7 Quick Takes with 5 Happy Things, 4 Link Ups, 1 Hot Mess, and 2 Cute Kids

Little Miss Hot Mess after she found a puddle 

1)I'm linking up this week's quick takes with Jen from Conversion Diary AND with Blythe at The Fike Life, because let's face it, this week was One Hot Mess. The biggest disaster being another ill-fated trip to the library. This time instead of Finn bleeding all over the library, it was Gigi's turn for a foot injury.  Here's the short version:

We walked to the library with Gigi in the single stroller, but taking a garage sale detour along the way meant Finn got tired of walking and kept sitting down on the side of the road.  I tried carrying Gigi and pushing Finn so that he wouldn't have to walk, but the girl is like a sack of bricks and that stroller is not easy to push one-handed.  Finally, about a block from home, I sat Gigi on Finn's lap and pushed them both.  Literally one house away from home, Gigi managed to slither out the bottom of the stroller (a fact Finn didn't mention and might have helped along) and got her foot stuck under the stroller.  At first, I thought she was only scared with a little scrape.  When I took her in the house however, she didn't stop crying.  I took off her cloth shoes to find a large abrasion and a swollen foot.

When she continued to FREAK OUT, I panicked. "Her foot might be broken!"

Cue calling everyone. Cue crying for being such a terrible mom.  Cue everyone coming over, only to find that in the twenty minutes it took to drive them to home Gigi had stopped her outburst of screaming and was calmly eating a tuna wrap, happy as a clam.  My R.N. mom checked it out and cautioned us to watch it. She's been walking on it fine.  Poor baby. I felt so terrible.  I have to admit, it was sweet to see how much everyone cared about my sweetheart.


2)You can read about some other mishaps and how I re-programmed my brain to stop thinking that "my kids are ruining my life"over at Ignitum Today.  For the rest of the quick takes, I want to share five things that made me happy this week:

3) OUR GARDEN IS FINALLY PLANTED. You guys, I don't (really) care if most of it fails.  I am just so encouraged that we actually planned something and did it.  I feel like our yard, and not just our house, is finally starting to feel like home.
 We did two raised beds, to keep out bunnies and deal with our water drainage issue, and some herbs (basil, thyme, mint, rosemary, oregano, and parsley) in containers.  We are attempting to raise: tomatoes ( Porterhouse, Sweet 100, German Pink, and Big Rainbow), zuchinni, squash (yellow straightneck), cucumbers, lettuce (vivian), peas (sweet and snappy), peppers, and beans.  We only have a few of each plant, but seriously, if some of them survive I will be over. the. moon.

 I'm going to sneak in another link-up here with Cari of Clan Donaldson with my amateur little attempt at a June Garden. Oh! and a link up with Julie for My View.

Little helper

4) I am so happy about this weather, I am trying to soak up absolutely every single minute before the horror of winter returns.  Not really, but I am putting priority on the park, the garden, the sprinkler, and ice cream eating over the internet right now. I hope to find some time to blog every once in a while, but I am just so giddy over the long sunny days, it's hard to drag myself to the computer.

Park Buddies

5)Finn has become engaged.  We've cautioned him that it's best not to get married for at least 18 years, but he and a little girl friend at church are already planning their wedding.  He's going to wear a blue suit (like his Uncle Ryan, besides it's his "flavorite" color) and she is going to wear white.  The bridesmaids will be in green, and Father Perrone will officiate (He warned them the church requires at least 6 months, but I figure the time it takes to grow up will do.)

I can not wait to embarrass the two of them with this story when they are older.  Besides, how cute would  it be if they did get married?  As Finn is always saying, though rarely in the right context, "You never know!"

Pretty girl

6) Genevieve has recently becoming extremely enamored with her pajamas. Every time she puts them on, she does a little happy circle dance.  She is especially fond of any with polka dots.  It's funny how much more interest she seems to take in her clothing than Finn did.  If you ask her, "who's a pretty girl?", she points to her chest and checks out her outfit at the same time.  But don't worry, the way she climbs, plays with cars, and is starting to fight her brother back, I don't think she will be only a "girly girl."

7) I've recently had some really nice experiences having friends in our home. We have had play dates, impromptu get-togethers, zoo trips, and other couples over for dinner.  I love how God has wired us to enjoy fellowship with our fellow humans.  It's pretty great.

There are times, however when I look forward to inviting friends to visit with anxiety rather than excitement. Sometimes, I feel so guilty about not having asked before, that it takes forever to get up the gumption to ask old friends to give me another chance. Sometimes, I feel so embarrassed about how dirty my house can get.  Other times, it just seems like so much work to get together when you have kids. But, every single time, I do overcome my fears and open up my home, I am proven wrong. Yes, it's work to entertain and difficult to wrangle toddlers.  But I have found hospitality to be so worth it.  Whether it's meeting an old college buddy, having a playdate, or getting to know our church friends better, I have been so blessed to share our lives and families.  If you are scared to put yourself out there, like I often am, I encourage you to take the risk and enjoy the wonderful blessings of friendship. Because parents can have friends too!

Table for Two 

Today is:The Vigil of Pentecost
Finn is: 35 months next week
Genevieve is: 16 months next week
Mama is reading: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (I'm pretty much behind everybody on everything. I just finished Season 3 of Sherlock too. For Pete's sake, I just discovered DOCTOR WHO a few months ago. So behind.)