7 Quick Takes, Late Edition

--1--

I spent today in New York City at the Mt Sinai allergy practice.  I'm sort of at the end of what my allergist here in Philly can do for me (I'm pretty extreme when it comes to allergies), and I started seeing someone up there.  Now that I'm not pregnant anymore, we can move forward on a management plan.  Today's visit was to redo all the original testing to establish a baseline and go from there.  I feel more hopeful about the whole thing than I have in a long time.

--2--

Piglet has been off school all this week and while it hasn't been easy, it hasn't been terrible either. I have had a lot of extra help from my regular babysitter, as Birdie is still cranky and sick, and I'm terribly tired (see #3).    But even so, the week has gone better than expected, and I'm starting to be able to appreciate who he is as a person rather than this unruly being that has to be constantly disciplined and monitored for acting out. He is getting very close to four, so maybe what everyone says is true, that four is a bit easier.  On the other hand, he did fall in the toilet and banged his forehead on the procelain this week.  I'm still laughing.

--3--

We actually had two nights that lasted past 1 a.m. this week!  We've had several weeks of whatever sleep I get before 1 a.m. is what I get, and I was getting seriously giddy from the lack of sleep.  So while I'm still very seriously sleep deprived, I no longer feel like I am a danger to myself and others from the lack of sleep.

--4--

Okay, I know this is sort of dumb, but I discovered by accident this week that my novel has a Barnes and Noble listing.  So neat!  Kind of makes me feel official.  Or something.

--5--

Boo graduated out of services this week, so now I only have one child receiving therapy--woot woot!  Boo is walking pretty well, gaining about a word a day (or more sometimes) and is fond of multi-syllabic words like broccoli or chocolate.  He's started asking to use the potty.  Sometimes I forget he is only 19 (almost 20) months--he seems more like a 2.5 year old to me. Oh, and I forgot to mention in #2 that Piglet is finally cough-free for the first time in three years!! YAY!!  Turns out it was sinusitis and that an extra long course of antibiotics did the trick.  Now we just have to wean him down from all the other meds he's been on to manage the cough.  

--6--

Birdie still sounds awful, but our pediatrician said we just have to wait for her lungs to heal.  In other news, her head is HUGE!  (All my kids have big heads).  I always think of Mike Myers in So I Married an Axe Murderer when I think of their HUGE heads.  (If you haven't seen this film, run, do not walk, to the nearest Netflix streamer and watch it.  You'll thank me).

--7--

Nothing new to share, because I have zero creative energy right now for anything except MDS (working on Birdie's baby book...), but I CASEd this from Nance Leedy a few months back.  I just love that pop of red on the flowers--I forget how nice this set is.  

Quick Takes, Hospital Edition

--1--

This week brought a bit of excitement as Birdie's sickness escalated to the point that we ended up in the hospital for overnight observation on Wednesday.  We thought she might need oxygen or IV fluids, but ended up needing neither.  On the one hand, that is good--she is pretty little to be needing such serious interventions--but on the other hand, it means that the diagnosis the doctors are going with (bronchiolitis) means we can't do anything for her medically speaking.  We just have to wait it out and listen to her wheezing and coughing and generally sounding awful.  She is doing better today and isn't fighting for breath as much as she was before we went to the hospital, but it is still hard.  

--2--

I'm running on fumes after so many interrupted nights, first with Boo (who still has a cold and is congested), and then with Birdie.  I'm beginning to think I will never sleep again.  

--3--

Did I mention that I'm sick and tired of all the sick in our house?  Please someone make it go away.  

--4--

My post on Christmas traditions is over at Conservamom's blog.  Because we are on the Julian calendar, we are still mid-Advent, as Christmas falls on January 7 for us.  

--5--

We had a nice St. Nicholas Day celebration on Monday, complete with coins in the shoes and a small gift for each of the boys.  I had wanted to give the gifts at breakfast, but due to a shipping screw up by amazon (when you pay extra for overnight shipping, it means OVERNIGHT, not Saturday delivery), I didn't get one of the gifts until Monday.  But it all worked out in the end.  Piglet loved his purple shirt and Boo is learning how to work the big knobs of the farm puzzle.  We did have a small kerfluffle over the puzzle, as Piglet couldn't understand that the gift was for Boo and it was not, in fact, all for him, but as the days have gone by, the boys seem to have worked it out.

--6-- 

When he is ready to get up in the morning (on those rare mornings that we don't have to wake him up before he's really ready), Piglet has a habit of shouting at the top of his lungs, "Papa!  I'm all done with bedtime!"  He repeats this shout until one of us (usually my husband) goes and gets him.  Since Boo is attaining vocabulary at an astonishing rate just now, it was only a matter of time until we heard it in chorus.  Today was the day.  "Papa!  All done bedtime!"  At least we don't have to worry about not hearing them in the morning.

--7--

We have a great pediatrician.  I mean, great.  She is extremely available by phone and e-mail.  She does all her scheduling online so if you have a sick kid at 3 a.m., you can make a same-day appointment right then rather than waiting for business hours and praying you are the first in line to call for a sick appointment.  She keeps up on the latest research, and is open to alternative methods of treatment.  She has a school-age daughter, so she still remembers how tough the toddler years are and is able to offer moral support.  She makes house calls for the first postpartum baby check.  She calls to check up on kids who are or who've been sick, and, the best thing, she is three blocks away.  We are so grateful for her, especially after the drama of this week.  I initially debated whether to include her in our list of people outside the family that we gift, but after this week, I decided she definitely goes on the list.  I decided to squeeze time out of a rock and make a set of thank you cards for her, packaged in a nice box.  I'm still working on the box (as boxes require math, and I tend to screw them up the first few times I try, especially when I'm beyond tired, as I am now), but here's what the card looks like.  I adapted the design from two other cards I saw around the blogosphere.  I'm loving that Triple Treat Flower--it is so easy to use, and with the three punches, really packs a wow-factor when you start layering.  (Oh, and you can get it for free during Sale-A-Bration, which starts January 24).  

Go see Jen for more Quick Takes.

7 Quick Takes, Mid-December Edition

Update: I figured out that the Orwellians over at Google want everyone to update to the new blogger interface, and so made the old one unworkable.  The new one is nice, but I'm always leary of tech changes, so didn't change until now.  I've updated this post to include photos and links.  Thanks for stopping by!

--1--

Got my Christmas cards out this week (finally). We have good friends in Chicago who send an annual laughfest of a Christmas letter every year, and I kept waiting for their letter to arrive so I could have some inspiration for my own attempt at wittiness, but time was drawing close, so I figured I better just get at it. So my letter this year is only sort of funny.

--2--

Can I just say enough with the sickness already? We haven't had one sick-free day in this household since Birdie was born and I'm just weary of it. And it being only mid-December, we probably have several more months of this mess to go. Right now all three kids have terrible colds, and I think I'm coming down with something too. My husband thought he was maybe getting sick last night, but he seems fine this morning.

--3--

We had our first parent-teacher conference this week for Piglet. It went well--he is doing well in preschool, able to keep up with the work and so forth. Which is good, given all his issues, but he is also in a class with kids who are around age 2.5 and he is almost four, so that is somewhat discouraging too. He does pick up on things quickly and is doing well with the routines, so that is something too.

--4--

I was asked to guest post over at Conservamom this coming week, so I guess I'd better get cracking on that post. It is about our Christmas traditions, so I won't bore you with the details here. Just check her blog this coming week.

--5--

Peapod/ meal planning update: We are still enjoying our Peapod grocery delivery service. It has made things somewhat easier in the food department. I'm still doing okay in the meal planning, but I couldn't keep up with cooking a week's worth of meals every Saturday. It was nice while it lasted, but Birdie cries too much, and my husband is in the throes of another Supreme Court case and doesn't have time to take care of the kids while I cook. So I'm doing the daily scramble to get dinner on the table every night by 5:30. Usually two of the three children are screaming, and I have to wear Boo on my back while I cook or he is just a monster, but that's life for now. I keep hoping it will get better. sigh.

--6--

Nope, I got nothin'.

--7--

Wanted to show you a card, but Blogger's toolbar totally disappeared and I don't have the time or mental energy to try and make it work (which is why there are no links on this post either. (Sorry Jen).  

So here's the card:

I made it a while back, but never got around to posting it.  I didn't come up with the original idea, but tweaked a few details.  I like gatefolds but never remember to make them.

Quick Takes, Random Meme Edition

--1--

Saw this meme on Facebook and had to share. I'm still laughing. (So is my husband, who usually doesn't find that sort of thing funny).

--2--

Our dear housemate, and Boo's godmother, left last Friday. She lived with us for about four and half months, and while we knew at the outset that it would be temporary, the end came sooner than we thought. (It is a long story, but she rejoined her husband in Vienna and now awaits the birth of their daughter in early February). We miss her a lot and the house seems different without her in it. (I can't say it is quieter because she is so quiet, but it is different).

--3--

One of the threads of my ancestry is Irish, and I noticed last week that there is a group of Orthodox Celts that sing traditional Irish songs. Go Irish!

--4--

I think omphalos might possibly be the funniest word I've ever heard. (For the non-Greek speakers out there, it means belly button). So let's all sing it together now! "Ompha-omphalos, you're oh, so fine. Ompha, omphalos, I'm so happy that you're mine." (Thanks Sandra Boynton).

--5--

I was going to write this thing about cab drivers in the city, specifically African cab drivers, but then I had the wildest cab experience of my Philly life this week (I can't say of my life, since I had some seriously wild cab rides in Moscow and Bishkek) I got a driver who was Turkish, I think, and while he was perfectly polite, he drove like a maniac, played his traditional music (not loudly, but was enthusiastic about singing and dancing along), and generally seemed like he was making the most of his cab driving experience. More power to you, Mr. Cab Driver.

--6--

I'm writing this post at 6 a.m., after having been up most of the night following my colonoscopy prep. Suffice to say, the last 24 hours have been miserable, what with me running to the bathroom every five minutes because of having to drink clear fluids only during the day, nursing a baby, starving and feeling nauseated at the same time, and then being up all night running to the bathroom because of the Miralax prep. I slept on the couch in my office just to be closer to the bathroom. I have to report in at 7 a.m., so I thought since I was up nursing the baby anyway, I'd get my Quick Takes done and posted, since I'm pretty sure I'm going to be in rough shape this afternoon.

--7--

I have been working a bit this week, but mostly it has been prepping for my class at The Expressive Hand on Sunday afternoon. I'm teaching a class on holiday cards, so if you live in the Philadelphia area, I believe there is still time to sign up. You can find more information HERE.

I realize the card above has nothing to do with the holidays, but I've not photographed the cards for the class yet, and I made this one a few weeks ago and think it is pretty. It is a composite of several cards I saw around the blogosphere and liked.

Bonus:

Saw this one on FB and had to smile. It doesn't jive with my memories of Russian babushkas, but I love it, nonetheless. Babushkas of the world, UNITE!

Go see Jen at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes.

Another Reely Qwel Post

Okay, so I said I had made a couple more boxes of cards? This is the other version I made. I used the (retired) Autumn Spice designer paper, and the coordinating Day of Gratitude stamp set. I didn't actually buy this paper last year when it was current, but bought it earlier this fall on the clearance rack for the Big Scrapbook Project. I used a few sheets out of it, but then had so much leftover, I thought I better make a good dent in it!! The paper is heavier weight than our normal dsp, and it was great for this project. The Day of Gratitude stamp set gives a different look from the more vintage-y Spice Cake versions, but I like it very much! I love this format--the box with six coordinating but unique cards inside. It keeps me from getting bored. I have to figure out a slightly larger format to accommodate a few more cards--it would be nice to have a set of 10, for example.

I made two of these--one for a neighbor as a thank you gift for helping out with preschool pick up and drop off a lot this fall (her daughter goes to school with my son and they've been such a help this fall, filling in the gaps when we needed a little extra help here and there), and one for my goddaughter as a belated birthday/namesday gift. (Hi, Karen! Your gift is in the mail!!)

I do have to apologize for the lighting on the photos--I was experimenting with a new lighting set up on my light box, and I'm not really happy with it. It's okay in a pinch, I suppose, for those weeks of gray weather when I can't get decent light from the outside to come in through the window to back light my box, but I think I'll try to stick to photographing on nice days in the future. I know I should just bite the bullet and get some decent photo lights, but I don't have room for a permanent set up, and the idea of having to store one.more.thing in this house just drives me batty. You can read a bit more about my storage adventures at my other blog.

My lovely husband spent several hours last night reorganizing and cleaning out the basement, and I'm so happy with the results. It wasn't really that we had so much stuff down there, but the space is small, and we were using it somewhat inefficiently. Now it is better. I've spent the last few days going through our few closets, trying to weed out things and reorganize upstairs a bit. I'm hoping to make a big Goodwill run this coming weekend after my procedures are all finished.

This card I CASEd (copy and share everything) from Ilina Crouse. I changed the sentiment and simplified the card a tad, but otherwise, it is her basic design. The other cards were tweaked from other designs I saw around the web.

7 Quick Takes

--1--

Next Friday I'm having an endoscopy and colonoscopy. I have to get an endo about every two years for a chronic GI condition I have, but this is my first colonoscopy. I'm not worried about the procedure, but I am dreading the prep. I did a colonoscopy-type prep a few years ago before a minor surgery and it was Not.Fun.At.All. But I need to get to the bottom of the chronic stomachaches I have, and this is one of the ways to figure it out. (The gold standard for my sort of complaint is a stomach emptying study, which I've been trying to get done for about 2 years, but since it involves nuclear medicine, I need to be a) not pregnant, b) not nursing, and c) not picking up little children for up to 48 hours after the procedure. Since I've been pregnant or nursing the last two years, and I have little children that need picking up All.The.Time, that test ain't happenin' any time soon. le sigh.

--2--

I was going to write a whole rant about skinny jeans because until two days ago, I had yet to find a skinny jean that wasn't low- or mid-rise, and frankly, either of those rises is terrible on my figure. Can you say "instant muffin top?" Awful. Plus I'm pulling my pants up all the livelong day, which is terribly annoying. I got the Loft order I wrote about last week and everything was All. Wrong. The shirt was too tight in the arms, the sweater was too scratchy and frankly unflattering on me, and the jeans, well the rise was too low. (I returned everything to the store). I was ready to rant about the whole fashion industry's skewed sense of real women's proportions. And by real women, I mean women who are above age 17, not shaped like coat hangers, and have possibly had a few children with the hips to prove it. But then. I found myself returning something to Old Navy this week, and while I've generally sworn off Old Navy for a variety of reasons not worth going into here, after I returned what I needed to return, I found myself gazing at the jeans wall. And finding the Platonic ideal of a skinny jean. Enter the Sweetheart skinny in gray. They are possibly the most comfortable jeans evah. And for $25, not a huge investment. The fabric is insanely soft, waist lies flat in the front, the rise is high enough that the jeans aren't constantly falling down, and while they gap a bit in the back (all jeans do on me), I simply put my dapper snapper on the back and fixed that problem. So yay for great skinnies!

--3--

We are less than a week into the Nativity Fast and I'm already fatigued by the limited food choices available to me for meal planning. (For those who don't know, we observe the fasting rules of the Orthodox Church, which mean eating vegan about 2/3 of the year. While I'm exempt because of nursing and my extensive food allergies, I still cook vegan dinners on fasting days, but our repertoire is pretty limited because of said allergies). I even considered eating the stir fry I made for everyone else yesterday because I love Chinese food and miss tofu with soy sauce and sesame oil so much. The wonderful smell about drove me mad. But I tried to content myself with Bird's Nests from Trader Joe's with a token amount of soy dipping sauce. I still got a roaring intestinal upset that hit at about 3 a.m., so probably not going to try tofu yet. My lovely goddaughter sent me a whole bunch of new recipes to try for the fast, but I'm stressed out enough about life in general that I can't quite tackle the pile yet, even though I'm very grateful for her thoughtfulness and care. I keep trying to come up with a meal rotation schedule for the fast, but I just don't have enough flexibility with the handful of recipes that work right now for fasting days to do so. So our meal routine for the next forty days is going to be pretty monotonous. But I suppose that is as it should be. I wish I could stop feeling so overwhelmed by it, though.

--4--

I'm reading Simplicity Parenting right now and I really appreciate so much of what he has to say. A lot of it is stuff we already do, like keeping our toy collection very small, and not having a television in the house, and keeping computers away from where the children are, severely limiting processed foods in their diets, keeping sugar to a minimum, etc., but I can tell by how my children behave that they are stressed much of the time (they are all high needs, high intensity, high energy kids), and I wish I figure out the magic button that would make our home life less stressful for everyone. I'm to the point that I keep looking around and wondering when the real grown ups are going to show up and start picking up the pieces. And then I remember, oh wait, I am the grown up now. This is real life.

--5--

On the eve of the fast, I made Loaded Baked Potato Soup and it was awesome. We had leftover stuffing from Thanksgiving and the soup was strangely good as gravy with the stuffing. Starch on starch, that's my kind of meal!!

--6--

I've made several of these gift boxes of cards in the last few weeks for clients and as gifts for friends, and I've really enjoyed that. I used different papers and stamp sets for a few of them; I'm hoping to post that in a few days. I have another project in mind using the Domestic Goddess suite that I'm super excited to make, but might need to wait until January, depending on how the rest of the month shakes out. Stay tuned. Need a nice gift for a friend or colleague? Contact me through my etsy shop and I'll set up a custom listing for you. Please order by December 15 for on time Christmas delivery.

--7--

My arms are tired and my hips ache. Between the demands of Birdie and Boo to be held all.the.time, I can't keep up. My poor introverted internal self is starting to have convulsions. But a friend gave me her ERGO today, so I'm now the proud owner of not one but two ERGOs, so now I can double baby wear in (relative) comfort. My double wearing system before now was to use our Belle Baby Carrier in the front, put our ERGO on for back carry, strap Birdie on the front, then tuck Boo onto my back, but the Belle isn't the most comfortable thing out there, and Birdie doesn't really care to have her legs dangling out and fusses more when she's in it. I'm kind of tired of baby wearing in general at this point, but don't see a way around it short of putting up with even more crying than I already do (which is considerable, let me tell you). It is easiest way to get out about with the two little ones right now since we limit our city driving and use the bus a lot.

--8--

Bonus quick take, because I thought it was funny (and apropos of the season), the five best toys ever. You're welcome.

Go see Jen at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!