7 Quick Takes

(hosted at conversiondiary.com)
1.

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Fatima.  This apparition is one that totally fascinates me, and I would love to learn more about it.  We recently watched the film “The 13^th Day” and loved it, though it literally put a bit of the fear of God in me.  The take-home message I got out of it: Pray, pray, pray.  Then pray some more, and pray for the conversion of sinners.  Whoa, do I have a lot of work to do.

2.

The weather is *finally* warming up here in the Rocky Mountains.  We actually got to near-70 degrees yesterday!  It has been wonderful to enjoy the sunshine and mild breezes.  We’ve spent a few minutes wandering around our yard and marveling at all the tiny plants sprouting and getting ready to bloom.  It’s amazing how these plants manage to survive winters that routinely hit -10 to -20!  (Even more amazing is that they’re at my house…!)

3.

My DH’s birthday is fast approaching, and I have absolutely no idea what to get him.  He has requested that I make chili for his birthday dinner – again! – which I have no problem doing because I love him and I love to make recipes that are out of the usual line-up.  (Eating chili, on the other hand, is a different subject.  My mother can attest to the fact that I never consumed more than 3.6 bites of chili during my entire childhood.)  But alas, I still don’t know how else to make his day special.  I’d love to give him a round of golf (meaningful because it gets him out of the house, away from the grind of housework and minding children and a nagging wife), but he’d need to actually accept the gift to make it work.  Ideas welcome.

4.

I just watched my toddler boy rip a paper napkin into a thousand tiny pieces.  One by one, he’d shred a piece off, and then hand it to me.  It was a great little project for him to work on, though I really don’t understand the fascination.  Maybe it’s a “boy” thing?  At least he gave me all the pieces, rather than eating them… or distributing them around the living room… or feeding them to the dog.

5.

Speaking of the kids, and the great weather, I’m (unsuccessfully) trying to deal with the fact that both the kids are sick.  Again.  Sick enough that we can’t go outside and enjoy the weather in much of any capacity – a tough spot to be in, given that we’ve been imprisoned indoors since September.  I know that the warmth will outlast the viruses – well, I think it will – but come on!  Fevers to 103 and coughing when it’s sunny and warm is *not* my idea of a good time.  Not to mention the inconveniences that accompany nasty colds, like having to reschedule violin lessons or missing out on rosary group (again!) or sleep-deprivation for the entire household.  Prayers welcome.

6.

The baby is getting more active each day – joy!  It’s quite a relief to be (mostly) done with the morning sickness and 1^st trimester blahs.  It’s great to (finally) have a little boost in energy.  But the best (as most of you can attest to) is feeling the tiny hands and feet inside.  So great!  So incredible!  We’re to about 17 weeks in this pregnancy, and will have the *big* ultrasound at 20 weeks.  We’ll probably find out the gender, though the other day, I had a thought that it *might* just be fun to be surprised again.  So now I’m having second thoughts… We’ll see which side wins out, here, because I would really like to know what clothes to take out of the storage bin for the new little one.  I’ll keep you posted.

7.

Speaking of baby #3, we’re revisiting the dilemma of “where do we put everyone?”  Initially, we agreed that we should probably all move downstairs together (2 bedrooms, including the master, upstairs; 3 down).  Then we agreed that we could *probably* fit all three kids in the upstairs bedroom.  Then we started talking about where to put the clothes (my solution to the absence of a dresser is installing a closet organizer), and are, once again, going round and round on this one.  Well, we have about 4 ½ months to solve this problem.  Any of you type-A, super-organizers out there with any good ideas?  (A note: I’m opposed to bunk beds.  Too many injury hazards for my liking.)

Whew!  My first “7” – have a blessed weekend!