Quick Takes Friday

~ 1 ~

Yesterday, I french-braided MRD's hair!!  I have always been really lame at doing hair.  My hair is--well, a whole lot of nothing, and for my whole life it has been my nemesis. :)  I love french braids, but I have never had the patience to do them.  And yesterday I just did it!  It really turned out pretty good too!  Talk about a small success! :)

~ 2 ~

Last week I went to the doctor because I have been feeling quite bad lately.  Tired, headache all the time, random parts hurting, did I mention tired?  I was so thinking that she was going to laugh and say "Welcome to middle age, honey!"  But it turned out that my blood pressure was incredibly high--higher than ever, even during my pregnancies. 

The doctor told me to cut down on sodium, cut out caffeine, and take a walk daily.  (Oh yeah, I remember exercise...)  Not a huge crash diet, not an intense workout regime--just walk every day and cut out the venti lattes.  Imagine that.  And you know what?  I have, and I feel great already. 

~ 3 ~

MPD is really starting to talk!  Our sweet little guy says ma ma (of course), da (of course, again), more, all done, bye bye, uh-oh (he loves that one!), ball, milk (sort of), hot, and other words that I can't think of right now.  We have also been baby signing just a tiny bit with him--I've always wanted to do this with my babies, but he's the first one for whom I really stuck with it--and he can sign "more" and "all done."  It is so cute!  Also, of course, he understands just about everything we say, it seems.  I love this sweet age, and he is also getting quite feisty and strong-willed, which means he fits right in around here of course!

He also LOVES doggies, and whenever he sees one, he barks at them.  It is such a crack-up! 

~ 4 ~

Alert the media:  This week I made a dinner that every single member of my family loved and asked for second (or more) helpings.  It is hard to please 100% of the crowd at any given meal around here!  It was my mom's old recipe for King Ranch Chicken, which I served with rice and fruit.  When I was growing up, we always loved it too (except I remember it was always a bit too spicy, but I used mild instead of spicy tomatoes, so it wasn't.).  Of course, I had to only have a small taste, now that I'm limiting my sodium. :)

~ 5 ~

Yesterday, both older boys got buzz cuts.  WWD always gets one--the shorter the better for that guy--but it was JPD's first real buzz.  He closed his eyes for the front to get cut, then when he opened them and saw himself, he said "I look just like W!!"  So cute.

~ 6 ~

WWD's summer basketball finished up this week.  I must say that we are so proud of him!  He has worked hard and really built his ball-handling, shooting, and overall game skills so much.  He even scored, like, over 20 points per game in the last few games!  The coach and some of the other parents even mentioned to Bill at the last game how good WWD is looking on the court.  Sssssh--I can't let him read this or he'll never have any humility! :)  Bill tells him to be like Larry Byrd--no showboating, all business on the court.

~ 7 ~

Did you know that it is Natural Family Planning Awareness Week?  Check it out!  There's also an NFP link on my sidebar-----------------> I have only recently really learned what NFP is all about, and I must say that I find it downright amazing!  Who knew that you actually can pinpoint when you are ovulating--so there is no need to pump your body full of loads of hormones, or use artificial methods to distort the true meaning of marital love?  :)  And it works for getting pregnant as well as for not getting pregnant!  As you might have guessed, I am hardly an NFP expert, since I've never actually used it, but I think it is really cool, and I think everyone should know about it.  A little sex education that could do us some good, I say!