7 Quick Takes

1. Is it already Friday?

2. We've been taking turns passing around a cold this week. First C, then me, now L. N knows it's only a matter of time.

The good news is that it consists of two days of nasal congestion and that's it.

My theory is that we're able to fight this cold better than usual because we're keeping hydrated, eating well and downing the vitamin C religiously. I give the kiddos chewables and N and I have been downing these 1,000 mg-packets. Let's hope it helps us against the dreaded flu viruses, too.



3. L recently started rehearsing a tap number for an upcoming holiday recital with her dance class. She lives for dance, so naturally she has the whole routine nearly memorized already. She's speculating about what color leotard and chiffon skirt her teacher will order for their costumes. She's singing the accompanying song about Santa flying through the night and it's not even Halloween.

The catch is that the recital is the weekend prior to my due date. So last week I wanted to make L aware of the possibility that some or all of the family may not be able to attend the recital should baby arrive a little early.

I also warned her that if mama goes into labor that day, she would miss the birth of her baby sibling--the event that trumps even the magical visit of Mr. Claus himself in importance to L this December.

I told L she did not have to participate in the recital. She could still learn the routine, but she wouldn't be dancing on stage.

I thought this would be a difficult choice for L. I thought she would struggle with it at least a little. I was wrong.

"I want to dance on the stage," she said. "It's OK if I miss the baby being born."

I'm glad she's dedicated to her craft. After all, as L put it, the baby will still be with us when she gets home from the recital.

4. We're hosting a small Halloween party at our house on Saturday. I say it's small because it makes me feel a little less overwhelmed by the preparations.

We're serving a couple different kinds of soup, making glow-in-the-dark wands (or swords for the boys) to tote with trick-or-treat bags and modeling costumes, of course.

5. We made party decorations from felt and pipe cleaners. This bouquet of jack-o-lanterns looks a little uncertain about the upcoming spooky night.



6. I also adore these ghostly sodas we'll be serving on Saturday. We found ours at Target.



7. I love sending Christmas cards to family and friends each year. I only mail about 50 and I like to include a newsy note and family photo each year, but this time around I'm undecided about how to handle it.

Because baby is scheduled to arrive around the week before Christmas, I don't know whether I should send out our cards early or wait until after baby arrives and send a New Years/baby announcement version instead.

On one hand, I'd like to get the mailing done early and not wait until after the hard work of new parenting begins. On the other hand, the biggest news of our year is happening right around Christmas and it would be nice to include all of that in our holiday greetings.

What would you do?


Have a fun weekend of tricks and treats and check out these other quick takes ... if you dare. Bwoo-ha-ha!