7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 45)

1) I taped all the flaps in our lift the flap books last week. I was tired of the flaps ripping and decided there had to be a better way. So, I took packing tape and taped the front and back of every. single. flap. This included the repair of a couple flaps that had already been ripped off, but that I had saved to fix. So far, so good. We haven't had any flap mishaps since the taping.

2) We bought a couch over Labor Day weekend and it finally arrived last Friday. I love it! It's so nice to have somewhere to sit/lay while Joseph is playing in the play room.

3) This is Joseph's favorite use of the couch...

...watching people and cars go by. He waves at them when they drive by. Maybe one day someone will wave back.

4) This past weekend Will and I attended the Indian Summer Ball to support The Northwest Center - a crisis pregnancy center and maternity home in DC. This is the second year we've gone and we have really enjoyed the event both years. I'm hoping it will become a tradition for us - especially since it's one of our favorite charities to donate to.

5) My mom also came up this past weekend to watch Joseph for us while we attended the ball. We are so thankful that she was able to make the trip up. We spent the day Saturday up in Mt. Airy at a craft fair. She was even kind enough to buy Joseph an adorable rocking chair. It's still a tiny bit too big for him to rock himself, but he really enjoys sitting in it. And he loved hanging out with his grandma!

6) I hit 22 weeks in the pregnancy on Wednesday. The documentation:

7) Joseph is starting to try and mimic what we're saying now. He's gained a few new words in the past week or so including: moo, hiss, two and three (we're still working on "one"). And just today he tried to say "meow" buuut, it still needs a little work.

Have a lovely weekend and go see Jen at Conversion Diary for more quick takes.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 34)

1) Yesterday morning when I went to get Joseph he was sitting in his crib. Sitting. In his crib. We've reached a new milestone, people. Next up - pulling up to a stand on the crib...then jumping will be sortly after that I'm sure.

2)Speaking of pulling to a stand on the crib - Joseph has been pulling up on everything he can lately. Let's go through the list: Mom and dad (including mom's stomach and legs while I'm laying down)? Check. Joseph's old bouncy seat that he rarely plays with anymore? Check. The laundry basket? Check. The dishwasher? Check. The toy box? Check. 

That's the complete list of items he's been successful with. It certainly doesn't list any of the items he's been working on (of which there are many).

3) The March for Life is this Monday. Will you be there? Will and I plan on heading to Germantown in the morning then going into DC for the rally. Unfortunately, we won't be able to stay for the actual "march" because I have to teach CCD at 4:30, so I'll need to be back in time for that. And, I'm not sure how Joseph is going to do with being in the cold for such a long time.

4) I broke down and bought a Swiffer duster this week. I finally decided it was worth purchasing even if only to dust the blinds. It seems to work fairly well, but I do feel kind of bad for buying a disposable duster. Oh well. Life goes on, I suppose.

5) Joseph is doing so well with eating solids, but the past few days he's started to take a bite then immediately stick his entire hand in his mouth and just mush the food around getting food everywhere. I can't figure out why his hand has to go into his mouth the second I take the spoon out. Does he need to make sure the food is still there? Is he interested in feeling the texture of the food? Is it that he just enjoys putting his hands in his mouth? He'll tolerate my husband or I holding his hand down for most of the meal, but by the end he's fighting to get it in there by moving his face toward his hand and hitting my/my husband's hand in the process. Has anyone had this happen to them? Is there a way to discourage him from doing this? It creates quite a mess and wastes quite a bit of his food.

6) Joseph has been quite entertained by his cloth diapers this week. I guess there's an upside to me not stuffing his diapers right away. He enjoys pulling the laundry basket over then pulling out the diapers and stuffing his face into the pile. He also enjoys scooting himself into the tipped over laundry basket. It provides hours of entertainment, so I just help the process right along by putting the diapers back in every once in a while so he can begin the process all over.

7) Taking Joseph to the grocery store nowadays is so much easier. He's to the point where he's good enough at sitting that I can just sit him inthe cart instead of having to lug in his entire car seat (or wear him with the Ergo). Not only do I have more space in the cart for groceries, but he's also able to see a lot better so he doesn't get nearly as fussy/impatient.
Confession: I bought one of those "cart covers" for Joseph. I felt a little nerdy using it, but I kind of love it. I got it at Ross for really cheap, so it wasn't as much of a waste of money :) I'm particularly looking forward to being able to cover all those gross high chairs when we take him out to restaurants.

A couple stories that touched my heart

As I've been poking around the internet this week two articles really stood out to me and I would like to share them with you.

http://a-catholic-life.blogspot.com/2011/04/miraculous-conversion-story-of-prisoner.html

This first article I found through a post by Simcha Fisher over at the National Catholic Register. I was so moved by this story of Claude Newman I wanted to pass it along to you all. It tells the story of the conversion of prisoner Claude Newman through the intercession of the Virgin Mary.  Take a look - it's a truly remarkable story.

http://www.wolfhirschhorn.org/2012/01/amelia/brick-walls/

This second story isn't as uplifting, but it's equally as moving. One of my friends posted it on Facebook. When I read this story about little Amelia, I was so shocked and appalled (although, sadly, I can't say I was surprised) I felt the need to pass it along. It tells the story of a girl who is developmentally delayed who needs a liver transplant, but she is refused the transplant simply because of her developmental delays (even when the parents say they will find their own donor within the family!). Some of the things the doctor and social worker do and say make me wonder why they went into their respective fields in the first place - aren't they there to help people? Please pray for this little girl and her family that they are able to find doctors who will help them and give Amelia the care she deserves.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 30)

1) I am so happy Christmas music is back on the radio. Christmas music always puts me in a good mood, so to have a radio station that plays only (good) Christmas music - like our local Christian music station - is pure heaven.

2) Joseph has pulled our Christmas tree over twice so far (don't worry it's only a 4-foot fake tree).The first time was my fault - I let him play with the branches because it was something new and different. I didn't think he'd actually pull the thing over. The second time he scooched his way over to the tree without me even knowing it! I guess I'm going to have to keep a better eye on him now that he can get places.

3) I witnessed a pretty scary wreck yesterday. This guy tried to exit too late and ran into the cement barrier. His car flipped and spun. And omgosh - my heart sank when I saw it. I was glad he didn't hit the car he tried to cut off and thankful we were far enough behind him that Joseph and I weren't involved, but wow. It made me much more aware of ALL the drivers on the road the rest of the day. As far as I know the guy was ok. I stopped and waited for the police to arrive and told them what I saw, and before I left they had the guy out of the car and he was walking (not very well, but he was conscious and at least able to walk). Witnessing something like that really makes you think about how quickly things can change in life.

4) I've recently become a bit of a Snapfish addict. I've made several things on there with pictures from this year, and I'm so excited about it. I think this will be the first year we get our Christmas cards out by mid-December. And I'm super excited about the photo book I'm making. I'm starting to realize there may be other websites that would be better for making a yearly scrapbook, but I'm too far along with this one to switch. But, I'll probably check out other options for next year's scrapbook.

5) PS - If Snapfish ever sends you an email saying they're going to close your account because you haven't ordered anything for one year don't believe them. They said that to me last spring. I didn't order anything until recently. Obviously, they didn't close my account.

6) Joseph loves eating, but I'm worried rice cereal upsets his stomach. We gave him rice cereal for about a week up to Thanksgiving, but when we were in Tennessee he woke up at night screaming/crying and we couldn't figure out why. When we stopped giving him the rice cereal he stopped. Granted, I *also* started trying to give him more time to nurse (trying not to be impatient - which was difficult since I wasn't used to nursing on a couch at night). But it seemed the rice cereal may have had something to do with it, so we took him off it for two weeks and tried it again on Wednesday. He scarfed the rice cereal down which doesn't surprise me because he LOVES eating. We're going to give it to him every other day for a week or two and see how he does. Hopefully he does ok so we can start adding in other foods in a few weeks.

7) This past Monday Will, Joseph and I joined over 2,000 people outside Germantown Reproductive Health Services to pray and protest. Monday marked 1-year since Leroy Carhart came to Maryland and started performing late-term abortions. Joseph and I regularly attend the Monday morning prayer and protests, but we wanted to get more people out for this sad anniversary. The goal of the regular Monday morning crew was to get 1,000 people out. We were blown away when we doubled that goal! Here's a good article with some great pictures from Monday morning. The one thing the article doesn't say, however, is that there were two mothers who came to have an abortion that morning and decided not to go through with it. Praise God!
One last note - when I walked past the 720 crosses I was a lot more emotional than I thought I would be. Of course I thought about the 720 babies who were killed, but I also thought about the 720 mothers who now have to deal with the emotional implications of abortion. Let us continue to pray for the conversion of Leroy Carhart, for all the babies who were never even given a chance at life and for the mothers who will forever carry the scars of abortion.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 29)

1) I bought a whole chicken to cook this week. Lisa inspired me. She has all these great recipes and makes all her food from scratch. I'm not sure I'm ready to go that far quite yet, but we'll see how this whole chicken thing goes.

2) Last weekend Will, Joseph and I went home to Tennessee to visit my parents, two of my sisters and by brother-in-law-to-be. My sister, Jeannette, was in town for a wedding and to do a little wedding planning of her own. It was great seeing everyone and being able to celebrate Jeannette's birthday!

Happy Birthday, Jeannette!

Dinora and Joseph

Joseph and Nanna

Joseph passed out in Grandpa's arms

3) I'm obsessed with my son. He turned 4 months old yesterday and is ridiculously adorable. I took a ton of pictures of him. Here are a few of my favorites.

Two of my favorite past times: eating my hands and grabbing my feet.

4) A couple weekends ago my dad came up to watch Joseph so Will and I could attend the Northwest Center's Indian Summer Ball. We are so grateful to be able to support such an amazing organization. The Northwest Center is a Pregnancy Center and Maternity Home in Northwest DC. They help women and families dealing with crisis pregnancies. I think what is so amazing is that they don't just help with the pregnancy and immediate needs of the mother and baby after delivery. They work to help women and families get on their feet so they're able to support themselves. They help them with resumes, college applications, job searches, etc. If you have a moment you should definitely check out their website and consider supporting their mission.

5) Joseph figured out how to jump in his jumpy thing yesterday. It was really cute to see him be able to actually jump (instead of just accidentally jumping once or twice). He seemed to enjoy it. I think he mostly likes hearing all the rattles rattle more than he liked the jumping itself.

6) Joseph and I have been going the abortion clinic near our house every Monday for a couple of months now. Dr. Carhart has been performing late term abortions (all the way up to delivery) for almost a year and has taken the lives of over 700 babies. We would love to get 1,000 people to come out on Monday, December 5 for peaceful prayer and protest. We must stand up for these babies who aren't even given a chance at life! You can go here for more information.

7) I would like to end by saying THANK YOU to all our veterans. Thank you for all the sacrifices you made/make to protect our country. And a special thanks to my Uncle Paul and Uncle Joe and their families for serving our country!

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 27)

1) I would just like to point out that this is my 27th quick takes and 27 is one of my favorite numbers. It's awesome for many reasons. To start 27 is odd, and odd numbers make me happy. It's also an awesome number because it's my age, but really that's just a coincidence - I've been a fan of the number for a while. I think 27's biggest claim to fame, however, is the fact that it's a perfect cube (3^3), and perfect cubes are just awesome.

2) Joseph is getting more and more squirmy. He's figuring out how to move around and get where he wants to go little by little. Evidence of said squirminess:

I want. the. ball.

Just chillin' while mom eats breakfast.

3) My hair has been falling out at an amazing rate lately. I knew this was going to happen sooner or later, but it's still a little disconcerting. Hair seems to be everywhere. Maybe it's time to get pregnant again so my hair will stop falling out....just kidding - for now anyway :)

4) This week Joseph and I have been sick. That means we've been cooped up in the house trying not to spread our germs. I've run a few small errands, but nothing major and we had to skip out on a few social outings - story time, visiting a friend who recently had a baby, and mom's group. I can't wait for us to both recover so we can get back into a normal routine and see people!


5) Joseph went on the swing for the first time this week. He seemed to enjoy it. Here's a short clip of him swinging.

6) I saw this on Facebook and it took me far too long to figure out. How long will it take you?

7) Here's a video that's been going around for a few weeks. I really liked it so I figured I'd repost it here. The guy in the video does a great job drawing parallels between the Holocaust and abortion. If you have the time it's definitely worth watching, but be forewarned - there are some graphic images from the Holocaust shown.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 23)

1) Joseph was baptized this past weekend! It was a great weekend with family in town and lots of friends to celebrate. I'm hoping to do a post with some pictures from the weekend soon even though you've already seen a few of the pictures :)

2) I finally got up the nerve to weigh myself this week. For whatever reason I was dreading getting on the scale after delivery. I was sure the news would be depressing, so I simply avoided the whole situation. But for some reason, I got an inkling to find out how much I weigh this week. And it wasn't nearly as bad as I had imagined (thank goodness). Sure, I still don't fit into any of my pre-pregnancy clothes, but I'm ok with that for now. The "no sweets diet" has commenced until I hit my pre-pregnancy weight (I had to wait until the baptism weekend was over).

3) After reading this post I have a newfound drive to get my tush out of bed and join the peaceful protests that occur every Monday morning at the Germantown abortion clinic from 8-10am. It is, of course, going to take a fairly significant amount of planning and it may mean that I need to go to bed  earlier than normal (whatever that means). But it's a worthy cause that I feel like I should support.
It's shocking to me that anyone could either perform an abortion on someone else or have an abortion performed on them at all, much less in the third trimester!

4) When Joseph is particularly upset he sounds like a pterodactyl. It's kind of funny. He is now fondly known (to me) as "my little pterodactyl." Maybe it'll be one of those nicknames that sticks through adulthood. Now I just need to get it on video so I can share it with everyone :)

5) Joseph makes the cutest noises when he's going to sleep and waking up. Well....it's cute until it keeps me awake after his 3am feeding. This is another thing I want to capture on video. Hopefully I'll have some footage soon.

6) I have done a lot of laundry this week. I seriously don't know how all the laundry would get done if I had a full-time job (outside the home, that is). It makes me feel so blessed that I have such a great husband who works hard to allow me to be able to stay home and a son who now sleeps in consistently "long" (read: 2-hour) chunks of time allowing me to get things done around the house.

7) Joseph turned 1 month old on Wednesday. It's amazing how time flies. I realize it's only been a month, but still. He's already getting big - he's starting to outgrow his size small diapers already (and is practically in size 2 disposables)!! Now I'm debating whether I want to continue with the cloth diapers. The lazy side of me wants to just go with disposables - it's just so easy to toss the diaper in the trash and never have to worry about it again. The practical, money-saving side of me screams "go with the cloth diapers!!!" because over time the cloth diapers will be a huge savings (assuming we are blessed with more kids). Also, I'm not sure whether the cloth diapers will get easier once I'm finally able to get into a real routine.... Anyone who has used or is using cloth diapers and wants to weigh in, I'm all ears.