7 Quick Takes (and one highly anticipated photo)

1. HP has gone the whole school week without napping. The results: one contentious costume-donning episode and one sudsy tantrum over having to get out of the tub.

Aside from those minor incidents, the napless Henry is an all around more joyful, patient and happy boy. He sleeps a bit longer at night and is much happier during what normally were very difficult times of the day. We'll ride this season out for however long it takes for the crash to come.

2. Hey, military friends! Get out your glitter glue and construction paper.

Michelle Obama is asking military children for some personal contributions to the White House decorations this holiday season. Her office wants military children to submit 5x8 handmade holiday cards with words of appreciation for their military parents, as well as pictures and drawings.

The White House will display as many of the cards as possible.

Participants should send their artwork to the following address along with information from where they are sending it by November 16.

Reservation 1
Attn: Social Office
PO Box 8070
Washington DC, 20032

3. I have a new self-imposed challenge. It is this:

When our weekly grocery budget is maxed out, I plan a pantry-cleaning dinner.

It's like an episode of that Food Network show Chopped, where the chefs have to create fine dishes from odd assortments of ingredients, such as: sardines, cheddar cheese and Ho Hos.

This week my mixed bag consisted of garbanzo beans and spinach.

I plugged the ingredients into an online recipe search and hit this Spanish tapas dish. It was delicious atop hunks of crusty bread with lemon wedges on the side.

4. How much more Halloween candy can I consume under the guise of: "If I eat it, then I'm saving my children from potential cavities, diabetes and poisoning from artificial ingredients?"

5. We're headed over to Mount Vernon today for a homeschool field day of colonial history fun.

Sound nerdy?

Well, it's the cheapest way that I've discovered to visit the historic estate. I hope to have a batch of photos to share next week that will show some impressed and entertained faces.

Hopefully the faces will belong to my kiddos.

6. Cool fact: The house we're living in sits on land that used to belong to President Washington, himself. Heck, half of northern Virginia did!

(Not really. That was an overstatement of the truth. Hyperbole if you will. Really, I'm totally fit to teach my own children. Didn't I just correctly use the word hyperbole? No, really. Did I?)

7. And finally ...












After some digging and reminiscing in the basement ...












I found ...












This relic ....

Oh, yes. I did.

My apologies, C, although I'm not sure which of us should be more embarrassed by our '80s-fueled, pastel-drunk fashion blunders.

Who are we kidding? The pale gray tux takes the cake. Hands down.

Happy weekending, all! For more quick takes, visit the Conversion Diary.