7 Quick Takes about sleeping like a baby, the weekend forecast, and fears

1. My child is a nap-striker. Which would be just fine if I didn't want to read or write or bake or nap or work or sit and stare out the window...
As I rock and bounce and shhsh him for at least an hour a day, I'm always left wondering, "Should I just try cry it out?" But then I start thinking about him standing in his crib (because he does not stay laying if he's not soundly asleep) and reaching for the door and crying and I just can't bring myself to do it. I always wonder though...what if he actually isn't feeling good? How can you tell the difference between a baby who is fighting sleep and a baby who genuinely needs his momma?

Funny thing is, I guiltlessly let him cry when I need to take a shower...

2. Speaking of sleep, we've had a few rough nights around these parts. My 10 month old has indeed slept through the night before but now is waking up at least twice per night and usually one of the times he's up for a good hour. Ugh. It feels like we're dancing and he's leading and if I do something wrong he crys.

Bounce bounce bounce with his head in the crook of my left arm, on his side, while sshsh, sshsh, sshshing and then sway sway sway, little bounce, little bounce, sway sway, little bounce, sway sway sway sway, little bounce, sshsh sshsh, stand perfectly still and then little bounce, little bounce, sway, still still...until he's so sound asleep he's snoring. And then I gently lower him towards the mattress and those little eyes "pop!" open, back arching, waiiiilll. Back to the bounce bounce bounce...there was one night where I literally tried 10 times to lay him down.

And, yes, I have most definitely tried to lay him in his crib awake but then there's just screaming and gnashing of tooth (because he only has one!). I've tried to lay him down and sit next to the crib, I've tried holding his hand or rubbing his back or even rubbing his feet...

Truly the only thing that works is saying Hail Marys until he falls asleep and stays there when I lay him down.

I should also mention that this isn't an every night occurrence and I'm not feeling desperately tired or weary or anything...truly I should just stop complaining and remember it is indeed a baby whom I've been blessed with caring for. He surely won't be a baby for long and so it's pretty much a gift that I get to hang out with this little baby in the middle of the night....right?

3. Oh! And he (finally) has a tooth! It only took him ten loooong months, six of which we were positive his fussiness or having trouble sleeping "must just be teething..."  Why, yes, we are first time parents, why?

4. This weekend's weather doesn't exactly look....promising. -25 for the "RealFeel"? I think that means that the RealFeel for my weekend will be 71, because I don't want to leave my house. But, to look on the sunny side, this must be one of the last frigidly cold weekends we have, right!? I mean...the Polar Vortex will need to move on and visit other planets soon, right?! This arctic weather definitely makes me anticipate spring that much more. Think of how much we're going to enjoy it once it hits even 50 degrees. I'm positive you will see people sunbathing and running in shorts...

5. Lent begins on Wednesday and Brandon and I have been discussing what we'd like to do together this year to prepare ourselves and our souls for Easter. Our #1 goal is to be upstairs by 9pm so that we're asleep by 10. For some reason it always takes us right around an hour to get ready for bed. What is wrong with us? Well, actually it's because this is when we get in the bulk of our chatting for the day. Which leads to our #2 goal: no smartphoning after 9pm. Both will be quite the challenge for us.

6. Yesterday I blogged about FUDs and how they can get in the way of positive thinking and living in the present moment. We all struggle with FUDs. Can you think of a fear, uncertainty, or doubt you're experiencing right at this moment in life? 

Now here's a little inspiration for your weekend. What I want you to do is take the next minute and a half to watch the video below. Overcome that wolf within--you can do it!

7. Happy last Friday of Ordinary Time! Feel free to indulge all weekend and party like it's Fat Tuesday! ;)

Today's post is linked to Jen twice (and has anyone else ever noticed that her link-ups are all about the number 7?!) Number 5 for 7 posts, 7 days and an addition to the 7 Quick Takes link-up.

7 Quick Takes: Wait, it's Friday?

Oh my gosh, it's Friday again? Someone explain how this happened. Maybe if I rehash what happened this week, I'll remember how we got here.

Shall we?

-1-
Monday was a rough, rough day. I think I'd like to forget it happened at all and just pretend it was a normal, nothing new kinda day. Although I feel more patient for it and think I needed to go through a few good hours of ear-piercing baby noises to increase my tolerance. or something.

-2-
Tuesday, however, was pretty fantastical (what kind of day wouldn't be in comparison to it's predecessor?) Got to hang out with my Park Mamas, aka a lovely group of women who all also have babies under 2 and totally understand shrill screaming and teething and sleeping intermittently. C.S. Lewis got it right when he said: 

It's incredible how quickly i came to trust in them and benefit from their friendship. We are all way more than knee-deep, probably neck-deep, in going through and overcoming similar situations with our littles and it is wonderful to be part of this lovely little community.

-3-

This was the week of satin and chiffon and lace. I, along with my fashion coach, went to three different bridal boutiques this week. The fashion coach in question happens to be 9 months old and very into mirrors and all things sparkly, so basically he was thoroughly entertained. Who knew that boutiques provided the perfect setting for sensory play? We were accompanied by my lovely friend and bride-to-be and the hunt was on for a bridesmaid dress for yours truly and a wedding dress for the bride. By yesterday afternoon we had found success on all fronts! Her dress is absolutely stunning and if she was aiming to remind her fiance that he's the luckiest guy in the world as she floats down the aisle, she'll definitely achieve it. 

The bride-to-be at hand is kind enough to let her bridesmaids choose any dress from a particular line, as long as it's in this beautiful, rich purple color. This means we each get to pick something that fits our style and our body type, and we happen to get to order it in my favorite color. Well then, don't mind if I do! ;)

-4-

I got bit by a bug over the weekend...the crafty bug. At least it wasn't the travel bug because we really can't go anywhere right now. And so I looked around our house and decided to fulfill our need of coasters. I had made them in the past for a Secret Santa gift and so was excited to make some for myself.

-5-

Does anyone else have a stash of craft stuff that is completely unorganized? I have a whole big box of supplies left over from past projects such as buckets of buttons, extra yarn, lots of scrapbook paper, beads, glue, stamps, paint, etc., etc. Much of it still lives in it's original Hobby Lobby bag, accidentally organized into materials needed for specific projects. My husband actually calls this stash my "crap" box instead of craft box. pfft. 

While I know where everything is in the craft box, it isn't the most neat way to keep things. Anyone have suggestions for organizing such miscellany?

-6-

Baby boy took quite the tumble today and it made me feel like a horrible mom. The vision of him falling is running on repeat in my brain and I can't seem to make it go away. He's okay and happy and just has a little bump on his head to show for it but it could have been real bad...Geez, this mom stuff comes with baggage.

Yes, it's a blurry iPhone photo but it's proof that he's happy.                  

-7-

Well, that was a nice way to remembered what I did this week. And it only took oooh, 6 hours ago to actually write this post. Life with a small child!

Oh, and you should probably know that the 2014 Sheenazing Awards are being hosted by Bonnie over at a Knotted Life right now. She's probably the best emcee for an awards show, ever (watch out, Tina Fey!) If you want to meet a ton of amazing bloggers and maybe quadruple the length of your Bloglovin'/feedly following list, you probably need to check them out. And right now you can even vote!

Have a great weekend and check out other quick takers for more fun, fun, fun.

7 Quick Takes: Redecorating, reading, other randoms

Joining Jen and all of the others who are quick takin' this week.

-1-
We have a little man on the brink of moving! He can crawl about a yard at a time before he retreats back to his booty or attempts to stand up, which really means he gets up in a downward dog-esque position before plopping back down to the floor. It's really fun to watch him explore and interact with the world around him. I see things in a little bit different way, through his eyes. I also realize the baby-proofing which needs to be done, stat.

Oh, and please excuse the grainy, snapchat downloaded photo and focus on the cute smile. kthanks.

-2-
Taking down Christmas decor proved to be the perfect time to get our living room Silas-ready. As we got our "normal" decorations back out, we also installed a few shelves on the wall to hold some of them. The great shelf debate commenced, a friendly yet time-consuming discussion regarding the placement of said shelves. We even had our brother-in-law and Brandon's sister weigh in, which proved quite helpful. Anyways, here they are in all of their holding things and making the room a bit cozier glory.

-3-
During Advent and Christmas we have an window that I painted "O come let us adore Him" on our mantel.

While putting it away about two weeks ago, we decided we wanted another window to go in it's place for the rest of the year and off we went to this really neat Antiques and Salvage store--only to find out that it had moved from downtown in the city we live to another city about 30 minutes away! So what did we do last weekend? Out for a little bit of a Saturday adventure!

I've bought a wooden letter "K" which I'm going to paint grey and hang from our new-old window with red ribbon. Because what's cuter than infusing little personal touches like the first letter of your last name around the house? Or something.

-3-
I really love reading and want to foster a love for books in Silas, so we read together quite often. On a typical day we go through 10-12 books, about half of our total stash, and he will look at the pages and mimic my pointing and remain pretty happy doing so for a good 15 minutes at a time.
Pretty sure we need some new books, though, because I find myself laying in bed with lines from them replaying over and over and over in my brain.

"It's time to sleep little bee, little bee. Yes, I love you and you love me."
"The sun has set not long ago, now everybody goes below."
"Quack says the duck. The horse says neigh. It's quiet now, what do you say?"
"Try out the jump rope. Slide down the slide."

All the good vibes in the world to the person who can name the titles of the books above from memory. I'm sure they go to fellow moms of little ones out there. Are there any specific board books or children's authors you suggest as I look to increase our library?

-4-
When your husbands suggests that you should get a manicure, pedicure, and massage, you take his advice and you don't ask questions.

-5-
I wonder what I'll remember when I look back upon these first months of being a mom. We really hope that we're blessed with (many) more children and so (hopefully) many more years of being a mom to little ones. I've been realizing how precious this time I have with just one baby is and also how simple. If you would have asked me what I thought would be the lasting memories from high school or college would, the ones that come to mind over and over again, I don't think I would have predicted correctly. And so I just have to wonder what I'll remember from these "early" days. Hopefully it's his little giggle, how excited he is to hold onto our hands and walk around, how much I love when he rests his cheek on mine and falls asleep in my arms.

-6-
I've been starting most days with a chapter from "Saintly Solutions to Life's Common Problems" written by Fr. Esper (as seen on my instagram) and it has been SO fruitful. I must thank Lindsay for the suggestion. The little insights the saints provide us on how to approach loving the Lord and using struggles and difficulties to become closer to God is inspirational. I'm definitely reaping the benefits in my life, emotionally and spiritually.

-7-
Good mom/bad mom time: Is a bad mom move to set Silas on my lap and let him eat puffs while I'm typing so that he doesn't reach for the keys and try to share his own post? hmm. It sure doesn't work for long, that's for sure. Time to hang out with the little man and run some errands on this sunny Friday afternoon.

Join Jen for more quick takes!

Happy weekend,
~Danielle

7 Quick Takes about Sleeping, Food, and Fall (what's not to love?)

So I've been thinking about my next blog post for 2 weeks. So much thinking that it led me to an accidental hiatus from writing at all. It was as though I really wanted to have something great to say. Something that reflected how deeply my thoughts have become lately. But every time I'd get on the computer to start I'd be distracted by email or facebook or the baby would wake up. So I'm just going to give up on trying to write something meaningful for the time being, and instead indulge in a little bit of miscellany with these 7 quick takes of what's been going on around here. (Check out much more interesting quick takes over at Conversion Diary!)

-1-



Little man is going to be a whole half-a-year tomorrow! It's been the longest and quickest 6 months of my life, and I have an almost 20 lb baby (and quite the lower back ache!) to show for it. He is such a wonderful baby and we've pretty much had zero of the horror stories people love to tell you about when you're around 38 weeks pregnant. Silas is mostly happy with a side of complaining every now and then, and has been a fabulous traveler and sleeper (the two things I'd always joke we were praying for in a baby!)





-2-
Yes, I just said he's a good sleeper, and I mean it, too--he will typically go to bed around 7:15 and be mostly sleeping until around 7 the next morning. He does sometimes wake up for a feeding or two, and sometimes he doesn't want to go back to sleep unless he's laying in bed next to me, but overall he's quite the bedtime winner. 

BUT, I suppose this wasn't good enough for me because I tried "Cry It Out" on Wednesday and ohmygracious that was so not fun for anyone involved!

Okay..let me back up. I've been reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" because it was recommended by many other mommas. And in there the author talks about how important it is for babies to 1) be on a regular nap schedule (which we most definitely are not) and 2) be able to go to sleep on their own (which doesn't really happen unless he's in the car or stroller or nursing.) And he says that babies can do it by 16 weeks.

SO I looked at my 26 week old child and I tried it. And although I only tried once and you're supposed to give it at least a week: I'm not a believer. Nor am I a Belieber. So we will never be doing it that way again and I am going to say never, Mr. Bieber. Baby boy can sleep when he wants during the day and even take 4 little catnaps. Because he's generally a super happy camper and something else that the book emphasized was that bad sleepers=difficult babies and we just don't have one of those up in here.

-3-
Last night I went out baby-less with a few friends who also left their small children with other caretakers. And it.was.great. Sangria + a perfectly cooked burger topped with provolone cheese and bacon (oops, you're drooling!) + having a full conversation with other mama's about any/everything was super nice. Of course we still chatted about our lovebugs, but absence makes the heart grow fonder, yes? Even if maybe it's only 2 hours of absence. I'm feeling blessed to have these women in my life who are in similar situations! I can bounce questions of off them regarding parenting...although I think I may be learning more about food from them than anything else! Who knew I was so food-illiterate? Kimchi? (yes, I googled how to spell that...) Fried okra? Scotch egg? You're probably laughing at my naivete/lameness...and this was just last night's lesson based on what was ordered around me.

-4-
And so I'm trying to step up my food game just a teeny little bit lately. Mostly for my husband's sake. Tomorrow I will be making Minestrone Soup! Ok...I confess...in the crock pot. But I thought of it ahead of time, made a shopping list, went to the grocery store, and will now prepare it! Gold star, right!?

-5-

I just can't get over how beautiful the trees are looking! Boy, do I love fall. I mean, take a look at the tree below. I snapped a photo of it while sitting at a stop sign. 

Here's the funny thing: As much as fall is my absolute favorite season weather-wise, as soon as there's even the slightest chill in the air, I find myself thinking about Christmas. Not just the day but the whole season! There's this little knot of excitement that forms in my stomach, a feeling I've only ever had incited by all things holiday and advent and thinking of the perfect gifts for friends and family members. See, I'm getting myself excited already. I have to remind myself that there are other holidays that happen between now and December 25, other holidays that I really like! So I just need to keep remembering how much I love the leaves and the pumpkin spice everything and the walkable weather and not let myself get wrapped up in the Christmas season quite yet.

-6-
My husband and I are Downton Abbey fans. (Haven't seen it? Do what we did and buy all three seasons and watch them as rapidly as possible because they are that good!)

We are really ready for season 4 and really kind of jealous that in the UK they've already seen like 4 episodes! Looking forward to January 4th!

-7-
This weekend is soo much slower and less jam-packed than last, and I'm glad for the break. Looking forward to cuddling with hubs and baby and not having any sort of schedule.

Hope yours is great too!

~Danielle 

7 Quick Takes: Fall, Facebook and Pope Francis

-1-
Hello?...yes, is fall available? I really thought fall weather was supposed to be here for the season, I must have misunderstood because it's been in the high 70s-low 80s all week! We sure have been enjoying this weather, getting outside to a park or for a walk every day.  Although I do love the cooler weather fall typically brings, it has been a treat to get a little extended summer!

-2-
On Tuesday Silas dressed up in his little overalls and we headed to a friends house with some other babies and their mamas to take some fall photos! Here are a few of my favorites that I took, but there were so many cute ones that others took, as seen on facebook.

 

You can imagine how difficult it is to get 7 babies in one photo looking in the same general direction. I'm sure it would have been funny to get a picture facing the other direction, as all of us mom's are clapping and yelling and frequently jumping in to position babies.

-3-
Our oven has been broken for a little over two weeks now, which means we've had to be pretty creative when it came to dinner.  Crock pot, stove top, grill. Tonight we decided to be uncreative and go out to eat! This is pretty rare for us so it was really nice to not have to cook or have any dishes in the sink. We went to a local place for Mexican food. Yummm.

-4- 
I've said it before, but I am way too addicted to checking facebook and have been reflecting a lot on how much time I waste. It really starts out innocently, I just check it from my phone as I nurse Silas.  I know, though, that there are about 1,001 other things I could be doing with that time! It's not enhancing my life like reading a book or saying a rosary or calling a friend would.
This morning another blogger (Hi Rosie!) mentioned that she was getting a smartphone for the first time and mentioned that she was going to avoid installing facebook because she'd spend too much time on her phone otherwise. This comment hit me--well, duh! SO I took the plunge and deleted it off of my phone. I can still access it if I absolutely need to from Safari (but in what circumstances does a person absolutely need to connect to FB via their cellular device?) I can feel the fresh liberation already.

-5-
The latest interview with Pope Francis has made waves and been taken completely out of context and been the talk of the town for the last week. I read a few articles describing it and quoting it, and I decided I wanted to read it for myself.  So I am, and actually have been reading it aloud to Brandon the last few nights before bed.  We're about 3/4 of the way through and I'm super encouraged by his words and reflections. It's so interesting to me that the media is reporting on what Pope Francis has to say so frequently lately, and also that they so easily take his words out of context. I still have a little bit of reading and a lot of reflection to do before I can make any sort of comment on it.

Want to read it for yourself? Check it out here. Want to see what others have to say about it? (Note: Not all of these interpret the interview in context. It seems like a pretty important thing to do, doesn't it?) Check out what CNN says, what Fox News says, what Kendra says (with links to quite a few other articles on the topic), and what Calah says.

I do have to say that it's amazing how the Holy Spirit works, though. How incredible that Pope Francis can make such an impact on people in the short time since he's become Pope. So excited to see how he will be used to evangelize and change the world.

-6-
Lately I've been getting this excited feeling because it's almost October which means it's getting closer to Christmas. I seriously love Advent and Christmas and the Christmas season.

-7-
I'm missing my family lately.  It's been about a month and a half since we've been home, which is not super long...but it seems like a lot has happened both at home and developmentally with Silas. Fortunately I've been chatting a lot with my mom lately and I even got to talk to my youngest sister for about a half hour this week!! She's in her first semester of college, so she's pretty busy--so great to chat with her for a little bit, but I cannot believe she is old enough to go to college.
Time really doesn't seem to make sense lately. The days are long but the nights should be longer; he's growing up fast and I can't believe we've had him five months, but I can't imagine what life was like before him.

Have a great weekend and check out other quick takes over at Jen's!

~Danielle 

7 Quick Takes

Quick-takin' it with Jen and friends.

1. I'm not quite sure why, but this week has gone by at a rapid pace. Believe me, I'm not complaining! Maybe it's because of the long Labor Day weekend? Or maybe it's because we've been busy every night this week. Definitely been fun!

2. Tuesday was our 2nd wedding anniversary.  I made a roast in the crock pot and bought a slice of carrot cake from the store. (Brandon actually asked if I made it...then I pointed out that it was a center piece and I have no idea how I would have drawn such a perfect, cute little carrot on top)  We ate on the china we received from our wedding, exchanged small gifts (both had incorporated the traditional gift of cotton!), and then headed to a meeting for the young adult committee at church.

3. Do you have china? Do you ever use it? While registering for wedding gifts, I fell in love with our china pattern.  Being oh-so-practical, we had already decided we wouldn't register for something we wouldn't use. So, we received it from a very generous aunt and uncle of mine and now it's our intention of actually using our china for all birthdays, anniversarys, and holidays :) We do have to hand wash it, but it's so worth it--and also proudly displayed in our kitchen!

4. We had talked about taking a little weekend getaway somewhere for our anniversary, but it just seemed like a lot of work trying to figure out where we would go and if Silas would come with us or stay with someone...and then Brandon suggested we take a hot air balloon ride and I was like "um, heck-to-the-yes!" Definitely something I never imagined I'd be able to do and definitely an absolutely incredible experience!

5. Last week Ana included a little story of getting stung by a bee in her quick takes. It was in her hair. For days after, every time I felt the smallest tug of hair (and this seems to happen a lot when you have a four-month old) I was sure there must also be a bee in my hair. Talk about paranoid. 

But-I kid you not-I took out my hair from the nest on top of my head it lives in while I sleep each night, and what falls out but a dead bee!?  Oh my heavens it was so not funny. Until I realized it was dead. without wings. and then it was a little funny. As far as I know, I did not got stung. I'm really hoping it just happened to get in there while we were 4300 feet up or something? Maybe that's where bees go to die.

6. I've mentioned before how my house gets cleaned when I know people are coming over. We had friends over for dinner last night and the beginning of a young adult retreat is at our house tonight. So you know what I've been up to :)

7. This is my 50th post! Woohoo! It reminds me how much of a wee little one I still am when it comes to blogging. Kendra posted the following quote on her blog today and it explains a little bit why I even write on this here blog, so I thought I'd share:

Happy Friday, friends!

~Danielle

7 Quick Takes

Well folks, it's that day of the week and although I told myself there was no need to post today and I should probably take a little break....little man is sleeping and this seems more appealing than the dishes.  And so I'm jumping back on that Friday bandwagon with Jen and friends...

1. Oh my goodness, it is hot.  This is what our thermometer is reading:

No lies, that is hot. and you see that arrow next to the "F" for Fahrenheit? That means it's increasing! Thanks to this handy-dandy tool, Silas and I will be enjoying our day indoors today.

2. Which is A-ok because he has been a happy camper lately and has discovered the mystery and magic of this thing called a mirror.

Yesterday we looked at ourselves for a good 15 minutes before he decided it was probably time to eat instead of chat with himself.  The funniest part was that whenever I would talk to him, he'd look at me in the mirror and then turn around and look at me behind him. and then repeat this about 4x. It's like he just couldn't understand how there were two of me.

3. Hoorah for a 3 day weekend!  I love that we're not traveling to stay overnight anywhere this weekend and that Saturday and Sunday will just be low-key days. Silas and I both decided today that we really like weekends because when Dad's home, everything just seems 100x easier.

4. It's been really on my mind lately if I need to give up facebook. Or maybe just give it up on my phone. Or maybe just tally how many times per day I use it and limit it to like..3. because is there a need to check it 30 times a day? um, no. The answering from all of the experts is a resounding "No!" and I'm not really sure how I got into this habit. I call it a habit because I click on that little app on my phone without even thinking. And what is there to see? Usually, nothing (sorry friends.) I mean, I sure do enjoy seeing pictures and hearing via 150ish characters what's happening in my friends lives, but do I need to chain myself to it so that I practically see every status update...again. NO.  Actually, upon second thought I know where this habit came from--something mindless to do while nursing small child. I think the Lord would rather have me doing something mindFUL during this time (and yes, sometimes I do consider what He would have me doing if He was in the same room with me...which I guess He actually always is...) Ok, so I've reached no solution but at least have it written down that it's an issue.

5. Did you know that weedeater's are like $150+? Ya, me neither. because Brandon has been saying that ours won't start anymore so I said, "Just go buy one then." and he got all excited.  And then he asked if I knew how much they were.  The answer is nope. I was thinking like $50? But at least our yard won't look like it has sideburns anymore.

6. It's still really hot.

7. Tuesday is our anniversary and upon Brandon's suggestion we're taking a hot air balloon ride! I'm so stinking excited!!

Okay, little man has awoken and is complaining to be removed from his swing.  Happy long weekend!!

~Danielle

What's for Dinner?

7 Quickity-Quick Takes on this last weekday for 2 whole days.

-1-
My grandpa is in the ICU currently recovering from quadruple bypass open heart surgery on Tuesday. Things are going a little bit rough right now.  I feel as though I've been in a constant state of prayer for a few days.  Would you join me in lifting up the most delightful, friendly, wonderful man you'll ever meet?  My family greatly appreciates it :)

-2-
Your house always gets a nice little once-over when you're having guests, doesn't it?  We love having people over, mostly for the interesting conversations and hilarious stories...but tidying up pre-guests doesn't hurt either.

-3-
Does anyone else ever always make a meal for the first time when they're having guests? It's a pretty risky endeavor, as whatever recipe I follow could end up being the worst ever and I could potentially poison everyone, or at least gag them over an awful meal.  But google hasn't led my astray thus far so I guess I'll continue to play "Recipe Roulette" until I can tell everyone is lying through their teeth and actually hate whatever is put in front of them.

-4-
Tonight's dinner is simmering delightfully in the crock pot, emitting smells of wonderfulness.  I followed this recipe entitled "To Die for Crock Pot Roast."  Now that I think about it, I shouldn't have made something with death in the title for the first time to feed to people I have yet to meet...

-5-
I also made Raspberry Pretzel Jello for dessert.  Natasha's blog post sure made it look easy and delicious. The making part was true, I'm hoping the eating part is as well.

-6-
I am uber impressed with food bloggers ability to take so many pictures as they are cooking/baking food. And each step looks more beautiful than the last! What I want to know is their process of taking pictures and posting them...I need someone awesome to have a similar step-by-step post that reveals the process of what device they use to capture said photos, how they set up the lighting, do they send the photos to themselves or use a cord to grab the photos, is there a host site involved....Because my process of posting photos to this blog is 32 steps too long and there's got to be another way! oh, the drama.

"It's what's for dinner."

"...and dessert..."

You see, I'll do the whole picture thing, it just adds 10 minutes to my life.


-7-
Now you know what we're eating tonight.  Which I believe means I can link up to lil ol' Clan Donaldson (even though it was theme Thursday.  Friday's the new Thursday though, right?)

Check out more quick 7's over at Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes and a Very Special Birthday!

1.  It's Friday! Why does last Sunday feel like at least a whole decade ago? We did have a lot happening during the evenings this week, and I have been looking forward to this weekend for a few particular reasons, one being that its Brandon's birthday :)

2. I seriously love birthdays. This has a lot to do with the fact that my mom also loves birthdays and we are real good at celebrating them. They are such a fantastic excuse to really honor a person and remind them how much they are loved, having one day of the year especially celebrating their life! Cake is always a must and ice cream doesn't hurt either...and presents are something we still do in my family, no matter how old you are!

3. Last night we went out to dinner--just the hubs and I--to celebrate. It was nice to have a full conversation while holding hands and eating delicious burgers. We love our wiggle-worm baby, but taking an hour to just enjoy one another's company was wonderfully refreshing.

4. Thanks to Michelle and Matt for watching Silas. It's so nice having friends like you! :) They have a little cutie of their own, just 1 week older than Silas. And although we were friends before, the 4 of us definitely bonded over being preggo at the same time and carpooled to Bradley classes together. I am truly grateful for them.

5. My hair is falling out in clumps. The shower wall looks like a piece of modern art by the time I'm finished. Don't worry, I don't make Brandon deal with it. He already finds strands of my hair woven in shirts that have come out of the dryer and between his toes and things. It would just be cruel to leave a gift of hair in the shower for him. What I'm wondering is whether this is just a normal post-baby thing to be happening...

6. In less disturbing but still baby related news, little man has officially begun to giggle. It is not often and its timing is completely unpredictable but really even just one time makes my whole day.

7. My youngest sister moved into college today and I am one proud older sister. I can remember so clearly my own move in day and the crazy number of conflict ring emotions that went with it. I'm told that she got everything settled and then said, "Oh ya, I have to sleep here tonight!" What a strange feeling it is to have the place you lay your head at night a different one than you've always called home!!

Okay, I should call it a night since its already technically morning.

Check out more quick-takers over at Jen's. 

Whoops...and 7QT

Well, I think the intention of "7 posts in 7 days" was to do a post a day...that's not exactly how it's going to shake out here, though.  I'll still do 7 posts, there will just be a day with two!

Yesterday ended up wayyy crazier than I thought it could have been, with not one single moment to sit at a computer.  So, Happy Saturday! and 7 Quick Takes...just about 10 hours late...

1.

Yesterday required coffee.  Actually, the last 4 days required caffeine of some sort as little man thought it appropriate to wake up a little more often and I thought it appropriate to not go to sleep until about 2 hours after he had already been asleep. I've been trying not to drink it everyday, as it seems like some of the "experts" recommend not as much caffeine when you're nursing. But it also seems that the experts want you to be awake long enough to care for your child, true?

2.

I'm staying at my parents for a whole 9 days!  This is probably the longest consecutive stretch of days I have been here since...oh...junior year of college?  But my youngest sister had complete ACL repair surgery on the 17th, and needed a "nurse" to be around to do little things like put her on the ice machine, get her food, etc.  So this week I'll be doing multiple types of "nursing".  I'm kinda excited to spend so much time with the fam (and I know they're excited to spend so much time with Silas) but I will definitely miss seeing the hubs every night!

3.

The reason it worked out so well for me to be here this week is because I have the privilege of being the Matron of Honor in a wedding near my parent's house next weekend and the Bachelorette party is today! (woot!!)  So fortunately Brandon is in town both weekends, but will just have to make the 3 1/2 hour drive back and forth by himself.

4.

Silas will be hanging out with Dad and GG (my mom) this evening while I go to the Bachelorette party.  Next Saturday we are leaving him with GG and his aunts again. This will be the first time I have ever been away from him for more than a few hours.  While I'm super excited for being out with the girls tonight and getting to just focus on my lovely friend the Bride for the wedding, it will be so weird not having 100% focus on Silas during these times.  It's not that I'm nervous, perse (I know he's in really good hands!), it just seems weird to be away from him after I haven't for so long!

5.

We forgot the milk.  Yes, the one thing little man needs to stay alive. Don't worry, we remembered other silly things, like his Bumbo seat and some toys....ugh.  I had been pumping this week to ensure that we had enough for the Bachelorette party and wedding...and it's sitting nice and frozen 3 1/2 hours away in our freezer. fail. So now I am frantically trying to pump after every feeding and having a bit of a supply issue (although I'm sure by tomorrow I sure won't after pumping so often today!)  I really hope we get enough for him to eat while I'm gone. Brandon might have to drive to the Bachelorette location in order to pick up some freshly pumped milk. Such is life. (I still can't believe we forgot the milk...)

6.

In better sounding things, I really am so excited to celebrate my dear friend Jennie today.  We met in college and I'm pretty sure we first bonded over the fact that we are "lame" aka really like to just hang out over a cup of coffee and talk about life as opposed to party-hardy and all of that un-lame stuff.  Since then we have spent much time together and basically were involved in all of the same things in college.  She was my church buddy and my travel buddy (Colorado, Mexico, Florida, the gym) and I am just so blessed for her presence in my life--and now she's marrying the love of her life!!  

7.

It's freaking cold out.  A high of 66 at the end of July in the Midwest?  This cannot be real.  But I am absolutely not wishing it was 95 and humid, don't get me wrong.  I guess I should've just looked at the weather when packing my shorts and tank tops.

Check out more 7 quick takers who probably posted them on time!

Happy Weekend!

~Danielle

7 Quick Takes (vol. 1!)

Joining Jen over at Conversion Diary for 7 quick takes (although I'm a little late, as it's supposed to be 7QT Friday!)

1-- I never thought I could love interrupted showers so much.  On the weekends when the hubs is home, I don't have to have the baby monitor sitting on the toilet and peek at it between washing and conditioning and loofaing and shaving.  I also never have to jump out mid-shower and run to the crib to put in the pacifier so that I buy enough time to wash the conditioner out of my hair and hope that the suds from the shampoo cleaned off my body enough.  My shower lasted at least 7 minutes, I was able to blow dry my hair, and Brandon soothed Silas to sleep when he had is mid-morning fighting off sleep fussy time.

2--Silas attended his first wedding yesterday and was such a little gentleman.  He fussed a little bit towards the end of mass to let me know that he'd rather me be standing and bouncing, but was absolutely content once that happened.  He also let multiple people pass him around and touch him and goo-goo, gah-gah at him.

Both of my boys ready for the wedding in their white collared shirts.

3--We were standing chatting with some friends during cocktail hour.  An older woman then came up to me holding Silas and said, "Oh my goodness--he is just so pretty.  I could have thought he was a little girl with his big eyes and long eyelashes and perfect little lips! (Makes a squishy, gushy face at Silas) You are just so pretty!"  I said "thank you." What else do you say to a comment like that?!  I know she was trying to be complimentary, but really I just felt a little bit weird.

4-- Ever overhear bathroom stall talk?  And you feel awkward listening to an entire conversation between two other people, but you're in the next stall over and you just can't help it?

Old Woman #1: It's getting so cold in there!
Old Woman #2: Yes, I thought so! But maybe we're just getting old.
OW #1: Oh forheavenssake, my door just opened.  (louder) If someone walks by could you just close my door?...Oh, who cares, everyone has a rear end! I don't care.

Oh, to be old and carefree about who sees your rear end.

5-- I've decided to take on Jen's challenge to blog every day this week.  I've really wanted to be writing more, both because I love to write and it helps me have an "adult" way of expressing myself when my days are so baby-focused.

6--This week (7/21-7/27) is National NFP Awareness Week: "Pro-woman, Pro-man, Pro-child."  Check out the USCCB website for more info.  Planning on posting our "story" later on this week.

7-- Little man hit the 3 month mark on Friday.  What a privilege it has been to be momma to this little guy!

That's it for this beautiful Sunday!  Check back this week as I accept the challenge of posting everyday for 7 days!

~Danielle