7 Quick Takes, Vol. 71 (Updates for the Fam (and Anyone Else Who Cares)))

Happy Friday -- slow week on the ol' blog. Nothing bad or crazy (unless you count the munchkins), just not much down time this week. Boo! Anyway, joining Jen, per usual.

1. Sometimes blessings come in the form of work trucks. Ever since we moved into our house, Charles has been trying to get the sprinkler system figured out and working. Two weeks ago, he was able to get it on, but found some repairs -- mostly replacing broken sprinkler heads. There was also a leak that showed up, and he spent a good chunk of time over the week "out at the hole" trying to get it fixed. He happened to mention this to one of his co-residents, who mentioned that he had previously worked for a sprinkler company and would be happy to help out. He rolled up Monday morning with his old boss in his work truck, and they got the thing fixed in no time flat! Praise God!

2. Meanwhile, I took the kids' to our usual Monday play group at the park and splash pad. The grown-ups thought it was a bit cool for the water, but the little girls had other ideas.

3. I don't think I've mentioned Clare's surprising unwillingness to get out of bed by herself. She is fully capable of getting in and out of her big girl bed without help. And she will not let us help her into bed. But in the mornings, she calls, "Mommy Mommy" when she is ready to get up (thankfully, that is rarely before 7 am, so I have no complaints or attempts at retraining on this front), and either asks me to lift her out, or jumps out of bed and toddles off herself.

4. So, imagine our surprise Sunday morning when she popped into our room while Charles was getting dressed with a bright, "Good morning, Daddy!" And, even more amazingly, she hasn't done it since.

5. Peter had some congestion issues all week, and Charles is fighting some little buggy boo. Thankfully, I've not had anything worse than a crick in my neck from holding Peter too much at night, and Clare seems her usual, feisty self, so all's well that ends well. Hopefully.

Unrelated -- Clare and Peter "playing rock 'n' roll"

6. Poor Peter. When he's congested and breathing like he's congested, he gets nicknamed Snergle, from too many readings of The Lorax: "Down slupps the Whisper-ma-Phone to your ear/and the old Once-ler's whispers are not very clear,/since they have to come down/through a snergelly hose,/and he sounds as if he had/smallish bees up his nose." He's either gonna love it or hate it by the time he is old enough to have an opinion.

Young Master Snergle, Swaddle Breaker and Spinner Extraordinaire

7. A week from today, we head to Colorado for a little getaway/retreat with Charles' residency program, and two weeks from today, we'll be getting back to the homeland for a couple of days, including my dad's wedding. No idea how much radio silence or noise there might be in blogville, but I'm sure I'll have some updates when all is said and done.

Have a lovely weekend!