7 Quick Takes

Its been an up and down week, unfortunately ending on a down note.  Here are 7 snipers of the week.

1. Ephraim's ears are fine.  Hooray! The original test was off, apparently the nurse probably had the wrong size ear piece since his ear canals are a little further back than normal at his age.  That was the only thing I got out of the audiologist.  That and he is still shy. :)

2. We went to a cookie baking party and the boys had a lot of fun. I'm glad I went even though I really didn't know anyone but the host.

3. Sometimes I get caught up with saying no, especially with the challenger, Ben, in the ranks. But I was inspired to do something crazy. It didn't turn out nicely and we had to throw the end result away and the kitchen floor was red and green all over, but the boys had fun.  It was good to say yes to something just because I could. 

4. The baby can now stand on her own and climb the stairs. We are no longer safe, look out world. 

5. While there were bits of yesterday I do not wish to repeat, a couch and two chairs were drawn all over with a pen by the almost 5 year old, because he "just wanted to do his own thing." There were also good bits, like making beaver dams because they were inspired by Lucy from the Narnia books. 

6. We were set up to have a gingerbread house decorating party tomorrow, but alas 2 of the 3 kids are sick. I still baked 7 houses but we may have to hold of the decorating until the wee ones are out of fever land.  Below is what happens when the almost 5 year old gets a hold of 8 lbs of powdered sugar. 

7. So we will end on a high note, because well its best that way right? Last week I hauled the children to a baby wearing meeting so I could learn a back carry hands on. It only took a week to really learn it and a floor length mirror was broken in the process because I turned my back and the almost 5yo somehow got curious and broke it. But mission was accomplished and I learned the carry. It came in useful today with the 3yo and the 9mo for carrying them around for extra snuggles. 

So I guess the moral of the story is that 4.5 year olds are interesting havoc wreaking creatures, not to be undone by sick babies and 3yos. Check out more quick takes at This Ain't the Lyceum. 

7 quick takes.

Hi ya'll.  Just some quick takes from the week. Hope you are off to a great start to your weekend.

1. I finally got a hair cut. Last one was in July, it was definitely time. I fit into my pre-pregnancy skinny jeans too today, I'm calling that a double win.

2. Its the night that St. Nicholas comes!!!!  So we have been reading his story to prepare and now we have the shoes all lined up...in the fireplace as per request of Benjamin.

3. Benjamin swallowed a nickel on Wednesday, and its already through to the intestines, but to which one we don't know, and when it will come out is all a waiting game.  Why he swallowed it?  He claims he was hiding the coin from his brother.

4. To go with my allergy kids, apparently Helena didn't want to miss out on the action.  She reacted badly to a cooked carrot with a light soy based sauce on it.  Ezcema/ instant blotchiness.  She was not amused to say the least and now we will be entering the soy free journey.  Any tips for good soy free products are appreciated, its hidden in a lot of things. 

5. Some friends came over today and her daughter said it was the best day, and all they did was make one huge lego mess in our basement with my boy cohorts.  So I guess Elizabeth Foss is right, messes are blessings. 

6. I'm beta reading Emmy's sequel to her debut novel. You can check out the debut novel on amazon here. It might make a good electronic stocking stuffer. 

7. We made a sidecar full crib for Helena and it just seems like its the change we needed.  Sleep is better and worries are less. I no longer feel like the girl in this video as much...

Check out more Quick Takes at This Ain't the Lyceum

7 quick takes, Snow!

Just thought I would join in the quick takes link-up as I haven't done one of these in a long while.

1. The baby had her first snow adventure and loved it. She didn't like getting the snow suit on, but once outside she was totally at peace.

2. It hit 25 degrees outside today, so we had some outside play time for a bit today. The boys really enjoyed it. They love "plowing the driveway.

3. I've randomly found some cool natural parenting bits in children's books.  One had a baby carrier the other nursing alongside bottle feeding. I think the first book was Question Boy Meets Little Miss Know It All and the second was Goodnight New Baby.

4. B and E have been playing Clifford and T-Bone a lot lately. Here is a partial dog house bit that kind of gets destroyed every two seconds. 

5. In the snow that we came back to on Sunday, the boys made a snow man themselves. Its amazing how much changes in a year, last year they totally couldn't have pulled this off, this year they are trying to make snowmen themselves. Crazy. 

6. I made a five favorites toy post, and I was thinking if there were any toys that didn't make it but at least deserved an honorable mention.  I would pick art supplies, puzzles and trains.  We definitely have puzzle days, and the trains while not being played with as much as they once did are still around. And I think because I enjoy art projects, the boys do too.  Thus we have 2 cabinets of supplies. 

7. And then I asked the boys what toys they liked the most and I got it right except they wanted to add Lightning McQueen. So there you have it, the infamous race car invaded Noah's Ark for a reason.

Check out more quick takes over at This Ain't the Lyceum. 

7 Quick takes...on Saturday am

1. Helena got baptized!! Hooray! Girl was a pro and basically slept through the whole thing. The lovely Emily of Fine Linen and Purple/ Emily Runs and her husband Jim are her awesome godparents.

2. It actually hit 60 degrees three times this week, so we have been trying to air out the house and rid of us of the germs.  I still have no voice and am full of junk every morning, so I'm not sure it really worked.  But the warm fresh air does feel good!

3. Amongst the warmer weather, there were crazy winds. One of these winds managed to knock over a storage shelving container in the garage and blow out everything into the driveway, which included old rat poison that was behind it.  Ephraim, our lovely 2yo, found said container and I caught him playing with it.  He potentially ate some, so I called poison control and now he is on watch till next Thursday for any random odd bleeding, at which we rush him to the doctors office for treatment.

4. Ben has been struggling with some essential concepts this week, waiting his turn for something/waiting in general patiently and thinking every little injustice is the end of the world. I'm hoping we learn how to deal with these things and he outgrows them quickly.

5. In a random mom thing that won't make sense to non-parents.  Ben finally figured out how to snap in the bottom buckle of his car seat.  This will make my life 5% easier in general, and probably 20% more easy when it comes to getting everyone into the car.

6. Helena turns 6 weeks old today! It does finally feel like we are in a semi-routine finally and that I am able to do things with all three and not want to cry through every moment because its just that hard.  So here's to another six weeks we can do this!

7. My partner in crime, DH, RHL, Keith, or @llamaluvr turns 31 today.  Wish him a very happy birthday if you know him. And if you have any crazy obtainable beer suggestions for a present for him, let me know. I'm a bit behind on the present getting for him.

Check out more quick takes at conversiondiary.com