St. Zelie Martin Peg Dolls

In case you were wondering whether this is a Catholic mom blog, here's what I've been up to in my free time the past couple days:

Yep, I signed up for a Catholic saint peg doll exchange. This one was pretty small, only 11 of us, so I picked a saint and painted 11 of them. I'll send them all to the person organizing the exchange, along with the 10 other participants, and then I'll receive a set of 11 different dolls back, just in time for Christmas. Most of us chose one of our children's patron saints, so I chose Saint Zelie Martin for my dear unborn daughter. (I know she isn't technically canonized yet—6 more days! — but let's just call a saint a Saint, shall we?) I thought it might make a nice birthday gift.

Before starting, I read this tutorial, and just let the magic happen. Just kidding. Once I realized all that was involved, I kind of freaked out a little. (But it really wasn't all that bad!)

I had a rough idea of what I wanted her to look like.

Her signature 'do, lace details (as she was a lace-maker), and a baby (because she birthed 9 of them and also the two miracles attributed to the Martins involved healing babies). I obviously ended up swapping out the rose (an ode to her daughter, St. Therese) in favor of a rosary. In part because I forgot to get green paint, but also in part because St. Zelie had a great devotion to Mary. 

I gathered supplies. NOT cheap, people. NOT cheap. I used Theresa's advice from the tutorial linked above and did not skimp on brushes and paint, which I think was really helpful. 

  

Supplies:

• 11 female peg dolls
• Set of small brushes
• One wash brush for the varnish
• Various Americana acrylic paint colors (I used Lamp (Ebony) Black, Snow (Titanium) White, Dark Chocolate, Baby Pink, Tuscan Red, Slate Grey, and Buttermilk)
• Sharpie extra fine point oil-based pen (for the writing on the bottom and some details)
• Dishwasher safe Mod Podge (per the recommendation of the swap organizer) 

All said and done, I've spent about $50. And it will probably be another $10 to ship everything. But I have SO much extra paint. So… consider recruiting me for your next swap. ;) For my next one I'll only have to buy the peg dolls and maybe some extra paint colors.

When I first got to painting, it was a slow process. I sped up the more confident I got with the materials. Overall, it was about 5-6 hours of painting, i.e., one nap time and two post-bedtimes. 

My friend, Lauren (also our own Zelie's godmother!!!), helped by painting the skin of the faces and bumping R&B jams from the 2000s from her iPhone. 

It's my favorite part, Lauren, my favorite part.

This little brush ended up being my favorite for all the small details. I preferred using shorter bristles:

At this point, I was like, Is this Saint Zelie orrrr a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg/Judge Judy? 

It was rather questionable. The lace was by far the most time-consuming of the details to accomplish.

Finally, the varnish. (Goes on really easily, looks even when it's dry. So don't stress about errors!) I painted the whole of the doll first and then once it dried, I painted the bottom to protect the writing on the bottom. 

And that's it! Boom shaka laka.

The rosary is hard to see! I would definitely choose a lighter color next time.

You'd typically also include the saint's feast day, but I didn't know whether that would change with the upcoming canonization, so I just nixed it. Sorry children!

I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, except the baby's faces creep me out a little. They remind me a tad bit of the elderly Spanish woman's failed attempt at restoring that classical painting of Jesus. But nevermind that. 

Have you ever painted peg dolls? Any tips for the elderly Spanish women residing in us all? 

A Homecoming & an Easter Baptism

These two. 

Will finally arrived home on Good Friday! It took a couple days' adjustment---I'd gotten pretty used to having our bed all to myself (wink wink)---but I'd say we found our groove. At one point, I was worried that I'd be a control freak when Will got back, worried that he needed to change William's diapers just so, bathe him just so, hold him just so. Right. Flash forward a few weeks and I was so ready to hand that baby off . . .  not a concern. Laughable even! And Will was feeling pretty awkward that he asked how I did everything anyway. Just a few days later and he's wrangling this squirmy, bucking babe with the best of them so I'd say we're good. The other night, Will handled bath time and bed time by himself and I was just up in here like, "SO MUCH TIME FOR ACTIVITIES!!!!" I did laundry.

It was a bit of a hectic Easter weekend, with Will's homecoming and the baptism. We had grandparents and godparents in town for the blessed event. The baptism went off without a hitch. We got mad props from Sister Carolyn for our response to "What do you ask of God's church for William?"*, an old man complimented little Will's dress, and the baby did not cry nor puke on Father Jim or in the baptismal font. 

He is risen indeed.

A little glimpse of Friar William's receding hairline.

Now go ahead and try to tell me the dress is not ideal.

*I had to text Will because I couldn't remember his response. His text: "Welcome him into the church, celebrate his new life in Christ, and educate him in his faith. Holla back." Don't think he said that last part in front of the whole parish, but feeling particularly humbled that God let us become parents. 

Holla back.

Today, A Very Fat Tuesday

It began well enough. Rise and shine! At midnight . . . and 2:47 AM . . . and 5:27 AM. We had a doctor's appointment scheduled for 7:50 AM to investigate some persistent diaper rash on the baby's behind, so we got dressed up in our finest.

And thennnnn getting out the door went a little something like this: 

I get everything into the car, including the diaper bag, my wallet and phone, and my freshly brewed coffee, and start it up because we're trapped in a polar vortex. (I know, I should be e-slapped for complaining about Florida weather for months!) I grab the baby and take him into the laundry room off the garage. I coax the dogs into said laundry room with precious milk bones. I hoist the baby in the infant carrier (yes, hoist! those things are too heavy!) into the garage only to realize 

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the car door is locked 

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all the doors are locked.

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Did I mention the car was running? And more importantly, that my precious liquid energy was inside?

Today I am thankful for Google's free phone service, for Locksmiths, that the baby was not in the car, and for insulated travel mugs that keep your coffee hot after sitting for an hour waiting for a Locksmith to get to it because it's the only thing that will get your through the rest of your morning without throwing the most self-indulgent of pity parties and stress eating Breyer's cookies 'n' cream ice cream. What. It's Fat Tuesday.

We finally made it to the doctor in the afternoon where we found out that the baby's constant sharting (oh, yes, that's a link because I've blogged about it before - a whole post about poop - so deal with it) is giving him acid burns to his bottom. Ugh. 

The good news is that this chunker gained almost two pounds in two weeks and is currently 9 lbs., 10 oz. You breast believe it. 

And Lent begins tomorrow! Aside from giving up my husband, I've decided to attend at least one weekday mass with the baby and to get into a spiritually-enhancing fitness routine. Don't worry! You'll hear all about it along the way. ;)

Until then, you'll know where to find me. 

Happy Mardi Gras!

What I Wore Sunday (Volume Dos)

Reporting live (or 34 hours after the fact). We had a muchly much needed relaxing weekend. I am facing a gargantuan deadline at work this week so I needed the weekend to recharge. This Saturday I am heading back to Maryland (I know! I was just there!) for some more family time, sans Will again. But I cannot miss Grandma's big wedding!!! (Cue: Go Grandma! It's my birthday. Get married like it's my birthday!) Yes, my 82-year-old grandmother is tying the knot next Monday, which also happens to be my 26th birthday.

Without further ado, linking up with Fine Linen & Purple. I don't know what's with the pose. Will is still learning how to use the DLSR, so I have to be at the ready at any moment! I never know when he has the thing in focus and the camera will snap. I must be extra vigilant. It's a sweaty experience. Anyway, I've heard that having a W I D E  S T A N C E makes you look more confident. You be the judge:

Do I look extra intelligent and formidable?

Shirt - Marshall's, Skirt - Marshall's, Wedges (hidden) - Marshall's, Scarf - Urban Outfitters. 

I've found that a lightweight scarf (used as a shawl) is much more suitable for covering up at church during Florida summers. It lets some air in and is more flexible for the level of coverage you need. Scarves for the win. Here is aforesaid scarf, up close, since you asked.

It's my favorite, coziest, lightest, most comfy scarf of all time ever. I wish I bought it in more colors and designs. 

In other very important news, we are now proud owners of a Ninja. This bears proclamation on the blog. Very excited about this impromptu Walmart purch. I like to buy produce like bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and spinach in bulk and freeze them since it's cheaper and I make smoothies every day for breakfast. The Ninja destroys all those frozen goodies in seconds and doesn't emit a smell as if it's dying a slow, painful, rubbery mechanical death. Two thumbs up for the Ninj.

Gratuitous dog pic. Now you can't even think about calling this post awful. 

Have a wonderful week!

What I Wore Sunday & Some Shots from Saturday

Well, here I am for my What I Wore Sunday debut! I've been enjoying/lurking from afar for too long to not join in. I present to you my Mass uniform: 

Cardigan - Target, Skirt - LOFT, Stunna Shades - Publix! Stolen borrowed from the husbo. Wedges (hidden) - DSW (to ellooonnngate the frame—just keeping it honest!).

I'm hoping joining this linkup helps me branch out a little. I wear a variation of this outfit, or, this exact outfit, almost every week. Also, it's getting a little too hot in south Florida for cardigans—even in our air conditioned church! Maxi skirts for life, though. The sermon at today's Mass was really excellent. The priest used the reconciliation-themed readings from today in combination with Father's Day to deliver a pro-life message to our parish. That's as far as my reflection for today goes ("the sermon was excellent, way to go, Theresa"—baby steps), but I will direct you here to see why writing in-depth reflections can be tough for me!

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All in all, it was just another relaxing weekend with these two: 

In the past, Daisy has been pretty good catching frisbees, so we thought we'd buy one of those special dog frisbees at Walmart on Saturday.

It was mostly this: 

Derp. Ace doesn't even know what is happening.

And resorting to normal old-fashioned fetch. Ace is no Bo Jackson. He only knows tennis balls:

Here is one of our few successes:

Of course, the dogs didn't last long in the heat, so there was more of this going on:

Just resting and recharging! 

A little of what we all need from time to time.