7 quick takes friday (vol. 11)

10:49 p.m., Thursday evening

In an effort to get a headstart on the weekend, I’m posting my Friday “quick takes” an hour early. It’s already Friday in some places, after all…

—1—

FABULOUS ‘FOUR EYES’: Last week, our middle child ended up in the E.R. on her birthday to deal with a fairly severe headache. Some suspected a migraine, but I really wondered if that was it. We were advised to have her eyes checked. Today, we walked into the eye-doctor’s office to have her new specs fitted. At her age, I dreamed of having glasses. Everyone else was getting them, including my big sister who unfairly always got all the “firsts.” I’ve never been granted my wish (and have been thankful many times over), but today, my daughter became the first of our five to have “four eyes.” We think she’s awfully cute, and the shock of needing glasses quickly wore off when she called her longtime friend (they were babies together in our old neighborhood) to share the news. There are few unexpected changes in life that can’t be tolerated better when shared with a good friend, wouldn’t you agree?

—2—

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Speaking of friendships, I have loved, loved, loved the way my mornings have started this week. After nursing our old-age injuries over the last couple months, my two girlfriends who double as morning walking partners and I started back on our routine, and what a perfect week to begin our jaunts through the neighborhoods. Being in the company of good friends is THE best way to start the day, methinks.

All this leads to the quote of the week. Usually, my kids provide the quotes for Peace Garden Mama, but this time, it was one of the walking gals who gave it up. It went something like this:

Me: “So, my computer guy called. It doesn’t look good. Apparently, my motherboard is leaking.”

Walking Friend: “That sounds like a breastfeeding issue to me!”

—3—

PAINTING PROJECT: Well, call me crazy, but I’m taking on the task of painting our kids’ rooms this month. I promised them we’d do this the year we moved in and that was three years ago. So, I’m not so much a zealous overachiever as a slacker mom who is finally getting around to keeping her word. (Okay, so I’ve been a little busy and we had a toddler the year we moved in…) I even let the kids pick out the colors:

–4–

FUN WEBSITE FOR CHILDER’S AUTHORS: I haven’t had a chance to peruse this thoroughly yet, but I was “Twittered” by the creator of this website and it looks fun and informative. Plus, it’s headed by a feisty bookworm with sizable muscles. Those who write for children (or are interested in doing so) might find some helpful tidbits within.

–5–

PRETTY PURPLE FLOWERS: I stopped to capture these pretty purple flowers in my yard this afternoon…

“There are philosophies as varied as the flowers of the field,
and some of them weeds and a few of them poisonous weeds.
But none of them create the psychological conditions
in which I first saw, or desired to see, the flower.” — G.K. Chesterton

–6–

PARTY IN THE STREET: The very best thing about living in a cul-de-sac (besides the snow mountain that appears in the middle of it every winter) is that your neighborhood can have a party in the street. And that’s just what we did earlier this week (read about it here). Note the extremely dirty feet of my youngest. You should have seen the bath water that evening!

–7–

“ARE YOU MY MOMMY?“

One of the dangers of summertime is that kids are exposed to all kinds of unexpected learning moments, including the sad knowledge that some little birdies are abandoned and can’t fly well enough to make it out in the tough, old world. My daughters named this little hopper “Pochy,” and begged me to keep it as a pet. How do you let them down gently without appearing inhumane? I was just like they are, after all, when I was their age. I’m just praying that the squished bird I saw at the end of the neighbor’s driveway a few hours after I took this shot of them making friends with the little critter wasn’t the one and only “Pochy.” (Truth be told, Pochy hasn’t been seen since. Just don’t mention this to my kids, please!)

Thanks for reading. For more “quick takes,” visit Conversion Diary.

Have a wild, wonderful weekend!