Friday, December 28, 2007

Identity Politics and Acne



Oh, really, this is my perfect life, that one string of comments could tackle both of these issues simultaneously. I'm not even kidding. The mundane and the paramountly important, all rolled into a day. That's what life really is, and I appreciate your thoughts

I am going to resist getting further sucked into the, um, theological debate that has been raging, but I do welcome it, and I do feel that reading the comments--or the blog at all, of course--is always a choice. I'm grateful that you continue to make it. But heady politics is no reason to not send me a link to your fabulous butternut maple cream pie, or whatever. I'm just saying.

New wondertime columns are here and here.

We've had a warm and wonderful holiday so far. Have you? What's the best thing you've eaten? Do you pray? How would you treat the recurring wart on Birdy's foot? I want to know everything.

yours adoringly,
Catherine

68 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:35 AM

    I like to get my political fix elsewhere - love your column - for the wart, go to your pediatrician and beg for a sample of Aldara cream. It is REALLY expensive and it might take 4 or 5 months for the wart to go away but it will, painlessly and without any kind of mark. Good luck!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think I love your commenters more than any I've ever met. If you read the comments all at one go, you find your head swiveling alarmingly. What's not to love?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous10:33 AM

    The best things I've eaten so far were my turkey, made with maple syrup and cooked covered in bacon and a fabulous pecan caramel tart that was not only delicious, but super easy to make. I found the recipe on the Kraft website if any one is interested. As for the wart, I've heard something about duct tape but the avid googler that you are, I'm sure you've heard it too.
    Have a good day and Happy New Year to all!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I used Retin-A Micro (I think, it was a long time ago) on my warts. I had them on my legs and they spread all over the place because of shaving. The cream worked really well and was completely painless. It didn't raise blisters or anything. And my doctor gave me a whole box of samples that completely took care of it without me having to pay for anything.

    I made homemade mini doughnuts on Christmas morning. Those were good.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My husband made waffles from scratch, and I ate them with Trader Joe's apricot sauce and whipped cream. Culinary heaven.
    I like how the commenters had a fight without you. It entertains me that they all begged you to post so they'd have something else to do. Me? I was knitting. How goes your knitting, btw?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Fudge! My sister makes the best homemade fudge. It's not the wet chewy kind, it's...opposite of that. It just melts in your mouth. Every year she gives me a big freezer-size ziplock baggie of it. It's the only gift I have a very difficult time sharing. I give her a gift certificate to Goodwill (her favorite haunt). The only thing better than getting the perfect gift is giving the perfect gift. My four and a half year old was jumping out of her skin to have me open the Christmas present she got and wrapped for me. It was suet. "You LOVE birds! Oh, Mommy, let's put it out right now!" And we did. Love and peace to you and yours. --Cathy K.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've had a lovely holiday, thanks. We're due for the fifth batch of visitors bearing gifts in JUST A FEW MINUTES, so the house is full. Full of stuff.

    The best thing I've eaten? My chocolate yule log is, year after year, pretty astonishing.

    Of course I pray! We're like Ned Flanders, except without the latent crazy and the green sweaters.

    And we treat warts with over the counter wart stuff. Some warts DO like to come back and those might be worth getting frozen off at the doctors... although maybe not for a lil' one like Birdy.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous12:34 PM

    So glad that your family has enjoyed a sweet holiday. We're trying to keep cozy here-- although the winter storms seems to want to keep throwing punches!

    Hydes

    ReplyDelete
  9. We have had a wonderful holiday as well...filled with the proverbial barfing flu. Yippeee!

    Best thing I have eaten? Let's not talk about food. Do I pray? No. But I hope very intently. Warts? No idea. How about a doctor visit?

    Happy Holidays, Catherine. Here's to a New Year full of the same grace and diplomacy you seem to always have.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous1:40 PM

    have you tried beetle juice?

    it is painless in its application, however it can cause larger blisters than say freezing...

    i had plantar warts in my early teens and beetle juice was key.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous2:38 PM

    If it is a plantar's wart, put a piece of duct tape on it and leave it for a week or so. When you take it off, the wart should come off and not come back. If it doesn't work the first time, put another piece on. It worked on my husband's foot. He'd had the wart for almost a year and tried many other remedies first.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I've had a lovely holiday indeed. Glad yours was as well. Yummiest food was probably honey baked turkey croissant sandwiches. And for warts, when I was little I had one on my hand and the dermatologist gave me something for it. I was about 7, so I can't remember what it was called.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous4:13 PM

    My daughter (now 5) had warts on her hand. We went to the derm. and tried beetle juice three times. Didn't work. We eventually had to have them cut out. Not fun. My son, now 8, had plantar warts all over his feet. We tried the Compound W discs and liquid, and it worked like a charm. No cutting or bleeding involved! We should have tried that first on my daughter's hand!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous4:35 PM

    I can tell you what NOT to do about the wart: don't have it lasered or tasered off or whatever it was that I had done. My left thumb nail has never grown back in properly.

    I think I'm not going to read the rest of the comments because I'm just starting a new healthy lifestyle (like right now, I'm just eating nutella from the jar, no bread, that has too many carbs).

    Nora.

    ReplyDelete
  15. After Eights are my favourite thing during the holidays. Cheap, drugstore, old-lady After Eights. They taste like Christmas to me! They are even good frozen, which I discovered to my dismay - I tried freezing chocolates so that I wouldn't devour them all in one fell swoop, but unfortunately they are really good that way.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Duct tape for the warts! They worked well for the plantar warts on my foot . . . albeit very slowly. I think it's something about depriving the wart of oxygen, and something else about the adhesive?? Anyway. Less expensive than all the other jazz. (Although I never knew beetle juice was an actual real thing. Might be worth a shot? Or some beezle-nut oil? ;-)

    Yes, we pray. i.e. . . . Every time we pass a wreck we pray for the people involved . . . my 3 year old thinks everybody else in all the other cars are praying for them as well. We can only hope.

    ReplyDelete
  17. The best thing to eat at Christmas is BUCKEYES, of course, which I have heard non-Ohioans erroneously refer to as chocolate peanut butter balls and peanut butter truffles :) But no, they are Buckeyes (as they resemble the buckeye nut that is the symbol of the state and the Ohio State University, and my family only makes them at Christmas, and you better get them early or they are gone. I also gave this chocolate bark for gifts and it got rave reviews:
    http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_35070,00.html

    Sorry, you'll have to paste that together. It's an Emeril recipe from the Food Network and it is divine.

    Yes, we pray.... mostly meals and bedtimes, but here, there and everywhere. And it is one of life's blessings to hear a 2 year old lead the family in the Johnny Appleseed song at the table. (you know...."Oh, the Lord is good to me, and so I thnak the Lord....")

    ReplyDelete
  18. Yikes, you can't read that link at all. I'll try again here and then give up :)

    http://www.foodnetwork.com/
    food/recipes/recipe/
    0,1977,FOOD_9936_35070,00.html

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh, there is NO WAY I am going to go to that comment section. I get WAY too involved, and find myself lying awake at night, heart pounding as I compose replies to people's comments, on a topic I used to feel peaceful about but now suddenly want to FIGHT about. And I want to SLEEP tonight instead.

    The best thing I've eaten was a See's Candies Butterscotch Square. It's a chocolate-covered candy-box type candy, and the inside is like packed brown sugar, but moister. Mmmmmmmmm.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous10:01 PM

    Oh boy, Catherine. I had no idea about all of that. ((((HUGS))))
    As far as the acne there is something my son uses that works great, I'll have to check on that.....Nelson's Organic Acne Gel(health food store item) For plantar warts band-aids and neosporin worked for me back in the 70's. And a dash of patience.

    I do pray- in a very personal, conversational way...to a non-denominational God I have no image of, really. I always have prayed that way ever since I was a child.

    Happy New Year and many blessings to you and your beautiful family!

    ReplyDelete
  21. whew, had not read previous comments till this post, sorry I missed all that. commenting now just because I feel left out of the food fight.

    ReplyDelete
  22. My holidays were great...thanks for asking C. I am glad yours have been nice and since I have not been over to Wondertime yet...I have no reason to feel the anxiety yet.

    Best I have eaten was all the yummy Christmas Eve appetizers...zesty little bites of this and that...I ate so many!

    We pray, it makes us happy. I say to everyone do what makes you feel good, not what everyone else is doing.

    As for warts, I don't want to be jinxing myself or anything, but so far we have not had any between us.

    Let me know what works though because I am happy to be prepared.

    Best wishes to all the family.

    ReplyDelete
  23. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Day. The best things we had this holiday were alcapurrias (Puerto Rican Fritters), Tembleque (coconut pudding), and empanadas. I was an awesome wife this year; I had no clue how to make some of those Puerto Rican dishes, but thank goodness for elboricua.com.
    For warts you can try the homeopathic Thuja (sp?) and banana peels. Don't let the peels touch any clothing as they stain.
    Have a wonderful end of 2007 and an even better 2007.
    Ah! I almost forgot; we do pray especially for meals and at bedtime, and I constantly pray in my mind, like and ever going conversation with God.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous5:46 PM

    Have you tried praying for the warts to go away?

    But seriously: how to treat a wart? I'll second the motion for the Aldara cream (assuming it's a plantar wart, which it probably is if it's on Birdy's foot).

    We tried the duct tape approach first for my son (4 years old at the time), but all it got us was a few weeks of really stinky feet. Then we went to a dermatologist. First she did a liquid nitrogen treatment (stings a little; I think you can skip this step, though it moves things along more quickly). Then we alternated daily between Aldara (prescription) and Compound W (over-the-counter). It took a few months, but was way better than the foot-butchering I got when I had a wart as a kid.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous9:41 PM

    Catherine, Birdy is so beautiful! Thanks for sharing such a lovely picture.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Beautiful here in S. Texas.

    Best thing I've eaten is my husbands' Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie! YUM!

    No praying per se but do wish others well. Send positive thoughts. Try to do anonymous good deeds.

    Haven't had to deal with a wart since I was 6? Almost 35 years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Good Lord! That last comment section was... Blistering. (Shaking head in disbelief.) Props to you for not getting involved, and not shutting it down either. That's what blogs are here for, after all- forum. Even ridiculous forum, if it comes to that!
    Glad you had a good holiday- we had a lovely, albeit snowless one. The best thing I ate was maybe my mom's pecan bars? I don't even know; it was all so good. So carb-laden and delicious!
    And I do pray, yes, mainly for my children. I feel almost COMPELLED to pray since having kids. I'll just stand over them in their beds or while nursing or whatever and the hopes and fervent longings for their happiness and health just flood out of me, almost of their own accord.

    ReplyDelete
  28. We do pray. We pray all the old Catholic prayers because, to me, they are like mantras in that saying the same thing over and over can be calming, and it is a link to my loved ones, past, present, and future. I also pray in a "talking to God" kind of way. And we're right there with you, Jen, praying for people as the ambulance goes by.
    As to you, Kris, I am totally jealous of your turkey, and whoever else it was with the bourbon pie that I can't find right now. And I adore your commenters who left recipe links.
    Best thing I made: Hot Pizza Dip, originally from Pampered Chef, apparently. Melt a block of cream cheese in the microwave. Add a teaspoon of Italian seasonings. Spread in the bottom of a smallish bowl (you want the cheese to be "scoopable" but you want a lot of surface area too). Mix 1 cup mozzerella with 3/4 cup parm. Put half on top of cream cheese. Pour 8 oz jar/can of pizza sauce on top. Put remaining cheese on top of that. Bake at 350 or whatever other stuff is baking at for 10-20 min until bubbly. Some people serve with veggies. We used fritos. I'm not proud, I'm just sayin'.
    And for my third unrelated (and fantastically unappetizing) jump, I had foot warts as a child and my doctor gave me some thing that both made the skin fall off in ginormous peels and helped new skin grow in quickly before the wart could re-take. I loved it. Thanks for the memory. May you find something as fun and effective for Birday.
    Merry New Year to everyone--I love your comments, cranky and not.
    And Catherine, especially to you. Thanks for being a voice in the wilderness that is motherhood. I appreciate it more than you'll ever be able to know. (If you were able to get past the gross and the ridiculous to even get down here. I should remember not to bury the lede.)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous9:33 PM

    Um, I'm not sure your pediatrician will have the Aldara cream. The dermatologist told me that's for genital warts and I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around that one. I got some for my 7 year old daughter's foot wart. It didn't help but then again, I wasn't religious about putting it on. Now we're using a 5% fluorouracil cream which I used for a wart on my heel that didn't go away even after a podiatrist gouged it out and it came back. It is very expensive though--make sure your insurance covers it or be prepared to take out a second mortgage. Just kidding. And the active ingredient is a chemotherapy agent, so YOU put it on, cover it with a bandaid and don't let her touch it or handle it. Let's see.....I ate.....well, everything in sight this holiday season. Combine good holiday food and PMS and voila! Not able to button my jeans this morning. Hubby and I purchased a treadmill this afternoon. Now we just have to eat all this candy to get it out of the house..... OH, and as for the prayer thing--I like to balance it, prayers (which to me is like asking for things) with giving thanks for what I have (healthy children, good job, roof over our heads, etc.) It's a bit one sided without the gratitude part, I feel.....

    ReplyDelete
  30. hmm, sounds heavy. i'd bury my head in a book and let them duke it out! some people love a good debate i guess.

    i just had my first tarot card reading on christmas and several mentions of 'prayer' got me thinking that i need to get thinking. or asking. or looking. or opening up to the light. (wherever one may see it)

    when the fudge ran out, i sat down with a bag of chocolate chips. mmm, chocolate chips.

    take care, and sorry, i have no advice for the wart!

    ReplyDelete
  31. I LOVE your column and this is the first time I have posted comments, and I am enjoying reading them all. Fabulous holiday food highlights for this family were prime rib and roasted butternut squash (I admit I have been watching too much Food Network!). For the wart, my son has one and our pediatrician said to let it run it's course. How helpful I am!!
    Our family, exclulding my husband, pray everyday and I have been fortunate and very blessed to see many of them answered.
    Keep on writing, we all love you!
    oh and adult acne? It is NOT fun and I have been having a hard time getting rid of mine (the only time in my life I've had acne and I'm 31!!)

    ReplyDelete
  32. Jew ever eat a "koeksuster," Catherine? It's this most sinful and over-the-top South African treat, sort of a pastry braid drenched in something uberliciously sweet called Golden Syrup. We've been eating them in abundance here in Cape Town, my home town, where Crabmommy & fam are spending the holidays. As we say here, "BEST YOU try one!"

    HNY! And might I add your word verification below has a sort of Hebrew-inflected style! Did you do it on purpose? Yasvoy? OY, you're a clever mama!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Warts: The compound W freeze off kit works miraculously well. After the bath, apply to the wart. In a week, it is gone. For my youngest child who had one, I did it when he was sound asleep. He never even woke up and the wart disappeared.

    We tried the over the counter gel and the duct tape without success.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous10:18 AM

    I just want to know if Ben got his haircut. It looks like it and it looks cute too! (Although the other pictures of him are adorable as well) Whose idea? his or yours? Anyway, love your columns. Warts: no idea. Pray: yes, conversational style and as O said, old Catholic prayers, and also like others said regarding firetrucks, ambulances, accidents, etc. Love my 4 (almost 5) recite/sing the 'Lord we thank you for our food...song/prayer.' Food: Barley soup on Christmas Eve (easy when presents are set to be opened!!) and sugar cookies. Yum. Have a great 2008 Catherine.
    Shari

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous11:12 AM

    I thought the last section was very interesting until everyone got mad at one another. Sad to see so many misunderstandings -- I think if you read from the beginning most people were TRYING to express their points of view in a polite format.

    Tonight I go to a New Year's Eve party at a very good friend's house. Two years ago we were also invited to a holiday party at this house. At the party an 8-year-old guest was telling all the little kids (including my then 6-year old)that there was no Santa Claus. I'm not sure what was motivating him -- could have been showing off, could have been he was just in a bad mood. Unfortunately, I think part of it was his Mom. One of us said, "your son is telling all our children that there is no Santa Claus," hoping, I think, that she would shush him or perhaps simply distract him to another activity. She shot back, "Well, we're Jewish and we think the whole Christmas thing is ridiculous so we taught him Santa is a lie told to little kids so he won't feel bad at Christmas time. He's only telling the truth." I was shocked that she would do that (in what I perceive as a negative manner) and more shocked that she would encourage and condone that in her son. I really don't think her version made him feel any better either, if he felt the need to go hurt other children, which clearly he was aware he was doing. So -- I hope that the former discussion has helped us all talk about different beliefs in a (mostly)open manner that allows us to respect if not agree with the other point of view. There has GOT to be a way to discuss different religious (and cultural) beliefs or practices with your children in a respectful manner. I for one think that Catherine's approach with Birdy seems sound. If one day Birdy regards the Nativity story as just another fairy tale, it is likely she will also understand that others feel otherwise.

    Here's hoping the angry lady and her family will not be at the party tonight!

    To the parent whose Jewish kids are at an Episcopal school, I went to such a school too and I think overall the religions all felt supported (they used a lot of Book of Common Prayer and more Old than New Testament). We also all had to have either an ethics class or "Old/New Testament" to graduate and lots of different backgrounds participated in all of these successfully. It probably helped that the school was very small and a true community. I think if you stay involved you will be able to discern if your school is succeeding too.

    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous11:04 PM

    I don't pray per se, but I do direct positive thoughts into the universe. Maybe that's the same thing ...

    We visited my dh's family in Maryland for Xmas and had Berger cookies, which I'd never had (or even heard of). For any Baltimoreans (is that right?), you're familiar with these, yes? They were tasty. My 6-yr-old *loved* them.

    And, yes, my holidays have been good. I hope everyone else's have been.

    Happy New Year, Catherine and everybody!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous10:24 AM

    We have a kid centered New Years Party - where we used to do a 7 pm Greenwich mean time countdown. Kids who come are all getting older (mine are 8 and 5) - so we pushed it to 8 this year (it was midnight somewhere!), though we stayed up til midnight anyway. I am in bed typing at 10 am today, jan 1 - kids are still sleeping and I have not yet ventured downstairs to see the damage 20 adults and 25 kids can do!

    WARTS. Get the freeze off stuff from CVS or Walgreens. My kids have both had warts (on feet and hands) and after freezing one off in the office at a regular check up, my absolutely wonderful pediatrician told me to go buy the stuff. Works great. Cost a bit ($25?), but really - worth it cause it works and I figure we have a couple of warts in our future.

    Happy 2008!

    Monica

    ReplyDelete
  38. Apple cider vinegar will take care of the wart. Put some on a cotton ball and strap it on with a band-aid or some tape every night until it's gone. Took about a week for the one on my son's knee.

    ReplyDelete
  39. We had a nice Christmas. Do you really want to know or are you wanting nice comments for once? I can't think of anything spectacular that I ate over the entire holiday season. That is kind of sad. We do pray and have taught our daughter about Christmas and Jesus. I don't know anything about warts. Is she going barefoot anywhere public?

    ReplyDelete
  40. How can you not have mentioned here that you are moving? LOL! When we have moved it has consumed every iota of my being... it is all I thought and breathed and ate... move move move....

    Congratulations on the move... a new year, and a new house! Blessings to you and your family Catherine!

    ReplyDelete
  41. We eat Buckeyes too! I am an Ohioan and think it is sooo sad when people call them peanut butter balls! LOL -AND we sing the Johnny Appleseed song! Did you go to summer camp with me??

    Best thing eaten- sorry, very expensive- Prime rib on Christmas with Tyler Florence's Rosemary prime rib rub (salt, lots of garlic, olive oil, rosemary- look it up on food network, totally divine)- our big splurge of the year!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Anonymous10:57 PM

    Oh My!!!! Yamile the blogger, I have never met you but you are my favorite person right now!!!

    In high school my best friend was Puerto Rican and I often helped her with math and science homework. Her mom felt indebted to me and insisted on feeding me her delicious ethnic food each night (mainly a problem because my mom would freak out if I arrived home and didn't eat her dinner too...). Since college we lost touch and I haven't had any decent Puerto Rican chicken and rice for over ten years. AND THEN YOU POST A LINK TO FOOD!!! Here it is man, the staple of my high school existence: http://elboricua.com/arroz_de_pollo.html

    THANK YOU!!! You just made my day. I should have googled this long ago.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous11:25 AM

    Happy New Year Catherine and family, and congratulations on your new home.

    Best holiday food I had was a blackberry-peach crisp with blackberries I had picked next to my house and peaches gleaned locally ("crisp" part courtesy of "Baking in America").

    Wart treatments: I just tend to use OTC meds so I don't have anything new to offer you there - but I wanted to recommend a book that both my kids found fascinating on the subject - "Warts" by Michael P. Kinch. It talks about how your wart is a little virus factory and how your body will eventually kill of the invaders etc. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Catherine, I'm commenting here, because I'm too lazy to sign in at Wondertime. Congrats on your new home. We too, moved from a condo (a lovely, light filled condo in LA with gigantic closets in every room) to a sweet gramma house in Vancouver, WA. It's got tiny bedrooms and no closet space, but it does have a large finished basement (where my son will play, but only if I walk him downstairs and flip on all the lights and hug him close first) and a lovely little yard. I had to laugh at all the little "omens" you got. That just naturally comes with older homes. But just think of the history, the life that has been lived under your roof. It bodes well.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Anonymous1:22 PM

    So cruel to make me read about all the good food people have eaten, when I am on the post-holiday diet! But I learned that Kris makes her turkey the same way that I do -- maple syrup and bacon -- it's awesome!

    We do not pray, being agnostic. Recently we've realized that we use the phrase "jesus christ!" (as an expletive) much too often, since we've begun hearing it repeated back by our 5 year old. It really hit home at a Christmas gathering, when someone said "Jesus!" and our daughter added "Christ!" We're working on training her (and ourselves) out of it. But I have to admit the Christmas episode was pretty damn funny and I just had to share, after having read the comment to your previous post from the woman who was offended that Ben said "Oh my god."

    ReplyDelete
  46. Anonymous10:48 AM

    Congrats on your new old house. In our first new old house, we found an almost fully decomposed dead mouse. It looked like fuzzy nothing and smelled like rotten fish. Ah, HOME!

    After that, I can't very well go and answer your food question.

    I don't know what to do with warts but to ignore them. I had a cute one on my finger as a child, and it went away on its own.

    Prayer? Yes. It's changed over time. It used to be a Santa Claus kind of wish list. As I've matured (somewhat), it's become more of a way for me to pull my head out of my own navel and look up and see God. Amazing how everything then falls into place.

    Enjoy your new home. It sounds perfect...

    ReplyDelete
  47. Hi Catherine! I just caught up at Wondertime and you have some wonderful posts in December. You never fail to make me smile and wistful all at once. Sorry I didn't comment over there...I cannot remember my login name and I am too lazy right now to go check.

    I hope you had a terrific New Year and I just wanted to pop in and say howdy.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Charlotte, I'm happy to know someone else has benefitted from that wonderful link. Enjoy your rice and chicken!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  49. We have a Meyer Lemon tree that really produced this year. The best thing I ate was a shortbread mini-tart topped with homemade lemon curd.

    MMmmm...

    ReplyDelete
  50. You can't tell me that THAT is Birdy in your picture??!

    Our girls are only a couple of months apart in age, so I know Birdy isn't a gloriously chubby toddler anymore, but to see a glimpse of a young woman in her face is more than I can handle.

    Where are our children disappearing to?

    ReplyDelete
  51. Anonymous11:23 AM

    Wasn't there a previous discussion (maybe a few years ago?) involving wart removal? I seem to recall somebody mentioning using banana peel and duct tape. I have no experience with warts (knock on wood) so ican't really comment, but somehow that has stuck in my mind. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  52. Catherine, great article in the new Wondertime magazine. I was looking on the cover and saw that blogger mommy thing and HOPED it was you! Then, I opened it and saw that it was written by you!!! Is that your house in the first picture? Or, should I say, your old house? Just curious. Not stalking, I swear. That was funny, about the stalkers, by the way. You have a forever fan in me and I can't wait to read everything you write!

    ReplyDelete
  53. Anonymous7:18 AM

    the wart!! i have it!! grapefruit seed extract. we did it with fluffy's foot warts and it works like a charm, er, a charm that takes a few weeks to come to full light.

    put about 10-15 drops in a little cup. add a TINY bit of water (i put a Q-tip in water and then plopped that in the cup), apply with said Q-tip to wart liberally.

    it doesn't sting; it won't hurt the surrounding skin. it's all natural and it works!

    this is my first time here and i'm having a ball! happy new year!

    ReplyDelete
  54. 1) Butternut squash baked with brown sugar and lots and lots of butter.

    2) Pray? Only if the situation is dire. Or I'm feeling particularly grateful. Not sure who I'm praying to, though.

    3) Oy, the warts. My son had them and our doctor said that we could treat them if it would make US feel better, but it would be painful for him and probably not effective in the long run. If it's causing her trouble (with shoes, for example), I'd say treat it. Otherwise, avert your eyes and let it go away on its own.

    BTW, thank you thank for turning me on to journey mama.

    ReplyDelete
  55. I wonder if you read these Catherine? If so here's a quick question...
    I've just started a blog, and have used your name in reference as part of a post. I'd love to add a link to your blog - do you mind?

    I am at:
    www.littlehouse27.blogspot.com
    Many thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Anonymous8:54 AM

    Where's the new article at Wondertime? I keep checking over and over like a drug addict. I guess I shouldn't be a nudge since you did just move and have life upheaval, blah, blah, blah. But, man, I need my fix!

    ReplyDelete
  57. Cathy K, I agree! I'm gettin the shakes over here!

    ReplyDelete
  58. Anonymous6:03 PM

    twitch twitch

    ReplyDelete
  59. Anonymous8:25 PM

    The new column at Wondertime is finally up and it was soooo worth the wait! Catherine, everything you write feels so true and personal to me. How do you do it? It just really drives home the point that despite our differences, we are all moms. We all share the same fundamental experiences and emotions. Wow.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Love, love, love the new Wondertime blog. Dear fierce Birdy--she reminds me to appreciate my own fierce 5 yr old constant talker and upcoming fierce 1/12 yr old.
    And love just as much - the new Wondertime MAGAZINE!! I was so excited to see the cover about mommy bloggers and then open it up to discover it was you! I'm always bitter when you aren't in there..

    ReplyDelete
  61. I just read the Wondertime post and it's beautiful, like always. I have 4 children, and my second, a girl, is only a few months older than Birdy. She always amazes me with her intelligence and personality, but it's true, the firstborn's achievements are more "celebrated" just because he's the first to do everything. Right now she;s SUPER EXCITED because she was invited to a party at Chucky Cheese's and her brother wasn't (it was from a little friend from school). I guess she has to feel she's winning at something :)

    ReplyDelete
  62. Anonymous9:36 PM

    I'm so glad the Wondertime post finally appeared--but I have to say, it's really just taunting us by dating it January 7 as if that's when it actually appeared!

    ReplyDelete
  63. Anonymous10:14 PM

    Our pediatrician once prescribed Aldara cream for a wart on my son's hand said to apply it and cover with a bandaid so he wouldn't rub it in his eye. She said it (Aldara cream) was originally invented for vaginal warts so it works gently that is why it is prescribed for kids.

    ReplyDelete
  64. Hi Catherine, Delurking to say congrats on your move (don't have an account at Disney Family so can't comment there). Honestly when I saw the blog title of "Movement" I was sure there would be some bowel talk in there ;)

    I recommend soaking Birdy's foot in tea once a day for the wart. Worked for me.

    ReplyDelete
  65. Anonymous3:08 PM

    Sniffy-sniff...This time I listened to your wondertime blog instead of just reading. I rarely listen b/c when the kids are around it's all: "Who is that? Who's talking? Who's that lady? Is that your friend? Who's that kid? Is that me when I was little? What's she talking about? Is she talking about me?"
    But the kids are out of the house today (halle-loooooooo-jah!) and I'm "working." (I'm eating dark chocolate and listening to your blog and also "working.")
    Anyway. I think our babies are always the babies. And they are cursed and blessed both by this. And our big kids are always our big kids, with the attendant blessings and cursings.
    The baby always smells better (in comparison to the big kid) b/c the baby still has more of the sweet baby stink left on him (even when he's 4--the same age as the big kid when we could no longer smell it in him). And we notice their lisping more and their funny talk, whereas with the big one we notice the big words and the unbelievable smartness. Even though the little ones are just as smart.
    My little one can pat like nobody's business. He can cuddle and squeeze and hug and pat your arm like a cartoon cherub. I'll bet the big one could do it too, but he's too busy zipping around on his bike and blasting off to the moon.

    ReplyDelete
  66. Anonymous1:18 PM

    I will never get over just how beautiful your children are. You have the most marvelous collection of pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Anonymous4:35 PM

    I made the Bourbon Pecan Tart as well, and it was great (cooking Light)!
    I always love your writing. You're the one who got me started on the slippery slope of reading blogs--I had never read one before you moved to Wondertime. Damn you. Just kidding, of course. You're the queen of all mommy writers in my world.

    ReplyDelete
  68. so grateful the Wondertime publish lastly appeared--but I have to say, it's really just make fun of us by relationship it Jan
    Gold für Diablo 3 Kaufen
    rs gold for sale

    ReplyDelete