Seven Quick Takes on Friday--volume 80

One.

Apparently, getting her "Small Successes" post done was not among Danielle Bean's successes this week, and please, I really love Danielle Bean, so I am not being snide in any way!  I kept trying to link my post to hers yesterday on Faith & Family Live, and it never came!  It is consoling to know that even Catholic blogging-mama icons like Mrs. Bean sometimes have the problem of life getting in the way of blogging! 

Two.

Gabriel lost a front baby tooth yesterday.  It was a little loose, with the adult tooth coming in just behind it (my children have unfortunately inherited genes from their mother, who wore orthodontic braces for four years), and I had even asked the dentist this week about whether he might need to pull the baby teeth since the adult ones were not exactly beneath them to push them out.  He said it wasn't necessary.  Well, apparently Sebastian was able to assist in a way only an older brother can:  he accidentally kicked Gabe in the mouth in the course of their typical rough play, and knocked it clean out of his mouth.  They actually had to search for the tooth.  I am so grateful that it is not an adult tooth...

Three.

Speaking of front baby teeth, Gemma is just getting in the same tooth that Gabriel just lost (funny, that; and they have a link in another way, too.  His name is Gabriel Elias and hers is Gemma Eliana, so they share initials, and they are both named for Passionist saints).  Gemma's teething is not a problem during the day.  She is busy learning to crawl on hands and knees and pulling up on the coffee table, and she doesn't drool too much, either.  But at night...I think I nursed her five times last night.  

Four.

As I type this, the sky is dark and we are having one of those wonderful spring showers that go from light to heavy and back and forth again.  However, the weather on my desktop says "mostly sunny."  I haven't seen the sun at all today.  So much for hanging out the diapers on the line.  Truly, I am city-born and bred, and I never thought I could love living in the sticks so much.  Last night Una and I watched as the trees twinkled with fireflies, and the bullfrogs and crickets sang.  This morning it is the sound of the rain, Daryl the rooster crowing and the bells on our cows ringing gently as they graze...

Five.

We are getting ready for Number One Son's ninth birthday tomorrow.  The boy has made it easy on me and has asked for a chocolate Bundt cake with a ganache icing.  Doesn't get much easier than that.  And this from the child who, up until he was dethroned by Dominic, took the prize for Most Difficult and Demanding Child.  Anyway, I have a few gifts to wrap and the cake to bake, and hopefully we can make his requested birthday dinner of spareribs tomorrow.

Six.

Look at these guys.  They drive me nuts, but at the same time, I really do like having them around. 

Seven.

Look at these guys.  They drive me nuts, but at the same time, I really do like having them around.

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