I have to warn you, this post is inspired by alliteration. Because I had a few things I wanted to share and I thought I should up it to ten solely for the purposes of this title!

This post contains affiliate links!

1. I've been looking for a pretty, not-too-terribly-expensive, embroidered top since *Peter* was a baby. Just found this one and I think it's going to be a winner!

20 Random Things

I got tagged for this instagram thing going around, where you list 20 random facts about yourself. So I did it, and the upload failed. I WAS MAD!!! Then I did it AGAIN, this time texting my sister all the answers so I could copy and paste and have them saved somewhere. And it failed.

So I uninstalled Instagram, did it again, and it failed again.

Ugh.

So at that point I gave up, but here I had these already written, so I figured I might as well blog them...

Bored already? That's fine, I won't be offended if you skip it! But if you wanted to know a whole bunch of random things about me, here are 20!

1) I won the school spelling bee in 5th grade, and almost made it to the national one. My downfall? Denouement. You better believe I haven't misspelled it since then!

2) In college, I auditioned for American Idol with my sister so her roommate would stop being a vegetarian.

3) I sang the Sesame Street theme song. Shockingly, they didn't advance me.

4) Speaking of vegetarians, I was one for a while when I was a kid. But I snuck a whole lot of meat, so I suppose I wasn't actually...

5) I hate mushrooms, seafood, and coconut. Cilantro tastes like soap. But I love asparagus, onions, and black olives.

6) I kind of want our family to be a modern day version of the von Trapps.

7) And I can do a mean Julie Andrews impression.

8) We named our firstborn after the Pope AND my husband's grandfather.

9) Like probably half of all Catholic girls, my confirmation saint is St. Thérèse.

10) Young adult fiction is my favorite, especially books about princesses.

11) My favorite Disney princess is Belle.

12) And I can do a pretty mean Belle impression. Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty too.

13) My favorite fast food is McDonald's bacon egg & cheese bagels. They're amazing and I don't care what you think of me now that you know that.

14) I haven't been to the dentist since before I got married.

15) The other day I was pretty sure I had chipped a tooth but now I'm pretty sure it was a piece of tortilla chip that was stuck between my teeth... So maybe I should make that dentist appointment?

16) My dad and I danced to "Rosie" from "Bye Bye Birdie" at my wedding reception. It was epic.

17) In high school I decided never to date a non-Catholic because I'd never marry him. So of course I started dating a Baptist and ended up marrying him (he DID convert, though... Here's our love story if you're interested!).



18) My favorite flower is the iris.

19) I was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma when I was a kid, which I used to get out of having to run the mile. These days I control it by never exercising.

20) My ideal vacation would be lying around doing nothing while somebody brings me all the food and drink I want. My husband wants to go everywhere and do all the things. I'm still waiting for my all-inclusive resort vacation!

Want to share YOUR 20 random things? I'd love to hear them! Drop a link in the comment box, or share them directly there - I'm having a blast reading these on instagram!

Idol Worship, and other etceteras

The other day John Paul got in serious trouble for idol worship.

That's right.

Idol worship.

We were reading all about Elijah vs. Ahab in proving that Baal was a false god, and John Paul started arguing, "No!  Baal is a true god!  Baal is the one true god!"

So the story ended and he criiiiiiied and cried and cried and argued and finally sat down, sniffling, and said, "Baal is not a true god.  Could we please finish the story?"

I don't think people believe me when I say he may be the most argumentative child ever.  But seriously.  Idol worship.  And let's not mention the fact that he has been crafting various "idols" out of silverware lately.  Oh wait, I just mentioned it.

And this is the kid that people say, "Oh yeah, he wants his first communion so badly so clearly he understands it enough to start receiving!"

This is why he is not ready.

Idol worship.

...

Did you see this post about 50 Ways to Celebrate Easter?  It's awesome, and not just because my sister wrote it!  I totally laid the smackdown on an 8th grade boy who was saying Easter is over today...  I was like, "NO!  Easter is NOT over, there are EIGHT DAYS and then the season is FIFTY DAYS LONG!"

Too bad I don't teach in a Catholic school...

But seriously, go eat a lot of meat this Friday!  It's so rare that Fridays end up being solemnities, so grab a burger, would you?

...

Have I mentioned that Elizabeth loves accessories?  Because she loves accessories.

I'm pretty sure she's imagining herself in an old-fashioned convertible, wind blowing through her hairs.

Seriously, how is she the happiest child?  She had a runny nose for about a week and then Andrew stuck his finger in her mouth and felt that all four molars had broken without us even noticing!  I figured she was teething, but she only had four teeth total, so I was waiting for the usual progression.

...

Mary Claire is not teething nearly as gracefully.  Drool everywhere, CRAZY emotional displays (I'm talking throwing herself on the floor sobbing any time anything doesn't go EXACTLY the way she wants it), and still no canines to show for the trouble.

But she still manages to pull out some cuteness:

She usually says the Hail Mary better without an elephant in her mouth ;)  (Elizabeth was trying to help, but she doesn't have the whole thing down quite yet)

...

Cecilia tells us she has her own garden.  It's a dirt patch in the front yard that seems to grow the tallest dandelions and she is SO pleased with it!

Striped dress.  Mom's chevron scarf.  Argyle sweater.  Fashion.

And those curls!  She wanted Princess Leia buns before bed to make John Paul laugh, and then she kept them in all night and woke up with Shirley Temple ringlets!  Too adorable.

...

I've been collecting quotes and am totally going to do an April "What They Said" link-up -  who's in?  Monday the 28th?  Volume 10!