7QT #11 & 12 Combined + a Bonus.

7 Quick Takes here with Jen from Conversiondiary!  

So I’m combining the past two weeks into my quick takes. I had the first half of the previous week’s takes written out, and before I could finish, my family’s needs took priority. I spent the weekend in between this week and the last cleaning up the bodily fluids of my children. Oh, don’t worry, I won’t leave you in the dark on the details!

-1-

This week and last is best summed up by the image of me sitting in our recliner, trying to nurse my almost 6 month old and rock him to sleep while he, with this newfound enjoyment of rolling around on the floor, had other ideas:
Looking down with distress at Collin, I crazily wished it was acceptable for me to be the one expressing my frustration by doing the crocodile roll in my own lap.

-2-

FYI, cutting hair shorter actually seems to make the postpartum hair loss more noticeable because the lost strands do not remain entangled in the nest of long, attached hair anymore; now it freely falls onto EVERYTHING. My pillow needs lint-rolled. I feel like my parent’s late Australian Shepard who would lean against the foot of the couch and walk its length, leaving a thick trail of animal hair coating the fabric, which required a thrice-over of the vacuum hose.
So when I’m having a frustrated week (or two), a few strands of my own hair seize the day by detaching and taking delight in clinging to the backs of my arms, successfully sending me over the edge as I’m holding the baby who is eagerly grabbing the sippy cup full of watered down juice I’m trying to hurriedly twist closed, but instead stripping the threading while slopping its contents all over creation. Ahh, thank you, hateful little hairs: a spiderweb sensation is the cherry on top of my stupid sundae of vexation.

-3-

Look at this beaut I posted on Instagram yesterday, of Daffodils from my Momma, sitting on my kitchen sink:

While the focus is clearly on the flowers, someone who doesn’t know I’m currently doing the wounded soldier crawl out of Bare Minimum Mode may try to imagine the rest of my kitchen beyond the flowers:  Clean. Sparkling. Tidy.

Well….

Not exactly.  And I like to consider this not too shabby. HELLO CLUTTERFEST.  No, I’m not being deceitful with my first picture, I just know how to take a photograph.

-4-

Apparently, stomach bugs like to set up shop and discothèque for up to two weeks.

The weather was nice last weekend so we decided to get out. I had a few baby outfits that I wished to exchange at a baby boutique and afterward, we planned to stop at a playground to let the oldest boys exhaust themselves.
It all came to a halt as I turned around in the car to ask our oldest boy how his french fries tasted, noticed he hadn’t touched them, and his response was “my tummy doesn’t feel so– BLARRRRRHGHGHGHH!”

And that counts as the first, official in-car projectile vomit.

…followed by a week of uncontrollable Hershey Squirts.

-5-

If you’ve never seen the above Toy Story Disney Short, go. right now. “IT’S THE PERFECT STORRRRRM!”

–6-

Collin has VSD: Ventricular Septal Defect. It’s a hole in the septum (the central wall) of his heart. There are many people and children with VSD. It is a common uncommon heart defect. The location of Collin’s hole is the more sensitive issue, however. The hole is located much higher up than the “normal” septal holes, closer to the valves which separate the upper chambers from the lower.
Our cardiologist has informed us that there is a %10 chance that his heart may heal on its own. We went for a 6 month cardiology checkup Monday of this week, and his hole is still present. We must go back in 6 months and, if the hole has not closed up, Collin will be sedated and given another sonogram.
We pray for the %10.

-7-

Fun fact: We seriously considered giving Collin the first name of Hemingway. And by “we”, I mean “I”. And this fact may not be very fun to my parents and in-laws who don’t care for eccentric names, now that I think about it… we didn’t choose it, calm thyself! We had John Paul picked out for his middle name before we’d decided on his first name (For those of you who don’t know, John Paul II, or Karol Wojtyla, is a patron of mine and is as dear to me as a grandfather). I concluded that Hemingway John Paul Svellinger wasn’t quite long enough of a name.  Go all the way or not at all, you know? So Collin it is.

_________________________

As an aside: Being at the hospital yesterday, we saw many sick children present; some in wheelchairs, some unable to get up and play. I know VSD is a blessing compared to other childhood illnesses. I know this, especially having a cousin who recently conquered the Osteosarcoma in her leg! This is a blessing because my heart feels more compassionately for children who are sick or impaired. Selfish being that I am, it’s always like, “Oh, thats so sad! I’ll pray!” And I do, but I don’t usually trouble myself to think further about the stresses the parents must feel, or the stresses the child him/herself must be experiencing, and to pray for those aspects as well.

I take n’ tell yeh! Children are sanctifying!

-Bonus Take #8-

All that griping and then I see this on Twitter. Not that I don’t already know this, but a week like this one, and I lose sight, and begin to wallow in my woes.

I missed you all last week!  How was your week? Any griping?