Tag: quick takes

  • quick takes

    Linking up! These quick takes are super fun to come up with and write, by the way. I recommend them.

    one

    Last weekend was a long weekend, which was awesome, and I was super productive at home, with hobbies, and had a bunch of good family time too. So it really is worth it, but man oh man are we paying for it this week at work. Every day is just jam-packed with patients, and as soon as I clock in there are already 2-3 waiting for me. I’m tired is what I’m saying.

    two

    We were scheduled to have our anatomy scan yesterday and I was really looking forward to it, but they had to reschedule me to the 16th. I was bummed, but it turns out it was a good thing because David was also super busy at work and we both would have felt really guilty taking a half day.

    three

    Epic toddler meltdowns are happening on the reg in our house now, about once a week or so. It’s hardly even worth mentioning when they happen anymore but yet I am anyway. I’m glad it’s not every day, but the hours-long inconsolable screaming is pretty tough to handle after working all day.

    four

    So last weekend one thing I worked on was my cross stitch project. This is the state of it right now:

    cross stitch

    I have been working on it for months and months because I don’t have time for it very often and when I picked it up over the weekend I discovered I had stitched an entire section in the wrong place and it took over an hour to undo and I almost gave up but I didn’t. Really though, cross stitch is so much fun for me, but is it just the most granny hobby ever or what? I don’t think I know anyone in real life of my generation who does it. I don’t care though.

    five

    Speaking of crafts, it’s not even technically fall yet but I’m about to start talking Christmas up in here. There’s a reason though. David’s grandmother has made all the grandkids and great-grandkids their stockings thus far (this is Meredith’s). She recently passed away, but we have not finished procreating! Specifically, my niece Karley needs a stocking for this year so I have agreed to take the lead on making her one. This is the one she chose:

    stocking

    It is kind of intricate, but there really are no simple options. I have never done anything like this before. I’m excited for the challenge, and a little nervous about pulling it off. The kit should arrive in a couple of days and I need to get working on it ASAP.

    six

    I am in love with this post on Book Riot, which is a bunch of Winnie-the-Pooh quotes that are good life lessons. I actually teared up at several of them. I can’t wait to read stuff like this with Meredith and future kiddos. Some children’s lit is just the best.

    pooh

  • quick takes

    Still loving the quick takes around here. Soon I’ll get myself together and make a plan for the blog, but it hasn’t happened yet.

    one

    Remember the Book of Lists series I was doing and then unceremoniously dropped? I’m resurrecting it now that I feel like a human again. Since this is a long weekend I should be able to get it together for early next week. I think a few people are still kinda sorta playing along but from now on it won’t be so structured. I’ll still aim for the first Monday of the month and I’ll do my best to announce the topic ahead of time, but be ye warned that it may not always happen such. That said, next week’s topic is celebrity crushes and it is a surprisingly hard one for me. I could only think of two! Pretty sure it’s because I don’t have time to watch TV or movies or read magazines. So I’ve been doing some (really difficult) research and I’ve come up with another, but here is where you tell me your crushes so that they can become mine as well. Go.

    two

    Quick Meredith update. We’ve had a few screamy nights around here but only one that was truly horrible. We were at church small group and she had an epic meltdown with screams that should only be used in case of torture. I don’t think “being moved from my place at the bottom of the slide so the big kids don’t hit me on the way down” counts, but that’s just me. Anyway it was super embarrassing and we had to leave early, and this continued all the way home and for an hour later, and then David had to run an errand so I got desperate and decided to drive her around till she fell asleep and here is the string of texts I sent him during that time:

    text

    Yes I had given her candy to get her to be quiet. I only wish I had thought of it when we were still at church group.

    three

    One more thing about Meredith. She got impacted. I felt terrible as I was watching her try to poop because I couldn’t stop laughing. Her face was just too hilarious though. After awhile I could tell she was in pain, and I’m a nurse, so I did what came to mind and took care of it manually. So that’s how my nights have been going this week.

    four

    Pregnancy update: not much to report. I have a huge appetite now. Heartburn is becoming more prominent. Peeing a lot more. Next week is our big anatomy scan and I’m getting more and more nervous about it. I have completely irrational fears like there won’t be a baby in there at all, as well as completely morbid fears like it stopped growing awhile ago, and then normal worries about it looking healthy, and then trivial worries about what the sex will be. I know I’m going to be happy either way, but I think I will also be sad either way. So I’m ready to just find out and deal with it.

    five

    On the subject of babies, I’m not sure if I’m going to have a shower or not because we have most of the essentials, but I’m trying to think of things that would be nice to have that I didn’t have the first time around, or are helpful with two kids. So far I only have four items on the list, so what would you add? This doesn’t have to be necessary stuff but just stuff you liked.

    six

    Lately I’m obsessed with collecting audiobooks from the library to put in my queue. I request them in CD form, upload them to iTunes, then I have a nice selection to choose from depending on my mood. And because I don’t want to steal from the library, I delete them when I’m finished listening. I’ve currently maxed out my library hold allowance requesting the Harry Potter series on audio and almost all of the books on Janssen’s list. It’s so satisfying though. I’m also in the middle of A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin and everyone says it’s the best in the series and so far I agree. It makes me so happy to have a book to be obsessed with.

    seven

    Long weekend ahead!!! Even though we are totally going to pay for it at work when we come back, it’s still worth it. I would love to have a productive weekend so my plans (apart from normal chores and such) include working on Project Life, Book of Lists, and hopefully some cross stitch, a desperately-needed date with David, a family birthday BBQ, and maaaybe some blog planning & writing.

    Hey look, I managed to fit in seven takes today! Happy weekend.

  • quick takes

    Linking up for randomness again today.

    One

    In my last post I was humblebragging about what a nice evening we had as a family and then the last two nights have paid me back. The toddler fussiness has increased throughout the week, and last night I just had to abandon my feeble attempts at cooking dinner to feed her snacks and go on a walk just to get her out of the house and be quiet. She had cheese puffs and a popsicle for dinner, so what? I was so tired afterwards that I didn’t eat anything myself and just went to bed.

    Two

    Had this convo with my mom today:

    mom convo

    I really appreciate how seriously she takes my needs.

    Three

    I can’t help myself so I’m starting to think about baby names. I’m trying to wait to get serious about it until we know the sex (less than two weeks!) but it’s already stressing me out. Tell me, what are you favorite names? If you are saving them for your own children and don’t want to share, what are your favorite names that you can’t use for whatever reason? My husband has already vetoed several of my options (like Alexander for a boy…he thinks it’s too girly, I don’t know, and Nora for a girl because of this girl who was obsessed with him in high school, or so he says).

    Four

    I rarely use Pinterest just to browse, but I do use it to collect and organize ideas and inspiration. Lately, though, I’ve been getting an inordinate amount of pleasure out of curating the boards I follow. When I first signed up I just followed everyone’s boards that I knew and that was a mistake. I realized that when I browse I don’t want to see recipes or workout tips or quotes or photography. I basically just want to see home design, style, crafts, & DIY. Oh, and cute animals. If I want to see those other things I will specifically search for them. Who are your favorite pinners? I need to do a roundup of mine.

    Five

    In church last week when I picked up Meredith from Sunday school they were all wearing outfits like this, holding hands and walking in a circle singing a song. They made the armor of God and it was the cutest thing ever. So I guess I forgive her for last night after all.

    armor

  • quick takes / 16 weeks

    I’m trying out the seven quick takes linkup today since it’s an excuse to just post random stuff, which is what I’m doing lately anyway. Not sure if I’ll always have seven though, so let’s just skip that part.

    One

    I’m 16 weeks along in this pregnancy and I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday. Especially in these early months before I can really feel the baby move I always get a little nervous before checkups. Yesterday about gave me a panic attack too. The experienced MA (Jen) who I LOVE is leaving the practice and so she was training a temp, and so it was just me and the temp in the room. First she starts analyzing my urine results and is staring at it for a really long time. Finally she asks me, “you haven’t been having any spotting, have you?” as if she expected something to be wrong. So already I’m worried.

    Then she moved on to checking the heartbeat. She spent a whole minute (which seemed like forever) on the right side of  my belly and there was nothing. Then she moved to the left side and immediately we heard what I knew was my heartbeat, but I could tell she was confused. Apparently the rate on the machine was jumping around and eventually she said, “okay the rate is 175 that’s very good.” But I told her I didn’t hear that rate, all I heard was my own. We then looked at the machine together and the rate was mostly in the 80’s. No matter what she did we could not hear a baby heartbeat. Internally I was partly freaking out / partly preparing myself for terrible news & trying to be at peace with that / partly trying to convince myself it was just because she’s new. Finally after a million years Jen came in the room and immediately found the baby’s heartbeat, in the 140’s. Then she showed the temp how to do an ultrasound in case she’s having trouble finding the heartbeat and I got to see the little kid moving around like crazy and looking good. So! That was exciting.

    16 week photo:

    16 weeks

    Other than my scrubs for work I pretty much wear these shorts if I’m going out, lounge pants if I’m staying home, and a stretchy skirt (preferably maxi, but I only have two of them) to church. Choices are limited. I’m feeling great though.

    Two

    I promise all my takes won’t be as long as the last one. Anyway I made dinner again last night, so that’s twice in one week if any of you are keeping track. Huge accomplishment. I made these taco chicken bowls and I know it’s like slow cooker 101 but I was still proud that it turned out so delicious that my husband finished his bowl and my mother-in-law asked me for the recipe.

    Three

    Our house is one-story, about 2400 square feet. The front half has all real wood floors that I love, and the back half (a hallway and four bedrooms) is all nasty carpet that our dogs have torn up and stained. Pretty sure that I’ve whined and moaned about it here before, but it’s super embarrassing. So we are looking into tearing that up and replacing it. At first I thought we would just go all wood, but since I want it to look similar to the wood we already have I think that will be too expensive for us right now. So then we thought we’d do the hallway in wood and put new carpet in the bedrooms, and we’ll just keep the dogs out of there. My question for you is, have you ever put down wood floors or carpet? Where do I start looking for this stuff? What are the good companies to go to?

    Four

    I started thinking about a name for our second baby. Our anatomy scan is in three weeks so after we know the sex we’ll think about it more seriously, but I started looking at the social security website. I looked up the name “Meredith” and I was surprised to see that it keeps going down in popularity. Last year it was number 668! That’s so low. But it’s still traditional, and (in my opinion) very pretty, and it was a family name. Basically perfect. It’s going to be so hard to match that.

    Five

    I’m drinking coffee again! Like, for real! Hot coffee, in the morning. Every day. It’s sooooo great.

    Six

    I listen to a bunch of podcasts and at least four of them are book-related. This is making my “to-read” list extremely long. I truly mourn the fact that I will never be able to read everything I want to in this life. This isn’t a book blog and I know I post my quarterly round-ups of what I read, but I’m thinking of more thoroughly reviewing my monthly book club books because they aren’t necessarily things I’d pick up on my own. Will think on this.

    Seven

    Cheeks! She’s still got em.

    cheeks