7 Quick Takes Friday with Jen & Crew

— 1 —

It’s Friday. You know the drill. Share what you’ve done & learned & endured during the week with Jen and her lovelies. I wish I had something very profound to share insofar as life revelations, but really it’s been a stay-alive-kind-of-week. My to-do list with baby coming in a matter of weeks (whoa, I’m only 34 weeks pregnant–am I jinxing myself?) keeps growing. I mean, I do things on it, and then find other things that also desperately quickly nowly must be done.

I wrote this week about how I came to terms with pausing my lawyerly jig and staying at home. I blah lablah personal for a while but include my list of questions to ask if you’re in the boat of contemplation, either on staying home, or going back to work. No easy answers, and I really believe that mostly people just gotta do what they gotta do and the devil take the hindmost (or the judgers).

— 2 —

Did you see that Jen in including a wonderful e-book about how she operates her family as a bonus for pre-ordering her book, Something Other Than God? Don’t think I didn’t order it yesterday. Because I did. Happy birthday in a few weeks to me. And me! (does anyone else remember the “very merry unbirthday” song from Alice in Wonderland? I am always tempted to shout an additional “and ME!” Narcissism lives on here.) Part of why I want to buy (and did) is because she’s a very interesting person. Part is because I love the cover art. And the other part is because we ladies have to support each other in our endeavors!

— 3 —

Speaking of endeavors, I’ve gone off the bandwagon with making little girl skirts. I’m pregnant with a boy. You tell me how much sense that makes. I’ll be making an offering for a giveaway on a girlfriend’s blog soon, so maybe that’s part of the motivator. That, or, I’m nesting in the wrong direction. Part of me is just sewing incessantly because I can put one foot up at a time while doing it and therefore feel productive at relaxation and progress. And I want my etsy shop full when I’m on maternity so I don’t have to put it on vacation. Tips if you’re starting your own etsy from my woeful mistakes!

— 4 —

Speaking of etsy, I’ve discovered a new blog & online friend whose etsy offerings are LOVELY. Come see what Jenna embroiders. And come read what Olivia shares about her teaching experiences as a prego lady. SO FUNNY. And come wipe a tear away at what Sarah Marie writes to her baby inside. And come be inspired by Anna’s NICU series she’s sharing. And Jacqui–see a few previews of what her etsy shop will look like!.

— 5 —

Fav kids lines of the week:

SuperBoy tells AA: and the 11th commandment is . . . thou shalt not pray for thyself.

SuperBoy tells SweetPea: when you’re a nun, you need to live at St. Agnes or I’ll never see you. And you’d miss me and I’d miss you, right? She may have snarled as an answer.

SweetPea tells me: Mama goes to work? Dada goes to work? Boy goes to work? Me stay home and play. Sounds like she’s good with all of us abandoning her.

— 6 —

At one of SuperBoy’s little Suzuki music classes this week a mom asked me, oh, and you’re expecting number 2! How are you feeling? I paused. Do I say, Oh, no, this is number 3? Or do I just smile and say I’m feeling well (LIES)? Do I loudly announce we are breeders? Do I explain that despite the fact we already have a boy and a girl, we wanted, asked for, and got more? Okay, okay, her question was totally valid and innocuous. She was just making polite conversation. The class is only for 3 year olds+ so SweetPea isn’t there with me anyway to hammer home the lots-of-kids point.

I did smile, and say we had a 2 year old at home, and this was our third. She was politely shocked.

I wrote about this a while ago, about how many kids we’re going to have. Same answer: I don’t know. It’s when I get out of my natural birth world (larger families) and Catholic mama world (even larger families) that I remember this mom with her four year old only is more common than me with my almost-three under four.

— 7 —

Hope your weekend plans include sunshine, melted snow, and drinks out. My mom returns back from a lengthy visit (servitude?) to my sister in New York on Monday. We’re dying. Come home, NuNu! She’s been in seventh heaven with her two granddaughters and being Molly’s slave (salve?) at Brooklyn Herborium.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!