Seven Quick Takes

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1.  Hello again!  Yep, 2017 was a rough year.  I barely blogged at all!  Oh my.

2.  I had a baby!

3.  I had HG for most of last year.  (Hence the lack of blogging.)

4.  While I currently have a giant list of craft projects both to start and to finish, I have been focusing on just one right now: my Hooded Dragon Blanket.  (I'm living dangerously; I'm crocheting this rather large project using discontinued yarn!)

5.  I am a huge fan of babywearing, although this is the first time I've used a wrap.  I absolutely love the Moby wrap.  It's a game changer.

6.  Can you believe the Eagles finally won a Super Bowl?!

7.  Speaking of sports, who's watching the Olympics?

I'll be linking up with Kelly  

7 Quick Takes Friday

ONE: It has been a super mild winter.  Yesterday when Catherine and I were walking to the dollar store we barely needed sweatshirts.  Even more exciting, we saw daffodils!  They are so bright and cheery and a sign of spring weather.  


TWO: I found a new crochet pattern website that I'm in love with, Ravelry.  I'm probably the last crocheter to stumble up this site but I've already started a couple of projects inspired by it.

THREE: I've started a couple of book reviews for some blog posts.  Unfortunately they have been sucked in the abyss of the draft folder.


FOUR: If money were no issue I would love to have giant closets.  EVERYTHING would have a special place.  Here are two amazing examples:

FIVE: A very "mom" take here... I think Pampers are the best diapers.  With coupons/sales/Amazon Mom I generally am about to get them for 15 cents or less per diaper.  (That being the most I'd like to pay.)  However, a couple of weeks ago the best deal I could find was on Huggies.  They were terrible!  They leaked like crazy and I'm pretty sure they were the culprit behind some diaper rash.  I know that different diapers work for different kids, but wow.  Oh well. We are going to start potty training in a couple of weeks. 

SIX:  This is from almost exactly a year ago.  I can't believe how big my girl has gotten!  I love the scrunched up smile!



SEVEN: I am extremely thankful that my sweet little girl has napped long enough for me to finish this post!  A couple of weeks ago I thought that the afternoon nap had gone the way of the dodo bird.  Last week they were short, but they existed.  This week they've been all over the place.  Naps are nice.  

Check out more 7 Quick Takes here. 

7 Quick Takes Friday

ONE: Last night Catherine fought taking a bath for quite awhile.  Then she fiercely fought leaving the tub.  So we let her play in there for about forty five minutes.  Of course we did keep adding warm water for her!  So here is a (slightly stereotypical look how cute my kid is in the tub) photo:

Check out that awesome hairdo!
And yes, she still loves her Ducky tub.

TWO: I was much better about blogging this week!  Not everything ended up in my draft folder.  I consider that an accomplishment.  Also, I participated in quite a few "link parties".  They are a great way to see other people's blogs as well as announce that mine exists.  I'd love to get my blogging to be more regular and to have a steady increase of traffic to my site.  That's what I'd like, but we'll see what happens!

THREE: I mailed my application for a Spring Craft Fair.  I think as long as there are openings I am in, but I will still be waiting nervously for their response.  I really want to participate in another craft fair and there don't seem to be a lot of spring ones around (I already have a few fall ones penciled in on my schedule).  This also means that I should focus my crafting time on items that might sell at a spring fair.  

FOUR: Lent starts up next week.  I need to get baking cookies and such out of my system before then.  I should also look up Ash Wednesday Mass times.  On that note, (growing up and a little bit now too) I always thought that Ash Wednesday should be a Holy Day of Obligation.  I guess mainly because it has "something extra"  (the receiving of ashes), but also because the beginning of Lent is a big deal.  It is by far the non-obligatory Mass that I try the hardest to attend.


FIVE: Still wishing I had a magical way to clean.  Sheez, even if I had a couple of toddler free hours every week that would help.  I guess that I could get up super early or stay up later--but somehow that just doesn't happen.  To those mommies out there with lots of kids and spotless houses, how do you do it?  I have one wonderful kid and a tiny apartment (which is part of the problem, IMHO--because there simply is no storage) and nine times (okay, 9.9 times) out of ten it is a mess.  Although, I tend to be rather OCD about some things--such as the floor.  We are a no shoes in the house family and I often scrub it on my hands and knees.  We live in a large metro area and I've seen enough bodily fluids, etc deposited on public walkways to turn me into a little bit of a germaphobe.  The living room especially is often clean enough to eat off of--which is good because it seems like that's Catherine's favorite place to store her Cheerios and raisins!

SIX: Peter and I tend to go in spurts with what game we play.  Some weeks the only game we'll play is Carcassonne, other weeks its Dominion, other times its cards.  The game that we've been playing the most lately is Family Business.  It is also nice because we have a family friend that has returned to the area--so he's been able to come over for games quite a bit.

SEVEN: I have been sorting through my coupons, there are a couple of great deals out there this week.  I am hoping to hit Safeway, CVS (I have ExtraCare Bucks burning a hole in my pocket!), and Harris Teeter (Super Doubles, baby!).  We shall see if I actually set foot in any of these stores this weekend, but I should be prepared!  Plus, it doesn't hurt to go through my massive stack of coupons.

Check out more 7 Quick Takes here. 

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. For whatever reason, I haven't posted anything new in a week!  Shame on me.  I did start a couple of posts, but they are sitting dejectedly in my draft box.  I certainly plan on eventually publishing them, it just is the "eventually" part.
2. Catherine got a little cold this week.  Poor thing.  She seems to be on the mend now.  Sadly, being ill has wrecked her sleeping habits.  One night this week she was up at least once an hour, sometimes more.  She also skipped her (only) nap three days.  I am really hoping that as she gets better so does her sleeping.
3. I changed my Linked In profile.  Finally.  I still had myself working as a receptionist.  Even if I have no intention of going "on the market" any time in the near future, I should still have an updated internet resume!  
4. I think that I will make my version of Curried Carrot soup tonight.  It is based off of Rachael Ray's soup.  I will add some broccoli and celery and a little extra onion because I don't have vegetable stock--I just add water, so the extra flavors are nice.  I also don't add any cayenne pepper and only put about one and a quarter tablespoons of curry powder in it; for me that gives it plenty of kick.  Of course, Peter could go for more, but I have to be able to eat it too!  Oh, and obviously, I switch out the sour cream for mozzarella, because sour cream is yucky.  
5.  For Christmas my wonderful hubby got me a Kindle.  It is so awesome!  I love so much about it.  I've also loved the amount of free books that are available.  Amazon has a bunch that are free; some for a limited time and some seem to always be free.  The library has proven to be an excellent source for material also. Although, they aren't incredibly consistent with their collection.  I've looked into a couple of series and they aren't complete.  I have a post in my draft section about Kindles . . . 
6. I just finished reading "The Help" on my Kindle.  I loved it.  I think that sometime I should dedicate an entire post to it . . . 
7. I finished three of the started craft projects I wrote about last week.  Here is a teaser picture of two of the scarves; one blue and one a multi-purple.

The lighting is really bad.  I am hoping to take better pictures this weekend--when the
sun is up and the hubby can help wrangle the toddler.  That's my hope, anyways!

Check out more "7 Quick takes" here. 

Seven Quick Takes

I've been seeing these all over the blogosphere, and I think it is finally time for me to participate!  For more of these check out Hallie who is hosting for Jenn this week.

~One~

Ok, I realize that the quality of this picture is pretty low.  But I took a bunch of pictures and sadly, this was
the best.  This is Catherine's office.  She has the toolbox as a chair and the coffee table is her desk.  She has her
 toy phone waiting for her important call.  She has her current favorite book.  She is all set.

~Two~

Catherine is sleeping in her crib!  It is so nice to be able to roll over without being 

afraid of squishing her, or being afraid of smothering her with my pillows.
It is nice to have room again; it is amazing how much space her little body takes.

~Three~

On a related note, Catherine is sleeping through the night.  

Wait, I don't think that quite expresses how happy/thrilled/joyful/ecstatic I am.

CATHERINE IS SLEEPING THROUGH 

THE NIGHT!

That's better.  It only took a little over eighteen months.  She still wakes up some, 

but rarely needs anything other than assurance that Peter and are still around.

Well, sometimes she wants her water bottle filled or needs help getting tucked back in
or getting untangled from her blankets or some such.  But after over a year and

a half of waking up four to fourteen times a night--or even worse (not kidding, 

this kid was a horrible sleeper) I am thrilled to actually be getting some rest.

~Four~

I guess that I still have a couple of pictures/things to share from the 2012 March for Life.
I posted on the Facebook pages of the local networks--Fox, CBS, NBC--asking why they
didn't cover the March for Life.  All of my posts were deleted in under five minutes.  I did post
a comment on one of the intentionally misleading slideshows with a link to one of my posts
and that is still there.  I even got some people to click over to my blog!    

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I arrived to the March site early.  Pro-lifers had pile
of signs all around for those of us who didn't have one.  This is just one small one in front
of the Natural History Museum.  I would also like to add that at the end of the day all the signs and
garbage was very neatly put in the proper receptacles.   

~Five~

I have about a dozen crochet projects going right now.  If nothing else comes up this

weekend's (and probably all next week's) craft goal is to work only
on already started projects.  No new ones.  

Then I need to get those and some of my other already completed items listed in

my Etsy store, and maybe some pics on my Facebook page.

~Six~

I've been looking into being a vendor at more craft fairs.  I loved the one I did in December

and have been emailing a bunch of different people for more information.  If 

anyone sees any info about a local church or community one please feel free to let me know!

(Of course, I am mostly looking at local ones--greater DC area.)

~Seven~

I really wish that there was a magical way to get housework done.  There seems to be a
magical force that keeps it from getting accomplished.  (Some might say this magical force
comes in the guise of the most adorable toddler in the whole wide world.)

She just had to twitch her nose and  the dishes would be done and the laundry
clean and folded.  Also, it never seemed that Tabitha had a toy out of place.

Ok, to be fair, I never watched the Jetsons, so  I don't actually know what Rosie's roll was; however,
in this picture she is dusting and vacuuming, all while dressed as a maid.  I think it is safe to assume
that she performed the basic housework duties that so badly need to happen in my humble abode.

As house elf I assume some of Dobby's tasks would have been of the tedious nature--dishes, clothes,
floors, bathrooms, trash, etc.  Of course, in his world there was a fair bit of magic and he was rather abused.
Poor little guy.