7 Quick Takes (05.15.16)

I don't even remember the last time I did 7QT, but here goes! Linking up with Kelly. (For reals, yo, I started this on Friday, then naps and quiet didn't happen and now it's Sunday, and I'm actually trying to get stuff up.)

So, since I haven't done much blogging recently, here is a photo dump update.

1. First, I gotta brag that I got not one, but two posts published this week, thanks to some Mother's Day time at Starbucks. Birthdays and parks. That's what motherhood is made of, am I right, or am I right?

Park Kids

2. Speaking of birthdays, Peter's second was pretty great. Even though Charles was working nights, we managed to celebrate with gifts and breakfast on the big day, and had a gaggle of friends and a few family members over for a shindig on Saturday.

Cake and gifts and bikes, oh my!

3. Last week (two weeks ago?), the kids and I took a whirlwind (emphasis on whirl) trip to Arizona for my grandma's memorial/burial. It was my first time flying with both of them, and I I have to say that I was really nervous about the whole thing. I'm really proud of how they did--great on the flight and for most of the week. By the last couple of days, they were pretty exhausted from being dragged around, nonstop stimulation, and being on some weird hybrid of Central Daylight and Mountain Standard times that basically meant that they were getting very, very little sleep at night. Overall, it went well, but I'm still none too eager to do it all over again.

Snacks on the plane like pros.

4. One night at my dad's house, when I went to get ready for bed, I found them sleeping like this. The photo quality is awful (iPhone and all flash, go figure), but it just melted my heart. I love that they love each other, even though their volume/fighting doesn't always show it.

He was actually sleeping on her! 

5. Before we left, we went with our playgroup on a little excursion to go strawberry picking. Fruit picking is pretty foreign to me, since the only thing that really grows in Phoenix is citrus, and enough people have a surplus in their yards that going picking is not really a thing. Anyway, we had so much fun, and my kids devoured our pickings for a pre-flight afternoon snack!

Getting' our country on

6. I've written before about how Mother's Day was really hard for me for a long time. This year, for the first time in 17 years, I can honestly say that I had a wonderful day. Yes, I had those twinges of sadness, but Charles and the kids made my day with the sweetest flowers and funniest cards and food and coffee and laughter. I felt too blessed to be burdened with sadness.

3 bouquets from my 3 loves

7. Next week, Clare is going to have her first dance recital! Of course, that means a dance-heavy week and lots of time with poor Peter stuck at dance stuff, but I'm pretty sure it is going to be adorable. I'm also pretty sure that one or both of Charles and me will cry on the big day. We're nothing if not a couple of big saps.

Blurry picture day pics

Have a lovely weekend! week!!

7QT -- Updates and Ramblings (05.29.15)

Look, I'm not making any promises about being around more. But I'm linking up with Kelly for some quick ramblings before the kids decide that milk is not enough of a breakfast and want real food. 

1. I never thought I would be tired of the rain. At least not this tired of rain. I feel like Noah. I'm waiting for the dove. Maybe I'm being melodramatic, but kids in the house when they should be playing outside will do that to you. And we're well north of Texas. Our 15 inches of rain and soaked everything is nothing compared to what's going on down there. Praying for dry, hot sun.

Playing in the mud thanks to the rain.

2. I think/hope/pray that Peter's long, long nap strike is over/on the road to over.A girl can dream, right?!? He's finally sleeping pretty well at night, so I can't complaint too too much. But...a cranky baby makes for a looooong afternoon/evening. Anyway, I decided this week to (wo)man up and get him on a more consistent afternoon nap schedule, and, go figure, he's sleeping 2ish hours a day, and is still a pleasant happy baby by dinner.

Although falling asleep in his highchair is funny!

3. Peter is getting closer and closer to walking. He can walk assisted like a pro. He's taken 3-4 steps at a time. He's letting go of the furniture. He's so close. But best of all, he tries to "jump" when we're walking. 

Me: 1, 2, 3, jump! 
Peter: DUH!!! 

He bends his knees and bounces up -- of course, without his feet actually leaving the ground. He's pretty proud of himself. I think it's terribly cute and he just laughs and laughs and laughs when he does it. Over and over and over again. Love it!

4. We have had lots of fun hosting first Charles' mom, then my dad and Rhonda for long weekends in the last few weeks. It's good to be around family when family is otherwise so far away. And MY SISTER IS COMING this coming weekend!!!!!!!!!!! 

5. I don't think there is a font to express how unbelievably excited I am about that. We've barely seen one another since our baby showers last March. Since then, we've both had babies. (Is that a duh since we had baby showers?) I've moved. We've lived a lot of life. We talk probably 5 days a week. We FaceTime. We saw each other for less than 24 hours at our dad's wedding last fall. But now, we get 4 full and 2 partial days. Glorious, lovely days. Cannot wait!

6. She is, of course, brining her 1 year old daughter with her for the fun. I'm excited to see how the three cousins interact. Who will pair up? The siblings? The babies? The girls? Who will fight? Who will freak out because someone stole their toys? Bonus: the weather forecast is actually calling for sun, so we'll be able to enjoy outdoor activities.

7. For as long as I can remember, my dad has listened (not watched!) the pre-race festivities of the Indy 500 on Memorial Day weekend. Usually while working on his garden. But since he was in Kansas last weekend, he had to do some 21st century improvisation. We got the race streaming on his iPad and he sat on our back deck listening. It felt pretty special to me. 

Peter, of course, just wanted to play!

Have a lovely weekend! 

7QT, Vol. 79

This week . . . it was wonderful. Just not in a blogging kind of way.

1. I'm blaming the weather. It was so warm and sunny that it seemed like a waste to spend it inside staring at a computer.

Cozy Coupe Antics

2. But we did take a trip to one of my favorite places in Wichita -- the Museum of World Treasures. It is an interesting place. The original donor amassed an incredibly . . . eclectic . . . collection of stuff: mummies, dinosaur bones, documents, historical artifacts, and they all ended up in this museum. It's no Smithsonian, but I like that it is small enough to manage with the kids in a pretty short period of time, and it really does have interesting stuff (to this history major, at least). Anyway, we went for the preschool program, which was okay, but Clare loved the T-Rex, so all is good. She actually cried to me that afternoon, begging to go see T-Rex again. Paleontology (or Dinosaur Train?) for the win!

Peter wants to be set loose, I think.

3. The highlight of last weekend was Confirmation. I cried as Bishop Kemme anointed our Confirmandi, which pretty much sealed my fate to be a weeping mess when my own kids receive their sacraments. I mean, I formed and prayed for those kids for a few weeks; I'll have formed and prayed for my own kids from the verrrrrry beginning.

I was going to do a What I Wore Sunday. #neverhappened

4. I took the kids to the grocery store yesterday. Clare danced allllllll the way up and down the aisles. I was getting pretty exasperated with begging her to not stray too far from the cart, not to get in the way of other shoppers, not to sit on the floor. An older gentleman stopped and whispered to me, "Honey, they never do what you want them to." Touche.

The shirt says it all.

5. Last weekend, this guy turned 11 months old. 6 teeth. Eats everything he can get his hands on. Moving all over, but not quite walking. Looks increasingly like a kid instead of a baby. I can't handle it. He is such a joy in our lives.

6. I've got a couple of interesting posts floating through my head these days, and a couple of drafts, and a week of night float two weeks from now, so hopefully I'll be hitting publish a bit more in the coming weeks. I also need to finish loading pictures on my new "About" page. Dealing with my camera pictures has been a bigger project than I had expected. Not surprising, but still a headache.

Blurry but cute

Joy

7. Charles took these last weekend, and they are too wonderful not to share.

Have a lovely weekend!

Visit Kelly for more!

7 QT Vol. 78

Joining Kelly and Crew.

1. Oh my gosh! Yay for flipping the calendar to March. February is hard for everyone. I get it. But for this desert transplant, the last couple of weeks have been brutal. To illustrate, this was February last year:

2. And this has been February this year:

3. I didn't manage much posting on the blog again this week, partially because I'm dragging myself through Night Float. Partially because I'm working on a little "spring cleaning" 'round here. I redid my header. Hopefully, a new, much-needed "About" page will go live this weekend. We'll see what's next.

4. I said this fall that I wasn't into the capsule wardrobe trend, but as spring is approaching, I might be eating my words. I feel good in my winter "momifom," of jeans, shirt, cardigan, and boots, but I think I need to find my "voice" so to speak in the spring/summer realm. Which seems really ironic, given that I've spent most of my adult life in a climate dominated by spring/summer clothing. But I do, so I think I might try putting a spring/summer capsule together. We'll see. I'll report.

5. Since Charles' next rotation is another service month on pediatrics, I did another month-long meal planning session and non-perishables shopping trip. It included Charles' birthday, Holy Week, and all of March's other liturgically important days. And then, suddenly, Easter will be upon us. With Peter's 1st birthday right on its heels (or, since his birthday is in the Octave of Easter this year, right smack in the middle of it). Um, February might have dragged, but I suspect March is going to fly.

6. Cute kids always qualify as a take, right?!?

Clare is hamming it up. Peter is unimpressed.

7. We will be celebrating Confirmation tomorrow night with our six Confirmandi and Bishop Kemme. Please pray for them. Veni Sancte Spiritus.

Have a lovely weekend!

7 Quick Takes, Vol. 77

Joining Kelly.

1. It has been a light posting/doing week this week because oh my gosh! the sickness! While Clare recovered from the fever that had her down on Sunday and Monday, we're all coughing sniffling messes. As Charles astutely diagnosed as I was coughing up a lung this morning, "We all have bronchitis. Every single one of us." I mean, we're all fine. Just coughing. And sniffling.

2. On the bright side, everyone got some sleep last night. As in slept through the night. (The night before I did 4 or 5 wake-ups between the kids, so the improvement is marked.) The gobs of sleep (on top of a 4ish hour nap yesterday) seems to have improved Clare's overall well being, so that is a step in the right direction.

3. None of it, though, is good news for my Lenten goals so far, but a house full of sickness is some sort of penance in itself, right?!?

Sleeping girl

4. In muuuuuch happier news, I got a new computer this week. I got a MacBook, because we decided it was just a better investment than a PC laptop. I've spent too much time going down the rabbit hole of photo organization. I mean, I had over 1400 pictures on my iPhone alone. Eep! Charles has a week of nights coming up, so we know how I'm spending my evenings. Next up? An external hard drive to back those puppies up.

Throwback to when Clare was Peter's age.

5. Before the plague hit, I was able to capture this shot that depicts with great accuracy what it is like to wrangle Clare and Peter these days.

Standing in the cart, trying to pull his sister's hair.

6. I can't even talk about the weather today, so I'll just huddle up with another cup of coffee, say a prayer of thanksgiving that I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and enough money to pay a comfortable heating bill. And a prayer of thanksgiving that we didn't end up in, like Michigan. I don't know how they do it up North.

7. And the dress debated 'round the world. It's totally white, y'all. I don't care what "they" say.

Have a lovely weekend!

Transformation! {Kitchen Update}

Even though I am the least crafty person ever, and even though my project barely qualifies as crafty, I'm linking up with Ana, because I can.

For the uninitiated, when we moved into our house in Wichita last summer, it included this horrible, horrible sight:

From the moment I laid eyes on the Green Monster, I said that the first thing I was going to do was paint it. Well, once I got here, that promise got delayed by: 1) other painting projects, 2) indecision about what color to use, and 3) the realization that the whole kitchen needed paint, not just the Wall O Doom.

Finally, a few weekends ago, Charles announced that we were doing the kitchen and forced me to (finally!) make a decision about paint. I could not have been more thrilled with the outcome!

Which left unanswered the question of what I wanted to put on the wall.

Meanwhile . . . I know I've mentioned before that I saw the sunrise through our kitchen window on Christmas morning. I made this little number, because it put the Canticle of Zechariah in my head.

Ever since then, I've been noticing the sunrise in the mornings. I've been appreciating the dawn and seeing Christ in it, opening my heart to God first thing in the morning in a way I never have before. I felt called to say the Morning Offering. Problem? I don't actually have it memorized. So, I would go fumbling through my phone, getting distracted more often than not.

Solution? Kendra's printables! I decided to print and frame the Morning Offering. I also decided to put up a copy of her Grace Before Meals, because I wanted to have it up in our kitchen somewhere. Once I got those hung, I finally felt inspired to put stuff up on Zee Vall.

Fancy me took a plain, cheap blackboard and put lots and lots of coats of silver craft paint on the frame. In retrospect, I should have either tackled my fear of spray paint or used a layer of a dark paint under my silver, but live, learn and craft on. Or something like that. I used a chalkboard marker to put "Today" in fancy-ish letters and add "ora pro nobis" at the bottom. In the middle, I update with what's for dinner and what we're up to for the day. I add a saint at the bottom, and done. It takes about 2 minutes a day. (Thanks, Grandma, for the amazing calendar that has saints every day! It makes daily saint finding a breeze!!)

Overall, I'm super pleased with how the wall turned out and absolutely love how I'm using the chalkboard. It makes me think about my day, and helps me be a bit more intentional. I very, very purposefully put the Morning Offering right by the coffee pot. It ensures that it is one of the first things I see every morning and encourages me to take a moment to pray it as I start my day. One of the best decisions I've made.

Keurig pictured, but the main coffee pot is right next to it.

(Side note: My poor girl came down with a bug yesterday, so we're laying low again today and, hopefully, getting better. Please pray she recovers quickly and that none of the rest of us get her bug.)

Monday Currently Daybook Mumble Musings

I love writing in the "quick prompt" format -- it might not yield the best posts ev-ah, but it is, for me a good chance to do brief updates, reflections and brainstorming.

Pondering: Technology. We're getting to the "break down and buy a new computer" stage. Charles' personal computer is on life support. His work laptop is good for abusing at work, but is too locked down for "normal" usage. My computer still works, but, as I mentioned last week, has clearly begun its march to death. Thinking about what we want, what we need, what we want the kids to have access to when. Plus, we'll be eligible for phone upgrades this spring, so . . . same questions, really.

Watching: Even though it was on, I only really saw the Halftime Show and the last quarter-ish of the Super Bowl last night. I'm not a Katy Perry fan, so I was not real excited about most of her schtick. The Julie Taymor puppets and then the Olympic Opening Ceremonies Chess board were ok, but the rest? Meh. Don't get me started on the Sharks. Even the now-trending Left Shark. The game though, it was a great game. I didn't have a horse in the race, so all I ever want is a great game and last night's delivered. Bonus: no football for months!! Bring on baseball and March Madness!!

Making: A giant meal plan and grocery list for the next 4 weeks, when Charles has an on-service rotation. It's what works on a keeping-my-sanity level.

Residency Reflections: It's hard to believe that we're over halfway through with Charles' first year of residency. Time really does fly. I mean, it wasn't that long ago that we were anxiously waiting for word on the Match. Now, we're under 2.5 years to go . . . and that doesn't seem that long at all. Charles has a challenging schedule the next 8 weeks, but we're ready for it. And before we know it, we're going to be on the downhill slide to second year. It's crazy.

Thankful for: My healthy kiddos.My health. Charles' health. I take those things for granted. I'm sure I'm not alone in that fact, but oh my gosh, are we so blessed. So blessed.

At home: The weather has been, um, inconsistent lately. Last week we had a gorgeous spell, which meant I took the kids to the zoo, because that's what stay at home moms do. Clare had a blast, and I think Peter enjoyed himself, too. It makes up for the fact that it was 8* when we got up this morning. I'm fantasizing about spring clothes for the first time in my life. Is it Easter yet?

Mini-Me loved the flamingos.

This is Peter's "I'm at a bear exhibit" smile.

A happy panda and puppy

Happy Candlemas! (And Groundhog's Day, if you're so inclined.)

January . . . an Update

I'm here. I'm alive.

Things have been one part crazy; one part a cold that will.not.go.away; one part my computer is beginning the sloooooooow death march, and sometimes I just don't want to deal with it.

But my little break left my typing fingers itching and reinvigorated me and allowed me to set some clearer personal blogging goals, which will hopefully mean more posts for the grandparents. *wink* Anyway, for today, a little update.

Peter

I never posted either an 8 month or 9 month update on Mr. Peter, because they have felt so repetitive the last couple of months. Sorry, Second Born. He is Mr. Guy Smiley. He's on the move -- now pulling up and cruising like a pro. He's starting to think about letting go and I'd not be surprised to see him try a few steps in the coming weeks.

He's popped four teeth -- the two lower, middle teeth, and two snaggle teeth (top laterals) -- still no front teeth (top middle), which is just too cute!

Coffee Spiller, Cup Stealer, Sign says it all

In the last couple of weeks, he's really gotten his night-sleep together and is consistently only waking once and sleeping 12+ hours. Probably not coincidentally, he's also turned into Mr. Big Eater, more or less glomming down everything on his tray. He's also still nursing 5-6 times per day. It takes a`lot of calories to make mischief the other 12 hours a day. ;-)

Clare

Half-birthday baby feeding

Clare's big news is that she's pretty much potty trained! Yay! She's totally got it, but we're still having issues away from home. She'll get there. In the mean time, we're very proud of her. I'm now quite firmly in the "potty train when your kids are very ready" camp. In case you care.

Gone fishin', Passed out at 4:15, 60* never looked so good, Makes me laugh every day

Otherwise, she's her usual, crazy, book-loving, ballerina princess self. Her new thing is "costumes." Yesterday, that meant black tights, her sparkly ballet flats, and her bathing suit from last summer (orange with a tutu). She used it to "ice skate" while we were watching figure skating yesterday afternoon.

Charles and Me

Charles survived his first OB rotation and his first Call Back weekend (big recruiting event for his residency program) as a resident. I survived as well. ;-)

His current rotation is an "off-service" number, so it's significantly lighter. He was even able to take a couple of days off, which we used to get rid of the much (MUCH!) hated green wall in our kitchen. I've seriously hated it since the very first time we saw the house, but also knew it was just paint. And now, it is nothing but a memory!! It's amazing how much difference that paint makes. We also painted the rest of the kitchen, going from a dingy grey-blue to an airy ice blue. *insert heart-eyed emoji* Like I told Charles, it will never be a dream space, but at least it's a space that feels like, "mine."

The colors read terribly in these, but you can (kinda) see the transformation.

We're also teaching Confirmation for our parish, and that has been a great experience, but that's another post for another day . . . probably Wednesday.

So that's that. Nothing major. Just life. Crazy beautiful life.