7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 13)

1. I've started hitting that point in my pregnancy - and this happened when I was pregnant with Sly as well, and lasted until well after he was born - where I feel this sense of dread and despair about how I'm going to "be pregnant for the rest of my life."  I don't mean with this particular pregnancy, but with all the babies we end up having.  Especially when summer hits, I start to realize how many things I can't do (at least not comfortably) while pregnant - go to amusement parks or water parks, kayak, go on long bike rides, travel long distances, etc.  And then next summer, I'll probably still be breastfeeding, which means I'll have an infant attached to me all the time and still unable to go certain places...and then once I'm done breastfeeding, I'll probably be pregnant again....and it just seems like I'm doomed to this endless cycle!  Not that I dread the babies themselves.  We want to have a big family, definitely.  But it really is incapacitating to the mother in a lot of ways.  I worry sometimes that by the time all our kids are old enough to start taking care of themselves a bit, I'll be too old and exhausted to take advantage of it!  But who knows what God has in store for us...

2. Sly finally managed to get ahold of a pen and write all over the wall before I noticed.  Ugh - I knew this would happen eventually.   But I had always assumed my ever-reliable Mr. Clean Magic Eraser would do the trick.  Those things have NEVER ceased to amaze me.  But surprisingly, it didn't work at all.  Any tips?

3. This Saturday, I'm hosting a clothing exchange at my house.  I'm looking forward to it - mostly as an excuse to hang out with some female friends, but also because it means getting rid of some of my junk, and possibly getting a few new (to me) things.  If you've never heard of one of these, I'll explain how it works: everyone goes through their closets, and finds clothes that they want to give away (we're also opening it to shoes, jewelry, unfinished perfume, etc.).  You bring them all to the party, and lay things out/hang them up in designated areas.  After everyone has arrived and had a chance to nibble on some food and chat, you all get to go browse the items, try things on, etc.  You can take home anything you like.  And any the leftovers get donated to the charity of your choice.  It's a wonderful way to change up your wardrobe a bit, without having to spend a dime!

4. Mother's Day is this weekend.  Tom and I decided that we wouldn't get gifts for each other for mother's/father's day.  When the kids are a little older, if they want to make us something or pick out something small, that's fine.  But we just can't afford to give gifts to each other for all the many many "gift-giving holidays" there are.  When asked how I'd like to celebrate, though, I told Tom that I would like to receive *something* handmade "from Sly" as well as be taken on a picnic which I don't have to cook/prepare the food for.  We'll see how it all comes together!

5. A neighbor gave us 20 pounds of potatoes that she had left over from a youth group event she cooked for.  That's a whole lot of potatoes for a family of three to eat to begin with, but they already have a lot of little sprouts on them!  So we've been racing to finish them before they go bad (which, given the level of heat in our un-air conditioned kitchen, is going to be pretty soon).  Potatoes for dinner every night!  Last night, I made twice-baked.  I've eaten them at restaurants, but never at home.  They were delectable.

6. During our college years (not so very many years ago), Tom and I had a very wide circle of friends.  But as people graduated and moved on for grad school or first jobs, many of them ended up leaving Pittsburgh for new places.  That, combined with our changing "life states" (married, and then married-with-a-kid) meant that our circle of friends became smaller and smaller.  The past year or two, almost all our socialization has been with one of our three "married couple friends."  This summer, two of those couples are moving away.  It's pretty depressing, if you ask me.  And I'm not sure what to do about it.  I've been reflecting on this a lot, and I think maybe it's just a fact of being a young, growing family that you don't have many friends?  We've been working so hard to get close with two couples from our church, and it's just sooooo slow-going.  I guess when people have young children, it's just really difficult to make the time for building strong friendships. 

You see movies and tv shows from the 50's, and all the couples on the street hang out with each other at least once a week.  They get together to play bridge or whatever.  Was that for real?  Why can't we have something like that?  haha

7. I sorta hate that our society is one in which people are so transient.  Children rarely live near their parents and siblings anymore.  Friends move away after college.  It didn't used to be that way so much.  People lived in the same town their whole lives.  I know that's my goal, anyways.  I was born and raised here, and almost my entire extended family is here too.  Of the eight kids in my dad's family, only one moved out of Pittsburgh.  And six of them actually live in the same neighborhood.  It was wonderful growing up, having all my cousins as my closest friends.  Family parties at least once a month, and frequent run-ins with a relative around the neighborhood.  Tom doesn't fully understand my desire to stay - his relatives are scattered all over the country, so he never had what I did.  But he loves the city as much as I do, and is alright with staying if we can.  The best part is, I think we've pretty much convinced his parents to move here too once they retire!  So good to plant roots!!

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