Clip-On Earrings, What's In My Purse, and Talking to God {7 Quick Takes}

--1--

I got Cecilia one last present for her birthday that arrived this week, and I knew she'd be SO excited:

Clip-on earrings.

Did you forget that those were a thing?  Because I had TOTALLY forgotten until I happened upon this etsy shop via instagram and asked the owner if she made clip-on earrings, too.  She does!  So I used the 3 pairs for $15 promo and got her some adorable pairs!  She's been wearing them nonstop since Monday, although NOT to sleep because I won't let her.

Ignore the dirty windows.  Toddlers.

I just can't get over how old she looks!

(PS If you've never joined etsy, you really should! Apparently they're doing referral bonuses right now, so if you make a purchase through my link you'll get $5 and so will I!)

--2--

Nell and Katrina (along with some other bloggers) are hosting a Lily Jade link-up and giveaway - I saw it as the perfect opportunity to clean out my purse!

Really, surprisingly little was in there (I'm not about to clean out my wallet, that would be another story...):

Top row: 
(L) 2 pennies, because John Paul.
(C) My real essentials - wallet, sunglasses, Burt's Bees.
(R) Personal care: Emergency lipstick (2 shades), lip gloss (2 shades), eyeliner, bobby pin, and very very old cough drop in the only good flavor in the world.

Middle row:  
(L) Proof that I'm a mom: Sippy cup, receiving blanket, cloth wipes, newborn-sized diaper, toy key.
(C) Top view of my purse, a Christmas present from Andrew in 2013.
(R) 4 pens and a pencil, and yet somehow I can never find one when I need it?

Bottom row: 
(L) The "Why is this in here" category: Ikea Family card that should be in my wallet but lives in an inner pocket, guitar pick from my music teaching days, pack of gum for my pregnancy acid reflux with only one piece left, and conversation hearts that I snagged during a visit to Andrew's office on Wednesday.
(C) Trash: Trader Joe's receipt, McDonald's receipt from before I had Peter, library fines receipt.  5 OBGYN appointment cards.  One candy wrapper from the trip to Andrew's office. Also two halves of a petrified cheerio and several Christmas tree needles.
(R) Full contents!  

My thoughts:  I don't really pack the huge diaper bag unless we're going to be gone all day.  I can fit 3 cloth diapers in here easily, along with a wetbag, wipes, and burp cloth.  Maybe sippy cups if we'll really need them, but we don't as much these days.  But I only pack those things when we're headed out the door - I don't like to keep a diaper bag packed because then those diapers don't end up in the regular rotation and that annoys me...

That sippy cup is only in there because Elizabeth found it in the car and I had forgotten to take it out.  The receiving blanket is dirty and hadn't been tossed in the laundry yet.  The newborn diaper got thrown away after this shot, because, um, Peter's like 13 or 14 lbs and a heavy wetter, so I'm thinking it would be less than effective...  And those wipes are a MUST, since somebody's always got a runny nose or has been crying or something, so I always keep a few in my purse.

--3--

My sister posted this link on her blog page about introducing kids to contemplative prayer, so I tried it with John Paul and Cecilia this evening - after about 10 seconds Cecilia opened her eyes, screwed up her face, and said, "Alligator in the sky?"

Apparently that's what God told her.

But when I put her to bed right afterwards, she said, "Mom!  I talked to God and He talked to me and He said, 'Cecilia, I love you, I'll see you in Heaven soon!'"

Probably a more likely response than "Alligator in the sky..."

--4--

Andrew printed these Solar System notebook pages for John Paul and the kid has been at it NONSTOP!  The instructions say to use the NASA website to find the information but pretty much all of it is in The Magic School Bus and The Atlas of the Universe book that John Paul's obsessed with.

Like, wouldn't stop doing it so that he could eat lunch...

So the more I think about it, the more I think Abbey's "Project-based Homeschooling" is probably what will work best for him - when he gets interested in something he LIVES it and can't be distracted by anything else.

"Take a picture of me with bug-eyes!"

--5--

This baby...

Apparently he likes tummy time?  Well, he wouldn't really smile for me this time.  But he just hangs out, looking around at everything until he decides it's time to lie down and suck his fist.

The lovely comb-over is thanks to his cradle cap - our first kid ever to have the problem!

So we're trying a daily regimen of oil, fine-toothed comb, baby shampoo, etc.  So far it seems like coconut oil works better than olive oil, and I think we're going to need to get a new baby brush because ours disappeared long ago (due to the lack of babies with HAIR)...

As a side bonus, though, we also have found out that he really likes baths.  Come to think of it, he really likes most things...  Except being put down when he'd rather be nursing.  Which is most of the time...

--6--

It's February and for the first time, I actually put COATS on the twins.  We mostly just haven't left the house when it's been cold enough for coats, and have been surviving with thick sweaters.  But we had a play date on Monday and it was cold enough to wear actual coats, so out they came (thank you, hand-me-downs).  And that pink pea coat is one of my favorite things EVER:

Of course, then she didn't want to take it off...

And neither did Mary Claire.  Luckily I had them off before naptime!

--7--

Aaaand now it's time to stop neglecting the laundry and get folding!  Happy Friday (well, almost) - check out more Quick Takes at Kelly's!