7 Quick Takes

1. I can't believe that Peter is here. It is so surreal to think about my fourth child being here in this world now. He is beautiful. He is evocative of the other kids and at the same time, he just looks completely like himself. He reminds me of my uncle for whom he is middle-named, and he also reminds me of pictures of Dennis' dad. It's very sweet to look at that little face and contemplate who he will be and who he will resemble and what he'll do and become. I really do love being a momma.

2. Peter is in the NICU. For those not on facebook, he was moved there originally because he was not able to keep his temperature and oxygen up and his respiration rate down. He had a blood culture and lumbar tap which ruled out infection, then he received surfactant to bring his lungs into a bit more maturity. Right now, he is under the bili-lights.

3. I have to go home today. I've decided to believe that Peter is going home today, too. One of my prayers for the last few months has been that we could go home together. I don't know how to explain it, but I feel like God has been asking me to continue to believe that He'll take care of things to make that happen. I'm someone who usually has many thoughts about what may or may not happen and how things may or may not work. But not this time. This time, I feel like God is asking me to abandon some of my "what-if's" and just do some simple (which, as it turns out, is not so simple) trusting. To quote a line from Facing the Giants, "I'm preparing for rain."

4. I am amazed and astonished by how different the C-section experience was for me this time. When Emmeliese was born, she was an emergency C after 20 hours of active labor. Because of the way she was positioned, the docs had to do a classical (vertical) incision on the uterus. They also had to make a classical incision externally, which meant that I had this very painful wound around my belly button. It was so difficult to move around, hold the baby, nurse, etc. This time, my amazing doctor worked really hard to take the incision low on both uterus and belly and oh. my. goodness., what a HUGE difference it has made.

5. I have been reminded over and over again how blessed we were through the experience with Emmeliese and the how the things we endured then have made Peter's birth so much easier. Because of E's history, Peter got antibiotics immediately when he was having trouble breathing instead of waiting for cultures to come back indicating an infection. Because of my experience with the surgery last time, I have known to ask for certain considerations. And...

6. Because of our experience in the NICU last time, we've been able to confront some communication problems brought on by the hospital's move of the NICU into a separate building while the Labor and Delivery ward has stayed where it was. In order to get to the NICU, a mother has to get into a wheelchair and be wheeled through two wards to an elevator, get on the elevator and go down two floors to a skywalk and then follow a circuitous path through another building which involves automatic doors that must have a button pushed on the opposite side of the door than that through which a mother is passing, then proceed into the final building, get back on the elevators, and finally, sign in at the NICU. This process must repeat itself anytime one wants to visit one's baby. And someone else must repeat it anytime one pumps and wants to deliver breastmilk. To say it is ridiculous is a MASSIVE understatement. The accompanying communication difficulties have been frustrating. I will be writing several strongly-worded letters. (Say that a la Gob Bluth. It sounds cooler.) :)

7. I have been so thankful for facebook and the ability to communicate information and, for that matter, hopes and dreams, needs and desires, etc. with lots of people. I have been so moved by the amount of people who are praying for us and our family. I tend to have a lot of inner conflict concerning facebook, but I've been nothing but thankful for it this week.

For more quick takes, see Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes on Friday -- the overhaul version

This is the summer of overhaul. Right now we are overhauling...

1. Our new house. Did I ever mention here that we bought it? The new foundation was finished last week. Next is a roof and then heating/ cooling -- maybe geothermal. And Dennis has to put in a new kitchen and two baths. And then rewire. And then redo all of the walls and floors. And then maybe we can move in. Maybe.

2. Eating. I've realized that the gestational diabetes that has disappeared twice post-partum has remained this time. It means a lot of changes in what, how, and when I eat.

3. Church. We've been visiting around this summer and have a much larger view of the Body of Christ. It's a good thing.

4. Bedtimes. I put a chair in the hallway and have been reading to the kids a lot of evenings. It's been lots of fun to read childhood stories out loud and the kids are slightly more eager to go to bed.

5. Breakfasts. It's embarrassing that this has been an issue, but post-Emmeliese it has been hard to all get to the table together in the morning. But the kids and I are back to eating breakfast together and food is preceded by reading from the Psalms, a song or two, and praying for our day. Afterwards, we've been doing Bible study together. I get out mine and they get out theirs and sit at the table. They look at their Bibles and draw pictures and I look at mine and write, all the while listening to some very loud hymns sung by the Cambridge Singers. It's been very, very good for us.

6. My spirit. I feel like we are at a bend in the spiritual river we've been riding the last year or so. There's peace here and it's a wonderful thing.

AND -- I started writing this in the morning -- and the rest of the day was... not as expected, so...

7. Stewardship. Dennis lost his job about noon today. I suppose it is more amazing that, as an engineer in manufacturing, he still had a job and had been relatively untouched by the economic downturn before this moment, than the fact that he lost his job today. He is upset, of course, but we've known this was a possibility for a long time and are fairly well-prepared. Tonight, Dennis and I went out to the lake while his mom watched the kids, and we talked about how many opportunities are present because of this job loss, chief amongst them the ability for him to do a lot of work on the house. And we have the chance to be even better stewards of all our gifts, which, as we realized again tonight, are abundant, indeed. And we both know that God is bigger than Dennis' employment or this recession or any worries we might have. We'll be ok. In the meantime, we continue to overhaul! :)

For more quick takes, see Jen's.

7 Quick Takes: The mostly-about-domestic-stuff edition

1. Only 1 week 'til we close on our new house! We're so excited to get to work on it, we can hardly stand it. We drive by the place three or four times a day. And we talk about it constantly. The wait is kind of excruciating, but good for us. We're doing lots of planning and dreaming. It's fun to allow our imaginations to run wild. We basically will have a blank slate at the new place. I think it's going to be a blast to figure out how to fix it up beautifully AND frugally. Endless entertainment!

2. The Habitat Restore is my new favorite place. Both cities near us have a location, which is amazing because there is such wonderful stuff at both places! I love just going in there and drooling over interior doors and crown molding! Last week, I got a $1500 cooktop for $100, a $2500 jacuzzi tub for my sister for $119 and a $350 sink for $25. This week I found a $185 chandelier for $25. I think we are going to furnish our entire house with recycled goods by using Habitat Restore and supplementing with Craigslist. Those two resources are pure gold for people with fixer-uppers.

3. Speaking of recycled goods -- I have been browsing through some antique stores lately and I am wondering why in the world anyone would ever go to one of those furniture places like Oaken Dreams, or whatever they are called, and spend several thousand dollars on fake wood when one could find a decent antique made of real, solid wood for a third of the cost. I wonder if people know that antiques are not that expensive, comparatively? Especially when one compares longevity of the piece in question. To each one's own, I guess...

4. While at those antique stores, I bought a really great quilt. It was inexpensive because it had big brown stains all over it. I brought it home and soaked it in hot water with TONS of Oxyclean. Now I have a beautiful antique quilt with white areas that are really, really white. It's so pretty and it's a relatively uncommon pattern called Arkansas Snowflake. I just wish it was big enough to use on our bed. I don't think my children will properly appreciate its rescue or beauty! :)

5. We are purging again before we move to the new house, whenever that is. We started with the kids' toys. We sorted out two huge containers of toys that are going to the local thrift store and/ or Goodwill. So far, they haven't missed any of the toys we've put aside. And I love how easy it is for the kiddos to clean up their rooms now. In fact, their rooms are some of the only clean spots in the house at this moment! :)

6. My mom and in-town sisters and I figured out menus for the next three weeks the other day.(We each cook one night of the first four days of the week and make enough for the other families and my Gramps.) Since we started sharing cooking duties, we are eating such a variety of foods we wouldn't normally eat, spending MUCH less time cooking, and I'm saving a lot of money! It's WONDERFUL!

7. Tomorrow I get to spend the afternoon completely by myself doing whatever I want to do. Dennis has to work in the morning and I'm going to take the kids to have breakfast with a couple of college sorority sisters and their children (3 adults and 8 kids -- we're crazy) and then I get to be BY MYSELF for a few hours! I'm so excited!

For more quick takes, see Jen's spot.

7 Quick Takes

1. TomorrowToday, May 1, I turn 34.

2. I have a rather significant case of the flu right now. It's not very helpful to get sick when the talk-about-town is all about the "pandemic."

3. Annalivia has a preschool program on Saturday. I'm excited to see her perform her songs and do whatever they do. She's excited, too. I pray I feel ok.

4. My mom and two sisters and I are doing something new with meals -- we are each taking a day for four days at the beginning of the week and preparing meals for the rest of the families and my grandfather. It means we don't have to cook for four days, at least, and we have leftovers to eat for lunches/ on the weekends. It's awesome!

5. We made an offer on that house I mentioned long ago. It was accepted. We may have thrown a bit of a wrench in it today, though -- we had planned to pay cash and get a loan for the fix-up, but found out that taking out a mortgage vs. a construction loan saves us 3% in interest rates. Tomorrow Today I have to go sign for a mortgage loan (I sent Dennis on his own today) and pray that the sellers are ok with this switcheroo.

6. Tomorrow Today is also May Day. If I feel well enough, I'm planning to have my kids make paper cones for flowers to take to the neighbors. I'm fairly certain I won't feel well enough, so this might wait until next year.

7. I think my blogging desires are being partially satisfied by Facebook. Instant feedback like that on Facebook is a slightly addictive thing, I think, for those of us who process life verbally. I realized, though, that I really like having a record of our family life in more than just a few words or sentences, so I might try to get back to a more regular blogging schedule. But I might not, too.

For more quick takes, go here.

7 Quick Takes on Friday: IT'S SPRING!!!

1. Things have gotten kind of busy around here lately; it seems like my hands are never free to type up a blog post. Obviously. I'll apologize now if this one remains the only new post for a bit.

2. Spring has finally, FINALLY, arrived in central Illinois! The Spring Beauties are out. We call these flowers Edelweiss in my family, though I'm not certain whether that's just because, perhaps, we were overly-fascinated with Julie Andrews. Anyway, there is an old home here in town with a big front yard that is positively carpeted with Spring Beauties when it finally gets warm enough. And today it was finally warm enough. It was so beautiful -- thousands of little white flowers raising their heads to the sun. I took Annalivia and Daniel by it and sang Edelweiss for them. And then I sang it another 15 times, at Annalivia's request. It may be time to introduce her to Julie.

3. People are always asking me what it's like to be a mother to three kids and here is my answer -- I really truly love being a mother to these three children. My mom is still being a huge help taking the older two kids to her house for several hours almost every day, so, granted -- I don't get the full effect. But everything has been made easier by the fact that both Annalivia and Daniel simply adore Emmeliese. In the morning, when Emmeliese is awake, I put her in the middle of the bed and let Annalivia, and, to a lesser extent, Daniel, talk to her and take care of her and put her pacifier in her mouth. They love it. Daniel reports on the goings-on with mixed up subjects and objects. "She kissin' me!" he says when he kisses her. Or "She touchin' my hand!" when he takes her hand. Last night he said, "She really love me," which, if the pattern holds, means, "I really love her." I believe it.

4. Amy and Sarah were two of my dearest friends in college. We were in the same sorority, lived across from each other, graduated together.... we're dear, old pals. :) We were all pregnant at the same time this year and Sarah delivered a little girl on April 3. Amy's little girl was born this Monday, April 13, after losing two sons in the last two years. I am so happy for both of them, but am especially rejoicing for Amy this week. I think it's so neat that we all had daughters within about a month. And I think they are all about the same size now. Sarah's Lucie was 8 lbs. 9 oz and Amy's Amelie was 9 lbs. 1 oz at birth. And Emmeliese is nearing 10 lbs, I think. I can't wait to meet them someday and take pictures of our girls together!

5. We might still buy the house we have been oggling. We had an inspection done on Wednesday. It turned up what we expected, which is both good and...not so good. We realize that we may be overly enamoured with the house. We've decided that it just doesn't exist elsewhere in this town; i.e. its size, location, age, price, availability, just aren't found in another home. And we can both picture our Christmas decorations there. :) So we'll probably try to buy it. It will be a big project. As my sister said, this house will be our fourth child. And it may require more attention than the other dependents combined.

6. I read a good book recently. Jen, at Conversion Diary, who hosts 7 Quick Takes, had mentioned a book by Holly Pierlot, A Mother's Rule of Life. I read it, and though it is written by a Roman Catholic for Catholic mothers, it has a TON of good info in it. I found lots that was very applicable to our lives. I would highly recommend it, especially for liturgical families, though any Mom capable of filtering theology that is not directly applicable would probably find it useful.

7. Yesterday was a gorgeous, gorgeous day here. The kids and I took a long walk in the morning and then went out to the lake in the afternoon. We saw some turtles sunning themselves and immediately Song of Songs came to mind, "For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."
You know, I once was the pastor who didn't know scripture by heart. No longer. Spring is here! Renewal comes.

Come away, loves...

(For more Quick Takes, see Jen's.)

7 Quick Takes on Friday

1. Emmeliese is home!

2. Emmeliese is home!

3. Emmeliese is home!

4. Emmeliese is home!

5. Emmeliese is home!

6. Emmeliese is home!

7. I'm pumping lots, sleeping little, writing Grammy's eulogy, being constantly amazed by my super-husband, continuing to be eternally grateful for Mom's willingness to entertain Annalivia and Daniel, not answering the phone (sorry, if you are trying to call), and finding fun discoveries like this at 4 a.m.

But what really matters is this-- Emmeliese is home!! :)

7 Quick Takes on Friday: The from-the-hospital/ different-day edition

1. I sent Dennis home tonight to sleep in our own bed in hopes that he can get some good rest. We had a good day here yesterday. It's the first time in the last week or so that we've pretty much have answers to the question, "What comes next?" It's a good place to be.

This postpartum experience is so different from the previous kids. It is, arguably, the most difficult set of circumstances, both emotionally and physically that we -- Dennis, baby and I -- have faced. Grammy's death, the unexpected C-section, the infection in little E, the extended stay for me, the really extended stay for her... there's just been a lot. But I feel so much more equipped to handle most everything. It's amazing.

2. Today, Emmeliese's jaundice got worse. She was too tired to nurse at every feeding. When this happened with Annalivia and Daniel, I was panicked. But today, I felt calm about it. I wasn't surprised when it happened. I let her try to nurse, woke her up everytime she fell asleep for the first 10 minutes and then handed her off to Dennis who gave her formula from the syringe while I came back to the room and pumped. And when I pumped, I didn't get hardly anything. But rather than freaking out, by now I know that my milk doesn't come in for a few days. And since I've already fed one child formula and had to let go of my formula-will-ruin-a-baby worries, I'm ok with supplementing until we get coordinated. It's very nice to meet breastfeeding without much anxiety.

3. I've been getting up and around and walking a lot, staying in front of the pain from the incision with the meds, etc. I guess I sort of overdid it yesterday and the incision is a little sore and red this morning. The resident will be here soon and I'm guessing she's not going to be super-happy with me.

4. I've been crocheting another little dress for Emmeliese. Once again, I got through the first couple of rows and realized that I could be doing something cool with it instead of the same old thing. So I'm going to be asking Dennis to stop at the yarn store on the way here later this morning. Have I mentioned how much I love that yarn can just be remade in whatever way one desires? I know I have, but it bears repeating. I love it.

5. Yesterday, I had a visit from The Aunties (pronounced the Minnesota way) and my cousin. Sublime Aunt, sister of my dad and daughter of Grammy, walked in the room and said, "Yooooohoooooo!" really softly. It sounded exactly like Grammy. I got sort of verklempt. It was very, very sweet.

6. Really great news -- my blood sugar readings returned to normal yesterday! AND my blood pressure readings have been very, very good -- generally in the 110's/ 60's. This is such good news. If my blood sugar level will go back down and stay down, it would be just wonderful. And, every other pregnancy, my blood pressure has stayed up for a couple of months. But so far, I'm good. I've had I've been very careful to eat well and drink a vat and a half of water each day. So far, it is working well. I'm sort of hungry. But it's good.

7. I think that my mother should be a candidate for sainthood soon. She's been putting little Daniel -- just turned 2 -- on the potty every morning and he's been going by himself. Yesterday, she was asking Annalivia if she needed to use the restroom before they left later in the day and Daniel piped up, "I need go pee-pee!" Mom put him on the potty and he went! He was very, very excited to get to wear Pull-Ups now. I'm just astonished. I had no energy or desire to deal with potty-training and frankly, didn't think Daniel was ready at all. He may not have been ready for Mommy to help. But Grandma is another matter. She really is a saint.

For more quick takes, check out Conversion Diary.

7 Quick Takes on Friday

1. Tonight is DATE NIGHT!!! It's our second date night this week and our third since we moved here in October! Pretty exciting. I love how a destination at the end of the day can motivate one to move through a day.

2. Several cool things are happening in the coming week. First, my Grammy is returning home under hospice care and 24-hour care on Monday. Second, Annalivia's birthday party is Tuesday night. Her 4th birthday is Wednesday. So is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. I also have doctor's appointments and other things the other days. It's going to be a busy week.

3. Our church is showing the movie Fireproof this weekend. Dennis and I saw it last weekend and really enjoyed it. I was pleasantly surprised by how well-done it was and I thought about it a lot this week. I realized while watching it that, these last few years, I really like being stretched theologically in pretty much any direction. I'm recommending the movie to most any theologically conservative friends. I've also been recommending it to theologically liberal friends who are able to find value in theology with which they may not be comfortable. This means I've recommended it to exactly one lib. theo. friend.

4. Has anyone else noticed that boys you knew in 7th grade either look exactly the same 20 years later, or radically different, but not very often anything in between? Facebook has been proving this to me lately. One of my recent Friends has reminded me of this, so I went back and checked the photos of the other kids I knew back then, now grown. I swear, there are varying degrees of change among the girls, but for the most part, the boys are either larger versions of their 7th grade selves or their fathers.

5. Thanks to our Valentine's Day brownie making experience, I've realized that the effect of those specialty pans that bake brownies into "edges" can be accomplished with a muffin tin. Just make sure the tins are well-oiled or sprayed and keep an eye on the brownies because they cook quickly. Muffin tins make great brownies though -- chewy and delicious.

6. I have never taken a picture of my pregnant belly before, even in my other pregnancies. I have a large belly anyway, so I never really wanted a pic of it being even bigger. Plus, I have to give myself shots that make it all bruised and icky looking. Last week, though, it occurred to me that I'd like to have a picture of me pregnant. So far, every attempt taken by myself is just ridiculous because the lighting is terrible. And I keep forgetting to ask Dennis to do it. Yesterday, I gave Annalivia my camera and asked her to take one. I ended up with six pictures -- two of my head, one of my knees and three of the wall behind me. Maybe this weekend, we'll get an actual photo accomplished. Though you should not look for it here.

7. Yesterday, I was in northern Illinois at the doctor's office. I stopped by an Amish store on my way through the country and picked up 20 jars of this wonderful no-sugar added jam they carry. It is made with just fruit, white grape juice concentrate and pectin -- no splenda or anything -- and is soooooo delicious. I have been unable to find it anywhere else, so I bought it in bulk yesterday. Last night I carried it in to the house but did not put it away before dinner. About halfway through the evening, Annalivia came upstairs to tell me that she had put the jelly away in the refrigerator so it could get cold. She talked about how heavy the bags were and how she had lifted them very carefully into the refrigerator drawers. She was really proud of herself. I went downstairs and she had crammed the bags into the produce drawers in the bottom of the refrigerator. It was pretty sweet, if you'll pardon the pun. I love glimpsing altruism in my kids.

7.5. Northern Illinois is supposed to get 6-8 inches of snow tonight. Down here, we may get some accumulation. Welcome back, winter. Now, go away.

More quick takes are over at Jen's.

7 Quick Takes on Friday: The re-done version

1. Our long national nightmare is over. Walleye has returned to Culvers. Mmmmmmm....

2. I started my 7 Quick Takes last night because I hate being the last one to the party and wanted to publish it this morning when I awoke. Blogger was being a brat and would not save, would not save, would not save... This morning I awoke and finished typing. Blogger would not save. I accidentally cleared the whole thing. BANG! Blogger saved. Stupid Blogger.

3. The other day I had Dennis bring up baby clothes from the basement because it occurred to me that in three weeks, we will have another child to clothe. It is sort of a joke in my family that my children's wardrobes could have outfitted three or four kids. Maybe five. So, imagine my surprise when I found only one 2-gallon baggie of almost completely impractical baby clothes. No onesies, no gowns, no sleepers. What the heck did I do with the rest of those clothes? I'm sure the purge happened in one of my irrational decluttering fits, but I don't remember it. I'm suspicious that we will find another entire tub of baby clothes sometime in Emmeliese's second year.

4. Last night, Dennis was tickling Annalivia on our bed and Daniel was playing contentedly with his trains in his bedroom. Annalivia was laughing raucously and pretty soon Daniel launched himself into our room shouting at the top of his lungs, "Ticka me, Momma! Ticka me!!" So I did until we were all laughing. It was delightful.

5. Every week, while visiting my doctor, I drive through the town where I was a pastor for 7 years. I always think about those years and what I do and don't miss. Literally, I only miss one thing, though it has two parts. I miss being required to think deeply about scripture. And I sort of miss crafting a worship experience to reflect that deep thinking. I never realized when I was a pastor what a wellspring of sustenance scripture study was for me. It was just another task, most of the time. I'm embarrassed to admit that.

6. I have realized that scripture study, for me, is best done with others as well as by myself. Studying scripture by myself doesn't really fill me. And limiting it to group study is equally wanting. But the two together are such a rich food for my soul! This is one reason I love, love, love, love, love, LOVE my Sunday School class. The discussion is fruitful and insightful. The teachers are deliberate and thoughtful. Almost every week, I just want to relish it and taste it over and over again. I've even considered going to early church every week just so the lasting experience of the day could be Sunday School discussion. But early church is "contemporary" worship. *shudders* It will be a long, long time before I get there.

7. Walleye, friends. Walleye. :)

More from Jen at Conversion Diary.

7 Quick Takes on Friday: The early morning edition

1. Today I am on temporary bedrest. For a large variety of reasons, none of which are interesting and some of which are directly related to me being a moron, I have to take it easy today until I go and see the perinatologist this afternoon. Basically, I get to lie around all day. Why then am I awake at 5 a.m.? I can guarantee that if I was attending the meetings I was supposed to attend today at 9 a.m., I would be sound asleep right now and probably struggling to awake in a few hours.

2. I got the first of two steroid shots yesterday to see if we can speed the development of little E's lungs along, just in case she needs to arrive early. The doctor said, "These may make your blood sugar a little high." That may have been the understatement of the week. Emmeliese probably gained two pounds last night.

3. Tomorrow my baby boy turns 2. About this time two years ago, I was fitfully asleep through contractions before the doc came in and broke my water. I was in Dixon, IL, hometown of Ronald W. Reagan, and positive that Daniel would be born on Feb. 6, his birthdate. I guess not. Oh well.

4. Today I was supposed to go to Eureka College, college home of Ronald W. Reagan and attend meetings and celebrate Founder's Day which is also Feb. 6 ("For it was on this day in 1855, a charter granted by the State of Illinois..."). But I guess not. Oh well.

5. I have been thinking for the last day or so about Jen at Conversion Diary's post about children behaving in worship. I was specifically thinking about the idea that Sabbath worship should be the high point of our week. I know that Catholics view the Mass as a moments in time to come in contact with the real, living presence of the Body of Christ through the Eucharist and so they see that time of corporate worship sacramentally, which is something a lot of Protestants are inclined to just dismiss. But it occurs to me that many of us, especially those of us who celebrate Communion weekly, would do well to consider the significance of the act and its place in worship, and our attitudes surrounding it, and how our behavior reflects those attitudes. Or perhaps just this Protestant should do that.

6. I have not mentioned an update of my Grammy lately because it seems so private, but I think I will share now that Grammy is entering hospice care very shortly. She's not been eating and has lost a great deal of weight and strength. My grandfather is dealing with everything amazingly well, but right now, he's a little sick and I think Grammy and Gramps could just both use more prayers.

7. Now that it is February, I feel like those of us who electively live in states that are usually below freezing from Dec-Mar have the right to begin complaining about the cold -- and effusively. Especially since Phil dealt us a blow the other day. BUT -- it may get out of the 30's here this weekend and for two or three whole days!! Hurrah!!

For more Quick Takes, go here.

7 Quick Takes

1. 33 weeks! Probably only 3 1/2-5 to go!

2. I MUST pack bags this weekend. We drive back and forth to doctor's appointments so much; it would be bad if we were stuck somewhere without the necessities for birthing, hanging out at Grandma's etc. Note to self: MUST pack bags.

3. Today is my niece's second birthday! Happy birthday, little Lirah!

4. My husband's diploma for his MBA arrived yesterday in the mail. I don't think I mentioned on this blog that he was finally done with classes and that I am so incredibly proud of him, but I should have. Twenty years after his graduation from high school, he finished his bachelor's and master's which he paid for with the help of employers and himself (no loans) all the while working full-time and, for the last five years, supporting a family. He's so amazing. And I'm so glad a piece of paper that reminds him of that has arrived.

5. I bought some fabric to make a blanket and other stuff for Daniel when we moved into this house back in August. It's been sitting around and I realized this week that I have just been deluding myself into thinking I was going to do anything with it. So, I called up my mother-in-law who is the real seamstress in the family and gave her the stuff for Daniel. She'll probably have blankets made by next week.

6. Do you know about International Justice Mission? I was reminded as I looked at our tax documents that keep arriving that I need to tell more people about them. They do amazing work. Check them out.

7. My daughter was crawling around my feet while I was typing this talking about how my skin on my legs looked so dry. She disappeared for a moment and came back with lotion which she has now spent the last five minutes rubbing into my leg. She even had Daniel come over and rub lotion on me. Then she said, very lovingly, "Your leg is like a little doggie."
It might be time to get the razor out.

For more Quick Takes, go to Conversion Diary.

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. I'm joining in at the Conversion Diary's 7 Quick Takes today. This is because I have no less than seven drafts of posts that I've started in the past few days and haven't published. Apparently my brain cannot complete thoughts right now. It may be a 32nd/33rd week of pregnancy thing.

2. Yesterday we went on our weekly trip to see my OB in Dixon, which is about 2 hours from here. Every time someone finds out that I have an OB in Dixon, they are astonished, act like I'm crazy, and have no comprehension of it UNLESS they happen to have had one or two or three complicated pregnancies and then they completely understand. I may just start asking people if they've ever had a complicated pregnancy or two or three before I start explaining the decision. It could cut down a lot of time.

3. Daniel got his hair cut while we were there. I am always amazed at how a haircut makes him look so much older. He definitely looks like a 2-year old, which he will be in about two weeks. I was debating whether we should get him a buzz cut, so as to minimize the expenses of haircuts, and a friend told me that he wouldn't have his blonde hair forever. Not having blonde hair myself, I hadn't realized that many blonde children become darker later. Apparently this has happened to most of the blondes on both sides of the family. I got sort of weepy missing my little boy's blonde hair already. Needless to say -- no buzz cut.

4. The other day, we went through McDonald's and Annalivia got a Happy Meal with one of those little dogs in it. She wanted one of the white dogs, as depicted on the sign, but when she opened the Happy Meal, given to us by a nice young man, she found a brown, sort-of ugly dog in it. She said, "I think, sometimes, boys just don't know what girls want." So true, child, so true...

5. My sister Lil's birthday was yesterday. I gave her a set of bamboo crochet hooks. I also made her a crochet hook holder, but in making it, I realized some design flaws that I'll correct when I make one for myself. I feel sort of bad about that, but not bad enough to get it back and correct it myself.

6. I was sitting in a non-stress test the other day thinking about how jarring it was when Annalivia was born and the nurses asked me about something or other in regards to her and I realized that I had authority over her care. With Daniel, I somehow forgot this and did not insist on the no-bottles/pacifiers/artificial nipples rule and ended up with a little guy who never latched on. I was realizing that I have absolutely no qualms now about requiring the care I want my kiddos to have. It's nice to get to that point of motherhood.

7. I think my insomnia is better. Last night I went to bed by 10 and I could have slept til 10 today, I think. I may even take a nap this afternoon, too.

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