7 Quick Takes Friday

 

Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary for an excuse to compile all my random thoughts in one place!

 

--1--

 

March for Life today!  Hope all that are able are there - in this weather, there's just no way to get 4 kids under 4 there with adequate (and warm enough) time to nurse...  And it's the Conversion of St. Paul - see if you can blind anyone with your light :)

A couple of good links in that area - one on New Feminism and one on when life begins. 

--2--

I'm going back to work on Monday. I have mixed feelings on the matter...  I love my job - I teach choir & a music lab to 7th and 8th graders and it's way fun.  And it's awesome to have a little "grown-up time" where I can go to the bathroom by myself, sit down, listen to music in the car that ISN'T a kids' CD, eat whatever I want without having to share with the kids, etc. 

But I'm going to miss the kids.  A lot.  Thank goodness for the summer!  I'll be gone for 5-6 hours a day, so it could definitely be worse.  We need the benefits, so it's really non-negotiable whether I go back or not.  The house is also going to be a lot messier when I don't have those naptime hours to get stuff done...

I'm also REALLY not going to miss the kids.  Working part-time is a really nice balance for me.  And honestly, I'm a better mom when I have some time away from the kids - I appreciate them so much more when I come home, and I'm just a much saner person.

--3--

We're closing on a house soon!  Assuming all goes well, we'll be mostly moved by the 3rd weekend in February (want to help and do some heavy lifting?  Or sit with me and chat while I nurse the babies?).  This means Andrew will be about 5 minutes from work, we're changing parishes (from a good parish to another good parish!), we'll have a HUGE beautiful backyard with room for a swingset and a garden and a deck and a patio, I'll be able to cook on a gas stove again, and we'll need to buy window treatments that are fancier than the blackout curtains we currently use in our bedrooms...

--4--

 

John Paul whines SO. MUCH.  Every time he hears the word "No" or I ask him to do something, he lets out an ear-piercing, "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"  Usually it wakes up a baby.  I am at my wit's end - what do I do to stop this???  We had our terrible twos, that's for sure.  But this feels way worse because I know he's doing it specifically to push our buttons. 

Is this a face you want to see ever?

 

--5--

 

At least he's funny sometimes to make up for the whining and screaming...

 

(playing with some coins he found) "Oh! Another penny! It was on the wipe, good joke! I want to put it in my bank?"
"What bank?"
"Oh, the Wells Fargo bank?"
"What Wells Fargo bank? We don't have any Wells Fargo bank!"
"Oh, the BRICK one!"

(in a robotic voice) "Honest to God I didn't take it." (now in a normal voice) "Oh, honest to God I didn't take the syringe from Cecilia!"
"John Paul what movie is that from???"
"Oh! The ten commandments!"

His ten commandments book has an example of taking the Lord's name in vain. Another reason not to teach your child to read...

--6--

 

Elizabeth gained an adequate amount of weight for the 3rd week in a row!  Almost up to Cecilia's birthweight, pitiful as that is...  Mary Claire is continuing to chunk up, tipping the scales at 10 lbs yesterday (after sleeping 9 hours without nursing!  But don't worry, Elizabeth was up every 2 to make up for it :)

 

This picture is a few weeks old and exaggerates the difference but yeah, Mary Claire is definitely 2+ pounds heavier...

--7--

 

In anticipation of moving her to a "big girl" bed (mattress on the floor) when we move, I've been letting Cecilia sleep in John Paul's bed (mattress on the floor) for naptime and she LOVES it.  But she has started sleeping with a blanket completely over her head, so she wakes up with the most incredible sweaty bedhead:

 

 

 

Now check out more quick takes at Conversion Diary!