children to baptize them and raise them in the faith, and taking them to Mass is part of that. That being said, if you have great suggestions for entertaining babies during church (especially on your own!) I'm all ears. Send them my way, please!
I'm linking up with FLAP for What I Wore Sunday - head on over to see more cute church outfits!
You look so gorgeous! I love the color combo. There have been a few times I have had to go it solo at Mass with the kids, and I am not sure I would be brave enough to try it with two the age of your girls! I think you get major points for trying. I never can seem to pack a diaper bag with everything I would need for an emergency.
ReplyDeleteI love your scarf, and it looks especially great with that sweater. As for entertaining babies at mass, I have no idea how to do it with two. We mostly let our little one play with the translation cards and flip through a book or two that I bring along. It doesn't always work, though. Going to mass at a different time of day has helped.
ReplyDeleteI keep an emergency diaper bag in the car for this very reason! I've found myself in the same boat as you, and told myself I wouldn't let it happen again. So now, I have an emergency bag in the trunk of my car, with one small toy/book per kid, a change of clothes per child, and a few diapers plus a pack of wipes. I also keep a light jacket for each kid in the car, since we never know what the weather is going to do here. 80 degrees one day, 40 the next? Not fun.
ReplyDeleteGreat job trying to go it alone! Just attempting that is huge. I hope your second Mass went more smoothly, and that Dan's run went well!
Good for you for going it alone. It can be trying at times I know. You look beautiful with that beautiful scarf. Add a wonderful pop of spring to your outfit. Lovely.
ReplyDelete