7 Quick Takes, Breaking Dawn Edition

--1--

Just got back from a 10 a.m. showing of Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I, and all I can say is, wow. wowowowowowowow. It ended precisely as I thought it would, covered all the details of that part of the book very well, and despite a slight scene of cheesiness with the wolves talking to one another, it was great!! I took Birdie with me, and a friend stayed home with Boo (my sitter is away for three weeks, sniff, sniff). I know it seems frivilous to go see a movie, but it made me feel kinda normal again, if only for 2 hours.

--2--

The bad news is that Birdie started running a fever yesterday, which broke early this morning, and then started up again in the middle of the movie. Luckily, she stayed sleeping most of the time, and I just let her nurse the whole movie, so it worked out. It's low-grade, and not at all concerning, but I can tell she doesn't feel very good right now.

--3--

I lose at least one good pair of shoes and several food items to every pregnancy. With Philip, it was my old generic clogs (before I disovered Danskos and never went back). With Piglet, it was my black riding boots. With Boo, it was a pair of red ballet flats and a pair of coral heels. And now, the latest victims, from Birdie, are my Dexflex cognac peep-toe pumps, and my favorite pair of flats, a pewter ruffled flat I got from Target. Best.flats.evah. But sadly, they are too short now. I have bone spurs on my heels, so I have a hard time finding comfortable flats; I'm pretty bummed about these. I did get a pair two sizes larger in a different color while pregnant (love me my mustard flats), but now they are too big, and the others are too small. Boo hoo. At least my Converse sneaks are still good.

--4--

I ran a couple of errands before going to the movie this morning, and I have to say, I'm so glad I shop online. It bugs me that retailers feel this need to start the Christmas season in October. Makes me want to exclusively shop at Nordstrom, as they have made a decision not to decorate for Christmas (or play Christmas music) until Black Friday. Go Nordstrom! I wish I could afford to shop there. le sigh.

--5--

My regular babysitter is gone for three weeks and I'm in mourning. Luckily, her daughter (who works for the same agency) agreed to come in her place, but it isn't the same. Come home soon!

--6--

The great scrapbook project is finished! For regular readers, you'll know that I took on a client (who happens to be an old college chum) about a year ago and agreed to scrap her 2010 photos. She is a professional photographer and her photos are Ah-mazing! So you can imagine the scope of this project. I tried to break it down into bits and pieces to keep it manageable, and I'm pleased to report that the project is finished!! I just hope she's happy with it.

--7--

Okay, I have a really cool project to share with you, but there are too many photos to clog up this post, so check back in a day or so, k? In the meantime, this is my creative burst for today:

I modified it from a card that Kristin Kortonick made at Fall Fest. I used French Foliage instead of Gently Falling, but I really love this card (and that set!!). I also just got a color spritzer, which I'm enjoying (it makes those speckles on the background). My youngest sister had surgery on her wrist last week (her sixth surgery on her arms/shoulders/wrists) and she is such a trooper, so I wanted to make her a special card. So from me to you, Gimpy, love ya!

7 Quick Takes: Sickness, Pumpkin Bars, and Sewing debaucles

--1--

My husband has been felled by the mighty respiratory virus still making the rounds of our house. Piglet seems to be gearing up for another go and has been coughing a lot at night, and Boo is generally cranky when awake. Birdie is still wheezy (she sounds like a purring cat most of the day), but seems to be on the mend. I was starting to feel better, but then all the junk in my head dropped to my chest and I started coughing. So here we go again. This doesn't bode well for winter, it being mid-November and all.

--2--

My husband was gone for two days this week. We survived. Barely. That's about all I can say about it.

--3--

But wait, I made pumpkin bars! With cream cheese frosting. That kinda made up for it. (I used the Better Homes and Gardens recipe, for anyone who cares).

--4--

Boo is a bit accident prone at the moment, being the Frankenstein walker that he is. He showed up at the dinner table two nights ago with quite a shiner. It looks like he swiped purple eye shadow across one lid. I tried to get a photo, but it doesn't show very well, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

--5--

I hauled my Bernina out of the basement this week to attempt the man's shirt-to-skirt upcycle. And spent about four hours trying to fix what I messed up in the first 15 minutes. I finished it, but it wasn't wearable for a number of reasons, so I cut it down into a dress for Birdie. Unfortunately, I forgot about a little thing called seam allowances, so the dress is too snug. I sausaged her into it for a photo, but she won't be wearing it. Oh well. I learned a lot in the process, and then spent a bunch of time browsing sewing blogs. There are so many more talented sewers out there than me. (Including my uber-crafty mother who made my wedding dress, among other things).

--6--

****

--7--

My cousin had twins a few weeks ago (they were at 35 weeks gestation, but seem to be doing pretty well), and for a baby gift, I made her some baby thank you cards using My Digital Studio. I think I'm getting pretty good with the digital punch art! It took a while to make the card, but the professional print job turned out beautifully.

Go see Jen for more Quick Takes!

7 Quick Takes, Sick Edition

--- 1 ---

Since Piglet started preschool this fall, we've been a revolving door germ factory. The latest victim is Birdie, who came down sick on Tuesday evening and was diagnosed yesterday with bronchiolitis and prescribed albuterol. Did I mention she is two months old?? In other news, I'm still sick after a visit to MinuteClinic last Saturday and a diagnosis of a double ear infection. I seem to be getting worse instead of better, one week on. Piglet seems to be over the worst of it, and Boo is getting there. Now we're just waiting for my husband to come down with something.

--- 2 ---

I'm a pretty extreme introvert, in the technical sense of the word (rather the popular notion that introverted = shy), and being sick and having sick kids is seriously difficult for me. When I'm sick, I want to be left alone in a dark room to wallow. Unfortunately, having very small children, a nursing newborn, and a husband who still wants dinner on the table every night preclude that sort of behavior. So unless I'm dying (and I'm not. yet.), life goes on. It also proves that God has a sense of humor--my children are all extreme extroverts, and when sick, want to hang themselves all over me. All.day.long. 

--- 3 ---

I read a great meme on Facebook a few weeks ago about a woman in Poland who saved 2500 children and babies during the Holocaust. She was up for a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize last year, but didn't get it (probably because the committee was falling all over itself awarding Obama the award for not being W). But I digress. 

Here's her story: 

"During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive'. She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews (being German). Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids). She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted. In MEMORIAM - 63 YEARS LATER." 

--- 4 ---

I've gotten back into Pinterest this week a bit, and found the coolest idea to transform a man's flannel shirt into a functional A-line skirt. Of course, I had to go right out and find a man's flannel shirt to try it! (I found one on ebay). Why not raid my husband's closet, you ask? Because my skinny husband's shirts would never work on these multigravitas hips! Now to find the time...

--- 5 ---

Piglet has his first dentist appointment on Monday, and anyone who knows my son well, this could have been a complete disaster. But Dr. George made it fun and worked with my son so it wasn't scary at all! Piglet even asked to go back the next day to have his teeth cleaned again! 

--- 6 ---

I made our first beef stew of the season this week, complete with pumpkin bread as an accompaniment. It was delish. My sons just wanted to eat the broccoli on the side. Go figure.

--- 7 ---

On Sunday, we went to a birthday party for my upline's son, and since the party was Thomas-themed, I bought some Thomas board books for him, but I couldn't give the gift without a card! I made this in August before Birdie was born, and was waiting for the perfect recipient. Happy 3, E! 

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In sickness and health(care)

Piglet started preschool this fall, and with that momentous life change has come a revolving door of assorted respiratory viruses. Everyone in our household has been sick at one moment or another since Birdie was born in late August. I’ve been messing with something for about three weeks (the apex of which was a double ear infection diagnosed last Saturday), and Birdie finally came down with it this week. There is nothing quite as yucky as being sick yourself and having to care for a sick newborn and a demanding almost-but-not-really-better-yet toddler during the day.

Since Birdie is just over two months old, I made sure to let our pediatrician know, and to keep her updated these last days. She asked me to come in today to check her breathing and to listen to the wheezing in her chest. As I got both kids ready to go, and we walked the three blocks to the doctor’s office, my first thought was that having sick kids in the city really stinks. But my second thought was that living in the city with sick kids has its advantages. We live three blocks from our pediatrician’s office. And our pediatrician is just awesome. She does all her scheduling online (which is wonderful when your child is sick at 3 a.m. and you know you need to be seen that day; it is helpful not to have to wait until the office opens and pray you are the first in line for those limited sick kid spots); she is incredibly available by e-mail and phone, and even makes house calls! We rarely have to wait in her tiny waiting room, and it is usually possible to get same day appointments for sick kids. And if I wasn’t sick myself, these things would be totally manageable.

But I am sick, and suddenly everything is a major undertaking. It is hard for me to be sick, for all the usual reasons (You’re sick? Are you dying? No? Then dinner still has to be made, darn it), but mostly because it takes me so stinkin’ long to get over stuff. I blame it on my allergies; I always get the worst version of whatever is going around and it takes twice as long and usually a round or two of antibiotics to kick it. Excuse me while I go get some cheese to go with my whine.

But that brings me to my second point! I just discovered MinuteClinic, and I’ve just got to say, it is a brilliant idea! For those who haven’t heard of them, MinuteClinic is a walk-in health care office inside some CVS pharmacies that can handle basic injuries, routine infections like strep, ear infections, flu, and the like, and takes insurance! I can rarely get in to see my own primary care doc in any kind of reasonable time frame (even for acute illness), and when I could tell I was getting a bad ear infection last Friday (which turned out to be in both ears), I knew that even if I waited until Monday to try and see my regular doctor, I’d probably have to wait three weeks or more for an appointment. Not really the best option with the kinds of ear infections I get (my eardrums tend to rupture, and I’ve needed Percocet for ear pain in the past, and I’m no pain wimp—I’ve had four children without drugs, thank you very much). So when my ear started aching at dinner time on Friday, I frantically tried to think of some option that didn’t include an ER visit, where not only would I be mocked for coming in for such a routine matter, but it would cost an arm and a leg, and waste hours of time waiting to be seen.

I remembered someone had mentioned MinuteClinic, and googled it to see if there were any close by. There weren’t any downtown, but there was a branch about 7 miles away as the crow flies. So I got up Saturday morning, packed Birdie into the carseat in case of a long wait, and we ventured out into the snowy morning (seriously, in October?? What is up with the weather this year?) They opened at 9 a.m., and I got there pretty close to 9:00. There was one person who went in just as I walked up, but I waited no more than 20 minutes, and was seen by the friendly nurse practitioner there. He did a brief health history, examined me, diagnosed the double ear infection and then sent the antibiotic prescription right over to the pharmacy. I was in and out, with my antibiotic in hand, in just under an hour. And the cost was about what I would have paid to see my own doctor, once you count the cost of a cab, co-pay, hassle, and so forth. I think this is the future of health care frankly. It is more affordable, more accessible, and just plain easier. Obviously, chronic conditions require more traditional care, but for the run-of-the-mill stuff, MinuteClinic is my new go-to place!

Oh, and Birdie has bronciolitis, so we’ll be checking in with our lovely pediatrician a lot in the next week. But that is the advantage of living where we do—easy access for sickies. At least the pint size ones.

7 Quick Takes

  

--- 1 ---
So it turns out that three kids is really the tipping point for everything--groceries, laundry, family finances, general chaos and disorder, the whole works.  Before Birdie was born, I did laundry once a week, a dark and light load, with an occasional extra load for towels or sheets.  Now I am doing laundry about every other day!  
And I now believe in the Sock Monster.  I didn't believe in him before now, but he most certainly exists in my basement, I'm sure of it.  I never understood why people had such trouble keeping track of socks--how hard can it be to take laundry from the basket to the washer, and back up again to fold and put away?  Turns out, it is plenty hard!  I suddenly have two little boys who take off their socks where ever they happen to get hot feet and leave them there, my husband aims for the laundry basket with his socks and frequently misses, so socks end up under the bin, well, you get the idea.  My socks tend to stay together.  Every several days, I have 4 AWOL socks from Piglet's sock bin.  They usually turn up in the next load or two, but right now I've got a green-and-gray-striped sock that has been AWOL for a few weeks.  
Come home, sock!  We need you!
--- 2 ---
I met the reason why parking in the city is such a pain.  I pulled into a spot at the end of a block, but was hanging over the line just a bit.  The car in front of me had also just pulled in, so I poked my head out to ask the gentleman if he could move his car up about 6 inches or so. (He had at least half a car's length in front of his car).  He told me that if he did that, he wouldn't be able to get out, and I should just park my car right up against his.  I barely fit doing that.  But I have to say, if you need half a spot to get out of a parallel parking place, YOU SHOULDN'T BE DRIVING IN THE CITY!
--- 3 ---
 Have you seen Once Upon a Time?  So.Good.  I watched it on abc.com on Monday afternoon, and I think this may be my new go-to show!  I've gotten sick of all the other shows I used to keep up with on the internet, so I'm due for a new one.  I'm curious to see how the show is going to arc, because it seems to me that it doesn't have enough fuel in the story for a typical series.  Has more of a mini series feel, because you know the whole thing has to resolve itself at some point given the source material.  But.  An intriguing start, nonetheless.
--- 4 ---
I'm still struggling to keep my head above water with the chaos of three.  I read several mommy blogs, and in one of the comments this week, someone wrote that the day can be considered a success if you don't see BLOOD or FLAMES.  Ha!
--- 5 ---
Postpartum fashion drama continues.  I carried very differently this pregnancy, so the weight is sitting differently on me postpartum, and I'm having trouble adjusting to my new shape.  I keep thinking that I'm going to find the perfect garment that will make me feel like a million bucks, and I can wear it every day, but alas, I've only found a few accessories here and there that are great, but get puked on regularly, so the whole price-per-wear thing is really not that great for me.  Although I did recently purchase this great top from Kohl's, and with a navy cardigan and this great navy floral scarf I got at Target, I do feel pretty put together.  I paired it with the grey cargo skirt I wrote about several weeks ago.  It really is the Best. Cargo. Skirt. Ever.

--- 6 ---

I saw this on Facebook and had to laugh. Because it is so true.

--- 7 ---

Birdie turned 2 months this week, and I've been working on her baby book with My Digital Studio (since I can do that while nursing).  



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7 Quick Takes Friday

*Anyone here for card candy, it is under #7.

--- 1 ---

We have an old family recipe from my great-aunt Fannie (yes, that really was her name) called Hamburger Pie. The recipe card my mom wrote out lists the cost of the dish as $5, but I think that was in the 1970s, whereas my great-aunt probably came up with some version of it during the Depression when she was newly wed). My family really likes this dish, but I've been tweaking it for some years as I'm now allergic to one of the ingredients (green beans) and the foundation is difficult to locate in the city (crescent roll dough). I think I've finally hit upon the Platonic ideal of this dish. I made it for my parents when they were here last weekend and it was quite a hit! My recipe is as follows:

1# ground beef

1 onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

8 oz. tomato sauce

8 oz. sweet potato baby food (I used two 4 oz jars)

2 tsp. garlic powder

1.5 tsp. salt

1 large handful shredded carrots (matchstick style)

1 package puff pastry, thawed (Pepperidge Farm is good for this)

about 12 oz shredded cheddar cheese (I used a montery jack/colby/cheddar mix)

2 eggs, slightly beaten

parchment paper (do not use wax paper!)

Preheat oven to 400. Brown ground beef, onion and green pepper in a skillet. Add carrots and saute until slightly limp. Add tomato sauce, sweet potatoes, garlic and salt, stir until well mixed. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and unfold puff pastries. Brush both with beaten egg, and spread about half the cheese over the pastry, leaving about 1/2" around the edges. Divide hamburger mixture in half and spread on top of each pastry, and roll up the edges of the pastry slightly. Top with remaining cheese and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until pastry is puffed and nicely browned. Blot excess oil around edge of pie before serving. This dish is better if it sits for 10-15 minutes before serving, but can be eaten directly from the oven as well.

--- 2 ---

Our Birdie is newly baptized and illumined. We had a lovely baptism last Saturday, with about 40 friends and family in attendance. The weather was beautiful, turnout was good, and it was a great day. I was hoping the exorcisms would help to cure her colic, but alas, we had several tough days this week. 

--- 3 ---

Tuesday was one of those tough days. My parents went home in the early afternoon, and Birdie screamed from noon until midnight. Without stopping except while nursing. It was not a good day. I called the pediatrician around 8:30 p.m., and we decided to change her reflux medication to Prilosec from Zantac, which clearly wasn't working. We got the new medicine on Wednesday evening, and things seem to be settling down a bit now. 

--- 4 ---

I just discovered a way cool band: Straight No Chaser. I love acapella groups (including the wonderful Christian group called Acapella), and these guys are good! (And from Cherry Hill, NJ, which is practically in our back yard!)

--- 5 ---

BOO IS WALKING!! Of course, he started doing it right after he qualified for physical therapy, but at least he's getting there! He's still unsteady enough that I can't just let him walk to the bus stop with me yet, but I'm hoping that in the next 6 weeks he'll get good enough that we can perhaps dispense with the stroller for preschool pick up in the afternoons.

--- 6 ---

I'm happy to report that Piglet passed his food challenge on eggs on Thursday. I'm tolerating eggs pretty well again, so I'm so excited about this development! Meal planning just got a lot easier--egg night here we come! Bring on the frittatas!

--- 7 ---

Our dear friend Patrick is getting married this weekend in Oregon, and while we couldn't all make it, given the age of our children and a cross-country flight, my husband is flying out tomorrow morning for the wedding on Sunday. He even managed to get a speaking gig in Portland on Monday morning so his plane ticket and part of his hotel is paid for! I made this card for Patrick and his bride. It is based on another card  I saw earlier this year. I modified it a bit and added a few extra details, but the basic idea is from Patti MacLeith.

Supplies: Very Vanilla cs, Framed Tulips, Perfect Polka Dots EF, Vanilla Rosettes, Pearls, Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set, Cherry Cobbler Ink, dimensionals, square punch (to make flag edges)

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Quick Takes Friday

  
*Stamping project under #7 if you are just here for the creative mojo. 
--- 1 ---
 Seven weeks postpartum and my wedding ring fits again!  This is the the soonest it has fit of all my babes.  (I actually have a cheapie wedding ring that is a size bigger that I wear while pregnant/postpartum; it is nice to get my own back on after all this time!)
--- 2 ---
In an attempt to keep Boo occupied the other day while I was doing something in the kitchen, I gave him a tupperware bowl with some dry kidney beans and a spoon, thinking he might do some his usual "fill and spill" action.  Nope.  The kid ate them.  I'm still waiting for the diaper fall out.
--- 3 ---
Miss Birdie is getting baptized/christmated tomorrow, so the parental units are descending this afternoon.  So. Excited.  They are staying the whole weekend plus Monday and part of Tuesday as well.  Yippie for grandparents!!
--- 4 ---

I pulled my 35mm Nikon N-64 out of the closet this week and have had so much fun taking pictures of the kids and experimenting with settings.  I've not developed the rolls yet, so maybe everything will be a blurry disaster, but it is a good camera, and I only stopped using it because it is bulky and hard to tote around.  (Plus the whole film developing thing was getting tricky)
--- 5 ---

Target.com is driving me crazy. I ordered something from the site, and it didn't work, so I wanted to send it back by prepaid postage since we don't drive much in the city and the nearest Target isn't, well, near, and it is hard to get out with the two littles right now. So I follow all the prompts, and get to the label, and the image doesn't work for printing. I call Target, spend 30 minutes on hold (what is up with that?), only to be told I really should just return it to the store. When I explain that I don't drive much and it would be a burden to me, she puts me on hold for the "second tier customer service," where I wait on hold another 20 minutes before giving up. This must be the corporate strategy--tell people they can return online items for free, and then make it impossible to do so, forcing them to do what you wanted in the first place, which is, return to the store, using up valuable oil/gas resources. Brilliant. I think I'll be shopping online elsewhere in the future. (But not really; sometimes you just can't beat Target's prices/selection, especially on kid's clothing)

--- 6 ---
  We all got flu shots this week (except Birdie, who is too little), and against my better judgement, I got one too.  And got the flu, just like I always do when I get the shot.  That turned into a breast infection.  Yay for flu shots.
--- 7 ---
My son's namesday was on Tuesday.  He was super excited about it, so to celebrate, I made from-scratch brownies for his preschool class, only to be told they will only serve commercially prepared prepackaged items.  Gah.  But I did make him a really cool gift!  I had this in mind the moment I saw the I Dig You! stamp set in the big catalog and just now got around to making it.    

A magnet digger puzzle! Cool, eh? Just the thing for a construction-vehicle obsessed 3 year old. I stamped the images on Whisper White, added the brads, and then adhered to one of our magnet sheets. I used paper snips to cut everything out, and then sanded the edges a bit to make them look better. If I do this again, I think I might use an exacto knife to cut out because the edges weren't quite as clean as I'd wanted. But he's three, and doesn't notice that sort of thing.

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