7 Quick Takes Friday

Thanks, as always, to Jen.

1. We apparently had a small visitor in our home last night. Collin woke me up to tell me that he'd caught a baby lizard, and did I want to see it? I was still half-asleep and mumbled that I'd rather not, then went back to sleep. Apparently he did show the kids, because the first thing Elanor asked this morning was, "Where's the baby lizard?" I explained that Daddy had put it outside so it could be with its mommy and daddy. Her reply was, "Let's go look for them!" In lieu of that, I promised her we'd go to the local library this weekend and find some books about lizards. She seems excited about that. Perhaps I have a future herpetologist on my hands! (Yes, I had to Google that.)

2. In homebuying news, we're going out with a realtor on Sunday to look at some potential houses. It doesn't seem likely that we'll be able to buy the house we're currently living in, which is a disappointment -- I really didn't want to move again, especially not while pregnant. But owning our own home takes precedence, and what we've seen online in our price range so far looks promising. There's one house I'm particularly excited to see -- it's only a few blocks from the public library, and it has a gas fireplace! I've always wanted to have a fireplace. Kind of silly in Arizona, I suppose, but winter evenings here can be cool.

3. Speaking of the weather, the high today is only 103! That's a pleasant change from the 110-115 degree temps we've had the last few weeks.

4. The kids and I had a good time shopping last weekend. I had a book to return to Barnes & Noble, and we stayed there looking at books and playing with train table for a while. They both were well-behaved so they each got a treat; Elanor picked out a stuffed elephant and William got a new book, The Berenstain Bears and Baby Makes Five (Mommy picked it out for him). After that, we went to Saver's. I got four pairs of maternity pants, four maternity shirts, and six gender-neutral baby outfits, all for less than $40! Our last stop was Wal-Mart, where we got the van's oil changed and picked up some groceries. I was absolutely exhausted when we got home, but it was fun.

5. While at Wal-Mart, I picked up "Horton Hears a Who" for the kids. What a fun movie! Elanor loves it too -- she's always acting out parts of the movie with her stuffed elephant and kangaroo. Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, and Carol Burnett all do an excellent job. It has a great pro-life message, too -- "A person's a person no matter how small."

6. My goal for tomorrow is to tackle Mt. Laundry. I can't see the bedroom floor anymore because of the layers of dirty clothes. Maybe I'll get ambitious and clean up the living room, too.

7. Our church has a gorgeous new crucifix. I'm going to try and remember to take a picture of it this weekend, and if I do I'll post it here. It's simply stunning.

Well, ciao!