7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 24)

-1-

My generous husband spent some time last night re-doing my blog header for me so now it's finally not blurry and super-amateurish-looking anymore!  Behold it above, in its non-pixelated glory!

-2-

 I've been trying to gather information from other parents about when their kids learned the names of colors.  Sly knows all his animals, shapes, some letters and numbers, and many other things besides.  But he is hopelessly bad at recognizing colors.  I won't go into the genetics of it now, but colorblindness runs in the family, and it is quite possible that I'm a carrier, which would mean that statistically, 50% of my sons should be colorblind.  I'm wondering if this could be the answer to Sly's color-recognition issues, or if it's just way too early to assume anything.  I'm not worried about it, really - two of my three brothers are colorblind, and I realize it doesn't affect too much of their lives - but I'd just kind of like to know, ya know?

-3-

I've decided to start compiling a binder with ideas for celebrating the liturgical year in our family.  This will certainly be an ongoing project, something to be added to whenever I come across a new idea, or have some extra time.  It will be organized chronologically, and have ideas for ways to recognize important days/seasons in the church.  I can put prayers, recipes, etc.  In my optimistic vision of myself in the future, I picture myself actually remembering to consult the binder at the beginning of the month, and planning out certain events/meals as appropriate.  Ha -we'll see how that actually goes.

My first addition was a really inspiring article I'd read about celebrating Christmas.

-4-

I made the yummiest dinner the other night.  It was orange chicken, and it tasted every bit as good as if it came from a ("good") Chinese restaurant.  This will probably sound insanely obvious to most of you, but I'd never really considered that you could make it at home.  I just cut up chunks of chicken breast, breaded them (I used Frying Magic breading with egg, and double-dipped each chunk), and fried them in vegetable oil in a pan.  As they finished, I tossed them into a big bowl, and when they were all done, I poured an entire bottle of store-bought "orange sauce" over top.  Super delish.  You can also omit the sauce, and you have perfect homemade "chicken nuggets".

-5-

Stella is four and a half months old, and I've definitely hit the point where I find myself thinking, "I'm ready for another baby!".  I'm not feeling ready to actually be pregnant, though.  I'd love to have a non-pregnant summer...or at least a partial one.   But a few weeks ago, when I mistakenly believed for a short time that a friend was expecting her third baby, I found myself feeling rather jealous, wishing that we were going to be having a third one soon as well.  I know, it's crazy. 

-6-

A number of people have remarked recently on how cute it is that Sly uses the third person when referring to himself ("Sly want book", "Sly want to do it Sly's self", etc.).  I know it's a common enough thing with toddlers, but it's pretty extreme in Sly.   I realized yesterday that it's completely our fault.  We rarely refer to ourselves as "I" when we talk to Sly (we say "Mommy said no" or "give it to Daddy").  And the funny thing is, I remember that we first started to do that around him intentionally over a year ago, when it became clear that he didn't understand our names were "Mommy and Daddy".  So we wanted to emphasize it.  It's a hard habit to break!

-7-

The kids finally have the same bedtime, and both go down easily, which is awesome, because it means I have the evenings to spend getting stuff done or just hanging with my husband again!  Also, we've had time to work on projects again, such as some built-in bookcases...

the alcove as it was

supports for shelves

completed shelves.  there will be a cabinet below

Painting the backs of the shelves

I'll show more pictures of the finished results, hopefully soon!

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary