Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

Right?  Or so I've heard.

I have been wearing a headband to keep my long, straight (fine, limp, scraggly, etc.) hair off my face every day for DECADES now. It’s my signature hair do (or don’t?).

The night my second son was born in 1985, I went from 7 to 10 cm in an instant, much to everyone’s surprise, and had to be hastily rolled down a LONG and crowded hospital hallway on a gurney, from labor to delivery, trying to keep a baby in (“Don’t push yet!  Breathe!” instructed the nurses), and this baby most definitely wanted OUT.  I was frantically doing that "hoo hoo" breathing technique they teach you in Lamaze classes, for when you have the urge to push but aren’t supposed to, but it didn't seem like there was any way I was going to be able to keep that baby from making his appearance in the hallway.  So in the most dramatic moment of any of my five experiences with childbirth, I ripped the headband off my head and flung it, crying, “That’s it, I quit!  I’m not doing this!”  My oh-so-funny husband looked at one of the nurses and calmly asked, “Um, is that an option?”

When we got to the delivery room, my son came bursting into the world after two quick pushes.  (And I never got that headband back.)

So as I said, and as that story illustrates, headbands have been a part of my daily “look” forever.  For goodness sake, I even wore them during childbirth.

Apparently, it has not escaped my grandchildren's notice that headbands and Grammy go together.  A few months ago, my daughter-in-law Preciosa (wife of son #3) texted me a picture of her 2-year-old Hermanita, who had put a headband on her cute little still-practically-hairless noggin and announced, “I Grammy!” 

How hilarious is that?  She’s on to me!

“I GRAMMY!”

If only I could look as good wearing a headband as that adorable little gal!

Telling my newest grandchild, #18,
"Get used to this headband, my wee one.  You're going to see a lot of it."

Other than the gold Miraculous Medal necklace that I wear always, a headband is my only must-have wardrobe accessory.  What about you?  What item will your grandkids see that will automatically make them think of you?  Please share!

Reminiscing about WIWS—and Navy Blazer Day!

Remember the good old days of blogging, when there was a link-up called What I Wore Sunday (WIWS for insiders) on a site called Fine Linen & Purple?  And people would share their Sunday Mass ensembles, sometimes with funny stories about their kids acting up in the pews, sometimes with touching essays about their deep faith experiences during Mass, and sometimes just with attached links for buying different components of their outfits?  Some of the posts were pure faith and others were pure fashion, but either way, it was a lot of fun.

But that was back in the days when everyone and her sister was a blogger, and no one had discovered the more alluring world of Instagram.

Rosie over at a blog for my mom was hosting a similar link-up in recent years, both on her blog and on her Instagram page, called My Sunday Best.  That was fun, too.

If I wasn't such an old dog, I would try to learn the new [for me] trick of hosting a link-up here at my little ol' blog. But I'm not sure I have it in me to tackle that.  (To tell you the truth, it is practically a miracle that I figured out how to set up this blog in the first place.)

So in lieu of becoming a link-up host, I'm going to give you a WIWS (make that WTWS: What They Wore Sunday) post that's guaranteed to make you smile this Monday morning, as you start your week in this crazy new era of life on planet earth.

Our daughter-in-law Ginger (wife of son #2), texts us photos every Sunday, with her boys—four of them now, aged 6 months to 5 years—in their Sunday Mass get-ups, usually sitting on their front stoop.  I look forward to these pictures every week.  Yesterday’s photos showcased only the three oldest boys sporting their Sunday best, and her comment was "today was a navy blazer on WIWS."

So I hereby give you this special episode of WIWS: Navy Blazer Day!  Featuring three of the handsomest little suit coat models you'll ever see anywhere (no exaggeration, folks!).

Is your Monday less gloomy now?  Thought so. 

Bring back WIWS, I say!  Ummm....but I'm not going to be the one to do it...[she grins sheepishly]

Have a great week!

Mother of the Groom Outfit (My Last Hurrah)

The youngest of our five sons--and the only one who is still single--is getting married in less than three weeks.  At 26, he is more than ready to take this next big step in his life; but sometimes, his big brothers (who are between 5 and 9 years older than he) forget that he is no longer the baby brother obsessed first with all things Lion King and then with all things Jurassic Park.

Wait a minute...he is still slightly obsessed with both of those movies, and with movies in general (see his blog for proof of this).  But I digress.

I have had my dress since not too long after he and his fiancée, now known here at String of Pearls as Babisiu, became engaged in March.

You would think that on my fifth go-around, I would be an old pro at picking mother of the groom attire, and I'm not. But at least I've gotten past worrying too much about what I wear, knowing how little it really matters when you think about the monumentally important reason for the day: the sacramental union of two souls, whose whole purpose from that day forth is to help each other get to heaven.  When you think of it that way, dresses are pretty unimportant.

But dresses are fun, and nothing feels better than making a choice early on, with the plan that you will lose those stubborn 10-15 pounds you've gained in the past few years so that the dress will fall just so and look amazing; and then even when you haven't been able to make the desired weight loss happen, knowing that you've chosen a dress that will fit you anyway, and is cut in a way that is kind of magically forgiving of your many perceived flaws.  (And also, nothing feels better, more confidence-building, than modeling a dress for your husband and having him tell you that he really, really likes it!)

I have not tried on my dress since June, so I hope I still feel good about it when we get back to VA after our summer away and I try it on again.  (Fingers crossed!)  I did not spend my summer dieting and working out; I spent it having crackers and cheese at cocktail hour, out on the boat with my husband.  (It's been "the Summer of Us," remember?)  I've spent it enjoying delicious meals with him, sometimes followed by delicious desserts.  I don't want to regret anything about this summer, which has been as close to perfect as a summer can be; so I hope that when I see the pictures of the wedding, I don't stress out about the double chin that appears if I don't hold my head up high enough, or the cheeks that are so much rounder than I wish they were.  I hope that all I see is the joy of a mom who has watched the youngest of her five boys make the most important commitment he will ever make, having chosen a young lady who values her Faith as much as he does with whom to share his journey through life--and therefore, having followed in the footsteps of the four older brothers he admired so much growing up.

Anyhoo--

Would you like to see the dress?  (Side note: this is not me modeling it, although I certainly wish it was!)

Less than $60 on Amazon.  You can't beat that price!

I fashioned a special necklace to wear with my dress by taking apart a faux pearl necklace passed on to me by my mom when she had to sell her house and cull through her enormous collection of costume jewelry in order to downsize.  When I restrung the pearls, I added some sparkly beads and a Miraculous Medal in the center (because I like to wear this sacramental always, but I also like to wear pearls for significant Pearl occasions).

I recently bought some mousse (for the first time ever), a curling iron, and some hair spray, and I started experimenting, hoping to come up with a better way to wear my hair for the big occasion.  But in my 61 years of being a female on this planet, I have never mastered the art of hair styling.  So I've decided to just do the usual--straight hair held back with a headband--but I'm taking the advice of my baby sister and making the headband a blingy one.  I got a navy blue satin one and glued on a whole bunch of sparkly gems, and I think this headband will be just the touch of bling I need to add a little pizazz to my usual hair-do.

Wearing that medal around my neck, with a picture of the best Mother of all time on it, I hope to forget any hair or wardrobe cares and feel nothing but peace and happiness and joy throughout the festivities.  And I think that's just what I'm going to feel.

My Sunday Best: Laetare Sunday Edition

I meant to blog yesterday.  But after going to morning Mass at our local parish (where we met up with our middle son and his wife and three children under four), we hosted a family brunch at our house.  Due to a combination of a stomach bug and a few other work-related issues, son #2 and his family were not able to make it.  So instead of ten adults and 14 grandchildren, there were only eight adults and 11 grandchildren in attendance.  Only.  (Four pounds of bacon were consumed, along with dozens of sausages.  And donuts.  And eggs...)

I had my husband take a photo of me in my church ensemble before we left for Mass, and it was as awkward as it usually is when I ask him to do the whole "Instagram husband" routine.  (If you haven't seen that hilarious YouTube video, check it out.  So funny!)

I was wearing pink in honor of Laetare Sunday.  My Sunday best sheath dress is actually not pink, per se, but more of a raspberry color.  Close enough for liturgical purposes, I hope.

Why do I look like I only have one leg?  This is what I get for trying to strike a "slimming pose."
(Can I blame those eye bags on jet lag?  Even though we'd been back for four days already?)

I was able to accessorize my outfit with something I brought back from our recent trip to Rome (March 20-27).   We didn't do a lot of shopping for souvenirs while we were over there; but I did pick up some scarves with pictures of St. Peter's and other significant sites embroidered on them, for my daughters-in-law and myself.

We also bought a pair of Rosaries as special gifts for our oldest grandchildren, twin granddaughters who are going to be making their First Holy Communion in a few weeks.

We were able to get these sweet Roman Rosaries blessed by our parish priest after Mass yesterday.

I had the house all set up for the wee ones, so this is what our Sunday best home décor looked like before everyone arrived.

Fireplace blocked, toys out.  Check and check.

Getting ready to close the gates--with so many toddlers, this is a must!  (My husband had to

fashion a special barrier for the main staircase.  We slide that big slab of wood over and 

Velcro it to the posts on each side.)

The kid's table.

I meant to take "during" and "after" pictures of our little family gathering, but I was too busy enjoying living in the moment.  When we were out of Internet service for a few days at our VRBO apartment over in Rome last week, I couldn't get on social media at all, and a funny thing happened: I was happy and relieved.  It helped us to live in the moment--we spent very little time checking our phones, because there was nothing to check.  My phone essentially became a camera and not much more.

Maybe some of that Rome trip influence has carried over now that I'm home, because I realized yesterday that I was in the basement with several grandchildren on my lap at once, and I'd left my phone upstairs--and I didn't even miss it.  Not a bit.

Actually, you know what?  I'm going down to the basement to take an "after" picture.  It looks like a minor hurricane blew through a little toy shop down there.  Imagine adorable children playing with those toys and you'll have an idea of what our Sunday looked like around here.

Last Sunday, my husband and I attended Mass at St. Patrick's in Rome, the "American" parish where the liturgy is in English.

St. Patrick's is probably the least ornate of all the many churches we visited on our trip of a lifetime; yet it is still so much more beautiful than the rather sparely decorated church in VA where we are now parishioners.  But as much as I loved Rome--and truly, I was literally brought to tears by the gorgeous religious artwork covering every inch of every wall and every ceiling of every church--I am still so happy to be back here.  This is where my boys are (the four married ones, anyway). This is where we get to spend time with them and their families.  This is where all of our grandchildren live.  Rome was spectacular, but this is our real life.  And it is even better than Rome.

Happy Laetare Sunday, dear readers.  When I get my thoughts and my pictures organized, I want to write about our Roman holiday before the details get too foggy.  Stay tuned for future posts where I subject you to the modern-day version of a slide show of our vacation.

And that's my Sunday best...brought to you on a Monday.

St. Patty's Day Party (with Pinterest Flair!)

We will be on the road this weekend, flying out to Detroit to meet up with our youngest son and his girlfriend (more to come on this soon...wink wink!). So we won't be hosting a St. Patrick's Day party for our family, like we did last year.  No, on the 17th my husband and I will go to Sunday morning Mass in Michigan and then we'll get on a plane back to DC, so we'll be drinking our green beer in the air.  (We really won't be doing that, but I thought it sounded good.)   I don't even know if we'll be home in time for dinner, so the traditional corned beef and cabbage feast will have to wait.  (And actually, it'll have to wait a while...because we'll only be home for a day, and then, it's off to Rome for a week!  Not that we're jet-setters these days or anything...)

I am actually writing this post ahead of time and leaving it in my "drafts" file, so I can just hit the "publish" button two days from now.  I have suddenly rediscovered my interest in keeping up with this blog.  (You're welcome, sweet husband and baby sister of mine!)

I just thought I'd post some pictures of last year's St. Patty's Day festivities chez Pearl.  I can't believe I never wrote a blog post about it, because I went on Pinterest to find some creative ideas for making our family celebration extra-special, and faith and begorrah, I was pretty proud of myself, dontcha know.

Okay, here's the photo dump.

I used photos of son #5 (the only one not there, stationed in Germany at the time) wearing his second grade saints parade

costume, and my husband's Irish grandfather, who was born in County Cork and came to the US at 19, in the décor.

My oldest son was teasing me about this fruit tray, which I kept filling as people ate from it so it would stay pretty.

  I was definitely not the Pinterest-mom type when he was growing up, knowing that boys care more about 

taste and volume when it comes to food than they do about presentation!

The Irish flag!

I knew I would have trouble finding a tablecloth like this...so I made it myself!

We did not have green beer--but we did have green punch.

I always love to have a good excuse to make a cake.

Some very ugly Irish soda bread (without raisins or seeds or any of that other icky stuff my boys

won't eat in their baked goods!).  It tasted better than it looked (not a hard feat to pull off).

There he is: my favorite Irishman!

This adorable little leprechaun even had gold coins in his pocket! 

Oh my goodness...those shoes. Hats off to son #2 and Ginger for their costume-making prowess!

The triple threat!  

Not to be outdone by my little leprechaun grandson, here are the shoes I wore for our family "hooley" (as Kendra Tierney would call it).

And on that note, good bye!  May the road rise to meet you...and you know the rest!

Everyday Mary, Our Mother

Hey, look at me!  I tore myself away from Instagram long enough to write a blog post!

Speaking of blog posts, I used to read Camp Patton all the time, back when Grace spent more time there than she does on IG.  Yesterday I decided to visit her blog and see if I'd missed anything, and I noticed that she's not posting at the Camp more than about once or twice a month these days, so I'm in good company.  ("Laura, are you ACTUALLY putting yourself in the same company as Grace Patton?!?!"  You're right--the nerve!)

Grace had this to say in her Jan. 30 post: "I remember long ago when someone predicted Instagram would kill blogs I feigned a horrified-hand-to-chest move because I didn't think it would ever be possible but welcome to 2019, Grace No Foresight Patton."  [A quick aside: that right there is an example of the sharp and witty writing style that made Grace one of the superstars of the blogging world.  It's no wonder her followers are legion.]

Anyway, if you're still here (if you haven't jumped ship to check out the offerings of all the Grace Patton-quality blogs that are still up and running, or to scroll through the easier-to-digest mini-posts that make Instagram so enticing!), I thought I'd use this Sunday post to talk a little bit about one of my favorite subjects: Our Blessed Mother.

For ages now, I've wanted to get a Kitchen Madonna statue to have on the counter in the room where I spend about 75% of my life.  We've always had plenty of images (both statues and pictures) of Mary around the house--Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Grace, the Immaculate Heart, etc.  But no Kitchen Madonna.  That is, until one day last week when I decided to do a little eBay browsing...and look what came in the mail yesterday.

Isn't She just the sweetest?  [Insert heart-eyed emoji here.]  This is a used resin statue, but in mint condition (and it was a good bit cheaper than a new one would have been, not to mention the seller's offer of free shipping!).  I love that Mary is shown wearing an apron.  Aprons are my favorite--just ask my boys!  (Actually, don't, because they'll just make fun of their mommy.)

Today while I made my husband's Sunday brunch, I wore my "fancy" one--my "Little Black [Dress] Apron" with pearls on it--over the Sunday best frock-and-jacket combo I chose for Mass.

I am the worst at posing for fashion shots; and my husband is a really, really good sport.

Okay, I guess as long as I'm posing here in all my fashion-forward glory, you could call this a "My Sunday Best" post (although I'll have to check to see if Rosie is hosting this link-up today; she is, after all, about to give birth to baby #7!).  I have given this same adorable black apron to each of my four daughters-in-law, usually at their wedding showers.  If that seems like a sexist sort of gift to give a girl--"Here, you're going to be cooking a lot for my son, so you're going to need this!"--I didn't mean it to be.  And I do realize that most gals don't don an apron every time they approach the kitchen, like I do.  But this one had pearls on it...and they were about to become Pearls...so it seemed like a good idea at the time.

(BTW: This is by no means a sponsored post, but if you like this apron and just HAVE to get one for yourself, you'll find it here at Bed, Bath, & Beyond.)

(Also BTW: HOURS after our eggs and bacon had been consumed, I was still wearing my apron while I sat in my recliner watching HGTV with my husband....so I guess I deserve all the teasing my sons want to give me.)

But back to my new little Kitchen Madonna: another thing I like about Her is that She's holding a broom.  (My husband teases me about my love of vacuuming--but if I'd been a housewife in Mary's time I would have been the "mad sweeper" rather than the "mad vacker," as he likes to call me.)

Aside from the apron and the broom, I love that Jesus is reaching his arms up to be picked up by His mom.  What a sweet reminder that Mary was a mother to Jesus, that He was Her little boy, and that She spent Her days doing the kinds of repetitive, self-sacrificing, seemingly mundane tasks that all women do in the home, for Him and for St. Joseph.  I recently came across a 2013 Our Sunday Visitor article by Marge Fenelon that reflected on this theme, and here is an excerpt:

"We tend to forget that Mary is a real woman, a real wife and mother who walked on this earth, doing all of the things we do, or will do, as moms.  She cooked meals, mended clothing, did laundry, washed dishes, changed diapers, sang lullabies, worried about the choices her child was making, kibitzed with other women, served her husband and child, and went to bed exhausted after a long day of hard work.  Mary isn't a statue and she isn't an untouchable goddess.  She was and is a mother--Jesus' mother in an actual way, and our mother in a divine way."

I think that is such a lovely way to think about Our Blessed Mother: to imagine Her as "everyday Mary," doing ordinary things like sweeping Her kitchen floor or hanging wet clothes on the line, always with Her Son close by.  That's why I'm so fond of a painting known as "The Polish Madonna" or "Mary's Wash Day."  I have a framed copy of it hanging in the hallway right across from the little laundry room in our VA home.

This lovely image is one more reminder to me that there is no task (no matter how menial!) performed with love for my family that is beneath me, because even the most exalted of women spent Her life on earth working day-in and day-out as a housewife and stay-at-home mom.  If it was good enough for Her, how could it not be good enough for me?

I hope it's not too vain of me to perform my household tasks while sporting a fancy, lace-trimmed apron adorned with pearls.  If you know of a more humble-looking, Mary-themed apron out there that I could wear instead, leave me a comment.  (But to be honest, I'm probably heading to Etsy right after I push the "publish" button for this post, now that I've got the idea in my head!)

Bye for now!  (And if you haven't done so already today, call your Mother--or maybe I should say OUR Mother.)

 

Little Boys in Red Rompers

At the end of my last post, which was about my grandson G-Man's pre-school Christmas show, I warned you that there might be a sequel.  Well, here it is, as promised!

Back in the fall of 1985, with Christmas on the horizon, I made matching red corduroy rompers for my two wee sons to wear when we had our Christmas card photo taken at Sears.  (Back then, if you wanted a "professional" photo shoot, you went to the studios at Sears or JC Penney; or if Olan Mills was in town and you could afford the exorbitant prices they charged, they were the best around.)  Our boys were almost 2-and-1/2 and almost one that Christmas, but it was the first time I decided to send out photo Christmas cards.

To go with the rompers, I bought matching plaid round-collared shirts--which look so sweetly vintage now.  Those two little guys looked adorable, they really did.  I was very proud of that first card.

The rompers showed up a few more times, as we had four boys in four years, and someone could always fit into one.

By the time son #4 was wearing one of the rompers, I had added little iron-on embroidery 

wreaths to the button-on tabs on front.  I had meant to have the tabs monogrammed originally,

but...four boys in four years.

I regret that I never got a picture of son #5 (who came along after a bit of a break) in this get-up.  He was too big to wear the smaller one for his first Christmas, and then I forgot to dig these precious garments out for his second.  Ah, well...

Anyway--

This past Thursday our 3-year-old grandson Junior had his pre-school Christmas show.  And he was all dressed up in one of the beloved red rompers.  Before it started, his dad (our second oldest) and his mom (our darling daughter-in-law Ginger) both warned us not to expect much.  I think they had visions of him running off the stage, or perhaps bursting into tears.

Junior did not do either one of those things.  But he didn't stand with his little classmates and sing, either.  He got very, very shy, covered his eyes with his arm, and then sought comfort in his teacher's lap for the remainder of the program.  It was actually quite adorable.

During the show, I was feeling very nostalgic, seeing his dad holding his one-year-old boy--who was wearing the very same outfit he had worn 33 years ago for our first Christmas card.

Junior was very happy back at home, after the show, when he didn't have to be on display anymore.  Then suddenly, his little brother Jedi got camera-shy...

I don't know if I can adequately describe how touching it is to me to see these red rompers being worn again, by little boys who melt my heart the same way their daddy and his brothers did when they wore them.

I wish now that I'd made more matching rompers for my boys when they were little. (But I guess I didn't have the time back then...because four boys in four years--followed by a fifth.)  Maybe it's better that I didn't, though, because these red Christmas ones would not be nearly as special to me if there were countless others like them.

But I will say that I am enjoying making matching rompers for son #2's boys now, because their mommy is a sucker for anything vintage-looking.  And hopefully someday she will be able to see her own grandchildren wearing outfits that their great-grandmother made for their dads.

In the Pink on Gaudete Sunday (And Here are the Giveaway Winners!)

It was quite easy for me to dress in a liturgically appropriate fashion today, on Gaudete Sunday, and that's because of a lovely pink winter coat that I got about four years ago at an after-season sale at Talbot's.

Here I am wearing the coat back in 2015.

They had this coat (which I blogged about before, here) in a slew of tempting colors: Kelly green (my fave), royal blue (my next-up fave), and vibrant hot pink (my husband's fave), to name a few.  So...I was going to say guess which color I chose; but you can plainly see that I chose the pink.  (Not that I live to please my man or anything.  But when he likes the way I look in a color, I try to wear that color as much as possible!)

To tell you the truth, I'm almost surprised that he didn't insist that I buy one in every color they had in my size (something he does too often, because he is a total softie when it comes to me: he treats every day like it's Christmas, or my birthday).  I guess the main reason he didn't insist is that even with the after-season reduction in price, it still wasn't cheap.  If cheap is what I was after, I should not have been shopping at Talbot's.

I probably would have picked a different color, left to my own devices.  But I do love this coat!  When it's the middle of winter and it's depressingly cold and dreary outside (and ugh, getting dark by 5:00!), it gives me a bit of a lift to wear a coat in this beautiful, happy shade of pink.

Plus, it's the perfect garment to wear on Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, when the pink candle gets lit.

Here I am in my Talbot's beauty this morning, when I paired it with a dark purple dress for

Mass (and also a lilac-colored lace mantilla).  I matched the Advent wreath perfectly!

Happy Gaudete Sunday, dear readers!  I pray that you and yours are in the pink--healthy and happy-- as you await the joy of Christmas day!

But before I go, I do want to announce the

--make that winners!

Two names have been chosen among those who entered by leaving comments here at String of Pearls. The winner of a copy of Finding Grace is a Pettis.  On Dec. 10 she left a comment on my Nov. 30 post.  (a Pettis, I have your email address, so I will be in touch to get your mailing address.)

And the winner of a copy of Erin's Ring is Erin Carlson (how perfect is that?!); on Dec. 13 she left a comment on that same post.  (Erin, please contact me via the "Email me" tab up there on the sidebar and provide your addresses, so I can get your book mailed out to you ASAP.) 

Congratulations, ladies!