7 Quick Takes, Vol. 75

'Cause it's Friday y'all. Joining Jen.

1.This week has sort of slipped by, time just passing from one day to the next without anything too remarkable/terrible/crazy/wonderful to show for it. It was just a week lived. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but it makes sitting down to write more challenging.

2.The most noteworthy part of our week has been dealing with Clare. I love my sweet, wonderful, adorable, hilarious, smart, curious girl to no end, but the toddler thing is just exhausting. Answering one million questions. Redirecting. Coming up with consequences (regardless of whether I actually have to dole them out). Dealing oh-so-patiently (or trying to) with outbursts and tantrums. Ohmygosh. It just exhausts.

But still so sweet.

3. She's also obsessed with her toys. I love watching her play -- and really play -- with her toys. It's amazing to me to see my baby suddenly playing -- having her Little People do things and mixing and matching little trinkets and having so much fun. Until she decides she wants to play instead of whatever it is I actually need her to do. I mean your responsibilities at 2 are pretty limited, but it's still a struggle. (See #2, above.)

4. And the little guy? He just keeps on keeping on with his sunny little disposition, goofy grin, and getting too big and strong antics. Where did my tiny baby go? I mean, I know he's only 4 months, but . . . yep, I'm that mom.

5. Last weekend, we were able to take a walk down by the river as a family. It's amazing how wonderful simple family time feels when you're deprived of it like we were last month. Bliss.

6. In weather news (in other words, feel free to skip to the end), the weather guy the other day was saying that we might have had our last 100 degree day of the season. No promises, ever, with the weather, but that is so amazing after so many loooong summers in Arizona.

7. Ready for a lovely (maybe rainy?) long weekend! We're really lucking out with Charles being off for the long weekends so far -- he's off on Monday! Yay!

Have a lovely weekend! Stay safe and dry and enjoy the last days of "official" summer!

7 Quick Takes, Vol. 68

Finally Friday (errrr...Saturday) -- linking up with Kathryn of Team Whitaker, who's filling in for Jen during her vacation.

1. I'm finally feeling reoriented to time and place after a crazy-cakes last week. There was an overall (un)pleasant 16 hour drive with two kids in a mini-van, the unusual experience of arriving at/moving into a house I had only seen via FaceTime, and the always very (un)pleasant task of unpacking all those boxes we spent so many hours packing. Big thank you to my dad and Rhonda for their help driving us out here!

Wichita or Bust -- from somewhere in NM

2. The key to feeling settled in a house: the kitchen is totally unpacked and put together. It doesn't matter that there is still no art on the walls or that the crib is still in pieces in the nursery. I can made dinner and do dishes and put things away. I feel complete.

Now to decide what color to paint that wall.

3. We're able to still have the crib disassembled, because Clare has moved to a twin. We'd been building up for weeks the fact that, when we went to Wichita, she's get to sleep in a "bi' burl bed." So far, she's doing really well. It probably helps that her room is still mostly empty and she hasn't figured out that she can get out of the bed if she really wants to, thanks to the bed rail.

Bed unmade -- bedding in progress

4. In spite of the fact that I am 99.9% sure that this Arizona girl is going to die of humidity, we're loving being here so far. We love that there are trees and that we have a yard for the kids to run around. The previous owners of our house left swings on the trees, so Clare has been begging to "swinging" about 1 million times per day. We can walk to two different parks (provided, in the summer, that we go in the mornings). I'm trying really hard to get us out of the house and get involved, so we have that going for us, too. Since that isn't easy for me, it is definitely worth noting.

Trying the big girl swing

5. One thing that is helping me get into a groove is that Charles started residency orientation this week. I miss him when he's gone, especially on late days (and am especially especially dreading the long hours of residency), but it does let us get into more of a rhythm. So far, so good, I guess. I mean, orientation is orientation, so . . . yeah.

6. One thing hindering me from getting into a groove: daylight saving time. I know Arizona is an anomaly, but why, oh why, do people think the sun staying up until 9 at night is a good idea?!? Why?!?!? We're not in Alaska or Scandinavia. Just.not.right.

7. We have a full weekend of residency orientation social activities ahead of us. And I should probably suck it up and unpack some of those boxes in the basement. :-P

And maybe lawn mowing . . .

Have a lovely weekend!

7 Quick Takes, Vol. 46

Joining Jen and others for my weekly 7QT fix.

1. I joined Charles in Tucson for interview fun yesterday and today. It was my first night away from Clare, so I tossed and turned a good chuck of the night. Lovely. She and Grandma & Grandpa seem to have survived the night, and it was nice to get some R&R yesterday afternoon. I've also eaten a couple of meals without toddler antics, which is freakishly calm. Even so, gotta admit that I miss my girl. I almost even miss reading Hop on Pop. But not quite. I'm not in need of counseling or intervention. Yet.

2. My mom grew up here, I had extended family here who we visited frequently while growing up, and I went to college here (go Cats!!), so there are about a million memories around every corner. That makes it annoying to drive around with me. "That's where bla bla bla. And that's where bla." I'm shiny eyed and happy. My companion is glassy eyed and regretting that muzzles on humans are not considered appropriate.

Raising her right!

3. Sadly, too many of those memories involve food. My sister and I (and probably other family members) are allllllllllll about eating our way through town. Charles asked about my plans this morning, and sadly, they involved my college hangout coffee shop and family favorite lunch spot. With some other time killing in between.

4. Which brings #2 and #3 together in the craziest story. I was at this coffee shop (and by this, I'm somewhat literal, since I'm sitting in said coffee shop typing this morning) with a couple of friends one evening, drinking lattes and having Deep Collegiate conversations, I'm sure. Randomly, (for reals, the most random ev-ah) we were approached by a strange Russian septuagenarian with an accordion. He played, we smiled politely. Then he started encouraging us to dance. And play his accordion. What???!?!??! Yeah. So, a couple of us do an awkward linked arms circle dance. A couple of us play a couple of off key notes on his accordion. I don't remember how the situation finally ended, but, as was pointed out when I texted the recollection off this morning, we were dancing like little Russian puppet monkeys. So weird.

Via

5. 23 weeks pregnant and obsessively talking about food. Could I be more cliche?

My magic, bump shrinking shirt!

6. Fine, I'll talk about the weather instead. It's cold for Arizona, but that's not actually my main concern (for once). Instead, my concern is the absolutely frigid weather we'll be facing when we go to Denver tomorrow. Charles and I have cold weather odds and ends, so we'll be fine, but we're piecing stuff together for Clare, who is an Arizona baby with an Arizona wardrobe. Should be interesting. Expecting to spend lots and lots of time indoors in the next few days, and looking forward to things getting back to seasonably cold weather mid-week.

Modeling Daddy's beanie.

7. Oooh, I know what I nearly failed to mention -- wishing everyone a happy Feast of St. Nicholas!! Clare's shoes will be getting their inaugural treats tonight (a day late since we were gone, but she'll never know!) in accord with my New (Liturgical) Year's resolution to live more liturgically.

Have a lovely, safe, dry, and warm weekend!

5 Favorites, Vol. 17

Joining Hallie via Grace. And getting back on the blogging train. I hope.

1. Not blogging -- Okay, not really a favorite, but it seems to be, since I have barely touched the computer in nearly 2 weeks. I could write a big update post, but really it was more like this: We were in Denver. We drove 1 million miles and hours home, but it wasn't bad, because we hit zero of interest on the weather front. We got settled back into life in Phoenix. I got a cold. I'm mostly over it. Yep, exciting life I'm living.

From our day trip to Vail. Clare was very impressed.

2. Over-the-counter medications -- Said cold was made a billion times more tolerable by the classic combo of generic Tylenol (better when I'm sick than ibuprofen, always), cough drops and fluids. Not gonna lie, I've included some decongestants along the way. Scandal. No, I'm not one of those people who only uses medication if I'm dying of the plague. Why do you ask?

Via

3. Tea with honey -- I might go all modern-medicine on you, but I also love a good cup of tea with honey. It helps the throat, it warms you up, there is nothing cozier.

Via

4. Zucchini --I know lots of people have a certain amount of dread for this magical time of year when zucchini is abundant and no one has any idea of what to do with it all. Especially the ones that are the size of a small child. Not me. I love it love it love it. I love squash in all forms, if I'm being honest, but zucchini season holds a special place in my heart.

Via

5. Dreaming of fall -- I know I talk about the weird phenomenon that is Arizona weather far too frequently, but the struggle hits the hardest this time of year. The mercury is still topping 100 on the reg, but everyone else is getting fall wanderlust fueled by Pumpkin Spice Lattes and apple stuffs. Only we're not immune to the disease, so we put out pumpkins and browse sweaters and boots with longing for the November day where we'll only look slightly crazy wearing them.

Yeah, right! Via

Happy Wednesday-ing!

7 Quick Takes, Vol. 32

It's Friday, bien sur.

1. So, I'm finally, finally, finally feeling settled in Denver. The kitchen is a disaster that I need to clean -- which means I got my cooking on for lunch (soup that I've inhaled too much of, but yum!). You know you're settled when I destroy the kitchen . . . at lunch! *happy dance*

2. I hate being the cheeze-tastic girl who talks about the weather, but the awesome thing about Colorado in the summer is that everyone is all "Blah, blah, blah, it's so hot." (With all my love, CO peeps <3) Meanwhile, I'm grabbing a sweater every morning and evening. Gorgeous, glorious, cool air. Even some rain.

3. Clare and I even made it to the park to do a little swinging. . . and we did it, wait for it . . . after lunch!! Yep, gloriously perfect outdoor weather at 1pm. The. Life.

She was so 'appy that she pouted when I took her home.

4. Don't talk to me about winters in places that aren't Phoenix. I'm in lala land denial. *fingers in ears*

5. Then again, I was reflecting during my park glory that, August in Phoenix is like February everywhere that it snows. It all just gets to be too much and too oppressive and leaves everyone begging for mercy. "Isn't it over yeeeeeeeeet????!?!?" Then, when there is a nice day, people post all over Facebook and Instagram that they managed to go outside, and looking at it from the outside, you don't really get it, but oh my gosh, it is a joyful little miracle.

6. All this sunny disposition requires the full disclosure that Clare decided to wake up at 5ish today and be a total crab monster alllllllll morning. She has now taken two nice, long naps. I appreciate the long afternoon nap for more soup eating/a cat nap while I was watching Project Runway/tapping out this super-high quality blog post wherein I talk too much about the weather. I appreciate the morning naps for showering in peace and stuff, but on days like today, the mature part of me is all, "Told you you needed to sleep longer this morning!!!" Complete with the desire to stick out my tongue. Meaning? I dunno.

7. I just gotta say it. Blog Wars 2013? Whatevs. Read what you enjoy. Ignore the rest. Easy peasy. I love blogs that are well-written and that I find I can relate to in one way or another. Some paint rosy pictures of life. Some are "real" or "honest." The thing is, I don't think anyone is being dishonest. Since I live in the real world, I know that there are two sides to every coin. People are writing what they want to write, for whom they want to write it, for their own purposes. *shoulder shrug* As my dad always pointed out, variety is the spice of life.

And with that, I'm off! Have a lovely weekend, and visit Jen for more!

Rocky Mountain Hi!

(I just couldn't resist.)

So, I sorta fell off the blogging wagon long about 10 days ago. I had this awesome (in my head) post to write (still planning on it), but decided that a lovely evening with extended family >>>>> working on a blog post. Sometimes, my priorities actually are in order!

Anyway, blogging got put off and off and off through the madness:

That week, I laundered and sorted, and packed and loaded up alllll our stuff in St. Louis. And cleaned and scrubbed and wiped and polished and obsessed over the house. Successfully got our full deposit returned to us (woo to the hoo!), and got outta Dodge. (Read: rant about our former landlord lady is forthcoming.)

Then, we made the long, loong, loooooooooong drive through Kansas, to Denver, Colorado. No sooner did we cross the border than we hit a monster thunderstorm that rocked through CO on Saturday. Thunder and lightning? Check. Pounding rain? Check. Tornado warning (waited out at a truckstop)? Check. More pounding rain? Check. Driving 45 on the interstate with limited visibility? Check. Baby who is sick of the carseat and letting us know it? Check? No fewer than three ugly car accidents (and associated rubbernecking)? Check.

After exhausted screaming comes a nap with your puppy.

By the time we got to our place-for-the-month in Denver, we were beat. No. Beat is a drastic understatement. At least Clare fell asleep in the car outside of Denver and stayed asleep through a transfer to her pack-n-play.

Thank you God for getting us here safely and for that little Clare-transferring miracle.

Sunday was mass and lunch with Charles' siblings and their families. His sister has 3 dogs and is dog-sitting 2 more. Clare was in hog puppy heaven. And trying to get ready to send Charles off to his new rotation on Monday. You know, minor detail.

Our first pager. Presumably not our last. Royal our.

Yesterday, Charles started up his new rotation (so far, rotation = love) and I got us somewhat organized at the house, so it feels more livable (instead of crap scattered everywhere Ashley insane driving).

[Instagrammified] My little bookworm undoing all of my organizing.

After allllllllllllllll of that, I finally feel human and my typing fingers are feeling itchy. :) In other words, I'm baaaaack.

{Also, linking up with Medical Mondays (From a Doctor's Wife and Your Doctor's Wife), since this whole thing is, you know, the result of the Med School journey!}

7 Quick Takes, Vol. 14

It's Friday, so of course that means I'm linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary for my weekly Quick Takes fix.

1. I had a newsy Thursday morning, thanks to the Pope's renunciation. Such a beautiful soul has led the Church these last several years. Emeritus Pope Benedict will continue to be in our family's prayers.

2. We are also praying for the upcoming Conclave, for the Cardinals who will be participating in it, and for the Cardinals we "adopted," Joao Braz de Aviz (from Brazil, but now Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life) and Angelo Bagnesco (Bishop of Genoa).

3. I made these gorgeous sourdough boules using this recipe. They were far superior to the last round, though Charles thinks they could still stand to be a little more sour. I have a frozen loaf for later, and I'll be more patient with the pre-bake rise, so we'll see how it turns out. Probably not more sour, but more airy, perhaps. I've definitely been sold on baking bread in my beloved Dutch oven.

Fresh from the oven goodness

4. On Wednesday, I gave in to the temptation that faces women of all ages. I cut my own bangs. They were too long and funky and I didn't have any desire to spend the time or money to get them cut. So . . . I grabbed the scissors and did the deed. I don't think they look too terrible.

5. It has been such a joyful week watching Clare explore her new found "freedom" now that she can move around on her own, even if she does "limp crawl" on the laminate. She's discovered that she can get to various rooms of the house, her baskets of toys and books, all kinds of awesome (and awesomely tasty?!?) power cords, and other treasures. She's experimenting with pulling up, so I know our next adventures await. Now, she begins the lifelong process of learning that "ability to do" is not the same "should do." Oh, free will, you double-edged sword.

Finding her toys and books

6. One of the things she has discovered is this basketball hoop that makes noise for a "slam dunk." Her beloved basketball actually goes with it. She sits obsessively slamming the hoop like older ladies in casinos pull the slot machine handles. At some point, she stops caring, but keeps on pulling anyway, mesmerized.

Basketball or orange? You be the judge.

7. I know that most of the world is in the midst of their winter doldrums, but here, we have enjoyed the most beautifully perfect weather this week. This is why people move to (or winter in) Arizona. Why else would we endure months of 100+ (and 110+) degree days?!?

Have a lovely weekend, whatever your weather!

7 Quick Takes, Vol. 13

Volume 13, eh?!? I've never been particularly superstitious, but I know a lot of people are really antsy about the ol' 13. Anyway, linking up with Jen, 'cause it's Friday, yo. Yep. I'm bad, and I know it.

1. If you know anyone from Arizona, I’m sure your FB let you know that we got a freak winter storm here on Wednesday. If you’re from Arizona, your FB feed was nothing but comments about said winter storm. I also saw it on Sports Center thanks to a golf tourney, in case your tastes are more “basketball scores” than “baby pictures.” Our place is too “urban heat island” to have seen any of the white stuff, but I love when we get snow in the desert, in part because it is such.a.big.deal. and, in part, because it looks really pretty.

Shamelessly stolen from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum FB page.

2. All of this reminds me of when I arrived in France for my study abroad program, (Gulp. How was that 10 years ago? I’m old.) and woke up to about ½ inch of snow in Marseille. This is beyond unheard of, and this city was pretty much shut down and freaking out. Even though I was well on my way to becoming a desert rat at that time, growing up in the mountains of northern Arizona taught me enough about snow to know that there really wasn’t much anything to fret about.

3. Which, in turn, reminds me that I want to do a looking back post or 10 about my study abroad adventures. I need to get scanning, since all of my adventures were captured with film. Remember that stuff?

Euro Ash with Florian, the (happily married) French teacher who half the girls (not including me) were in love with.

4. I’m being all stream-of-thought-y with my Takes today. I spent lots of hours putting together a killer Study Abroad scrapbook. I’d like to say that I’m going to scrapbook Clare’s life, but I assure you that it is never going to happen. Instead, I am going to start working on a 1^st year photo book, so I have some tangible proof that I have taken the 10 thousand million pictures I have, in fact, taken. I’ve gotten all paranoid in the last week or so that our photo storing technology is going to stop working/become increasingly obsolete/cataclysmic event/something, so this tangible picture holding/seeing thing is sounding good.

2 page spread!

5. Which means I also need to do something about my wedding pictures.

'Cause I like it.

 6. Crawling? I think we’re going to have a victory post very pretty somewhat soon. Teething? Hah.

Me? Crawl? I'm too busy picking up this microscopic piece of dirt.

7. This week, I’m increasingly seeing that Clare is becoming a total Daddy’s girl. It’s pretty darn adorable. When we found out we were having a girl, Charles was nervous about it, and now she’s wrapped around his little finger. 

Randomly falling asleep in his arms. I'm not going to say I wasn't totally jealous. I was.