— 1 —

I finally got my abortion post up yesterday. (On Abortion: Paul Ryan and Two Simple Questions) You know, that one I was trying to write three weeks ago when my 3-year-old thwarted my efforts, pushing me over the edge and into anger-induced, flabby laps across the backyard to blow off steam? The crabbiness of the event lingered, attaching itself to the piece, so I stepped away from it for a week or so. Then I opened it up and tweaked, and waited, and tweaked some more, and then I finally just said to myself, “Enough! Post the thing already!” It’s a brilliant method of writing, don’t you think?

— 2 —

As I did last week, I’d like to pause for a moment to recognize those killed in the horrible fighting in Egypt. And, sadly, those who were killed by or who are suffering the effects of the chemical attack(s) in Syria. I hope you’ll join me in praying for these and other victims of violence, wherever they may be.

— 3 —

I normally try to share a couple of compelling/interesting/challenging NPR segments from my weekly kitchen listening, but this week I don’t have much to offer you in that department. I haven’t been listening to the radio as much lately and it seems like whenever I do turn it on, they’re talking about Bradley Manning. I am so tired of Bradley Manning…

But I do have one sweet little segment to share with you. Nice and sweet – Journey Of The Ring: Lost In WWII, Now Back With POW’s Son. Enjoy!

— 4 —

We have a pretty large house and one of the questions I get most frequently about it is, “How do you keep it clean?” The honest answer is: I don’t. We pretty much only clean when we’re expecting company. I wish that were an exaggeration, but it’s not.

Until a couple of months ago, I did a decently good job of keeping the house (or at least the main floor) tidy – toys picked up, dishes done, etc. (And we all know there’s a big difference between tidy and clean, right?) But since summer hit, all bets have been off: bags lying around partially unpacked for weeks, papers (And receipts! Why are there always so many stupid receipts?!) piling up on every kitchen surface, ever-growing seas of dusty toys lodged under the sofas, and an ever-present mix of more and more toys waiting around to be stepped on.

It’s gotten really bad.

But. Last weekend we had a party at our house for my husband’s friends. So we cleaned. Or rather, Brennan cleaned. (He’s good at it.) I tidied. (I’m good at that.) We got the house looking pretty darned good. And like I do every time our house looks nice from hosting a party, I said to myself, “I’m never going to let the house get dirty, ever again.”

Um… need I spell out what happened next?

— 5 —

I rarely run out of things to say, so I’m always like, “Seven Quick Takes? How about a dozen? Haha!” But this week, I’m running through what we did, what I thought, what interested me, and… coming up short. Hm.

— 6 —

How about some funny sayings from my 3-year-old? Will that do?

One morning after he ran onto the porch, stopped in the doorway, and ran back in: “Da sun said, You weady to come outside? I said, nope! I need some cwoves!” (clothes)

Another morning, he kept pointing at the top of the previous night’s pizza box and repeatedly shout/asked, “What dem goin’ have for bweakfast?!” When I finally realized he was talking about the drawings of two people on the box, I told him, “They’re just drawings. Why don’t you imagine what they’re going to have for breakfast?” He replied, “Wine. Dem goin’ have wine.” (I swear he does not know that by example!)

One evening when I told Brennan that our little guy been a good boy that day, he told his father that “Mommy was a good boy too.”

One meal when he was messing around and caused his cup to fall off the table (a perpetual problem in our household), I told him, “You are not allowed to drop your cup off the table! Do Daddy and I drop our cups off the table?” He replied, “But we’re boys! We wash our hands and bwush our teef every night!” (Perfect logic, hm?)

One afternoon, I put him in time-out for throwing a train at his little brother’s head. (His aim is good.) As usual, I had him apologize when I brought him out of time-out. But as I was walking away, I heard him tell his brother, “I so NOT sowwy, Jude.”

Now that I think about it, these lines represent the arc of our week pretty well. Monday and Tuesday, the boys were really good, oh-my-goodness-my-children-are-so-good good. And sweet and gentle… And then? Wednesday and Thursday hit along with a big dose of Bad Boy for the older one, at least. By Thursday evening I was sorely tempted to throw them in the car and just drive and drive and ignore everything (including their yelling and whining and roars) but the road. No destination in mind. How will Friday end up? It didn’t start so well, but my threat to the bigger boy that he’d be spending the day in bed if he didn’t shape up seems to be bearing fruit. So far. We’ll see!

— 7 —

Number 5 aside, I purposefully saved the best news for last: On Wednesday afternoon my best friend Catey and her husband Eric welcomed their newest bundle of joy into the world. Little Owen Casimir Williams weighed in at a lucky 7lbs, 11 oz. (I say lucky because 7/11 happens to be my anniversary.) He and his lovely Mommy appear to be doing well. Welcome to the world, little O! We’re so happy you’re here!

 

Now, go see Jen and all the rest of the Quick Takes crew!