Seven Quick Takes Friday, Vol. 50

Linking up, as ever, over at Conversion Diary this week.

I

I'm going on three weeks now of crazy insomnia, so I apologize in advance if this week's takes are completely boring, uninspired, repetitive, etc. I really need to start sleeping again. It was never this bad even when Little Bear was small and yelled a lot at night... What never fails to help you fall asleep?

II

Little Bear's favorite toy recently has been blocks, and yesterday, he decided that it was fun to put them into the box. Hallelujah!

I know it won't last, but it's so nice to have him happily helping to pick toys up instead of flinging them everywhere. He likes being the one to put in the last block, too: he'll twist it and turn it until it slips into place, then he will beam up at you and start applauding for himself.

III

Yesterday afternoon was gloriously sunny and 48 degrees, so I took advantage of what was possibly the last warm day this year to get in a good walk. We had to loosen up the straps on the ergo a bit to fit Little Bear in wearing his coat, and I put him in loose enough jeans that he could wear a pair of my wool socks pulled up over his thighs underneath. What with the construction on campus (which I forgot to factor in to planning my route), we walked about three and a half miles up to meet Matt after work.

IV

Thankfully he got off work on time yesterday! On Wednesday, he had to stay late to troubleshoot a video feed problem in a smart classroom. He, his boss, and a coworker were there trying to fix the problem until 8:30 pm, when they discovered that it was a problem they couldn't fix without new hardware that has to be shipped up. That certainly threw off our usual bedtime schedule; Little Bear didn't fall asleep until after 10:30.

V

At the grocery store this week, I accidentally bought a 5lb bag of onions instead of the 3lb bag. We like onions, and they wind up in dinner at least three times a week, not even including the days I use dry minced onions... So it shouldn't have been a problem, except that we have a small kitchen with no pantry, and no basement or similar cool dark space to store foods that don't like the refrigerator. I had a small spot in the rounder where--if you were very careful and balanced things just right--a 3lb sack of onions would fit. The larger bag? Not even a little bit. It is currently stashed in a wooden bowl on the floor-level shelf of the bookcase in our dining room, which holds pots and pans instead of books, while I try to use enough onions to make it fit in the rounder before Little Bear discovers it and scatters onion skins all over the house.

VI

I've already had to buckle Little Bear into the car and drive to town twice today--right when he woke up to go take Daddy to work, and again a half hour later (after running home to feed him) for a meeting about a freelance project that I'm really excited about. He fell asleep nursing within ten minutes of getting home from that meeting, and I'm trying to decide whether or not to wake him up, stuff him into a winter coat, and buckle him back into the car to go to noon Mass. It's a first Friday, and the feast of St Francis, and the Catholic homeschoolers are having a potluck after Mass. But waking a sleeping toddler? And putting him directly into the coat he dislikes, into the car seat he dislikes? He pretty much never takes more than one nap anymore, so giving him less than two hours is just asking to have a miserable late afternoon/evening. I don't know. This was an unusually early nap; maybe he will wake up on his own in time for us to go?

VII

What immunizations do kids receive at 15 months? I know it varies a little from state to state, but apparently here it even varies within the state. The state government health office sent us a nice colorful chart of their standard vaccine schedule, and it doesn't list anything between 12 and 18 months, but I got a call from our pediatrician's office the other day reminding me that Little Bear is just about due for his 15 month shots. They didn't give him MMR at 12 months, so I would think it'd be that... I suppose I could call and find out, if I ever thought of these questions when Little Bear wasn't asleep on my lap... I need more sleep, then maybe my brain would work better.

Have a restful weekend!