Friday, November 25, 2016

7 Quick Takes about Seating Arrangements to Get Excited About, Being Mocked by Wild Turkeys, and What My Baby Has In Common With Crumbly Pastries

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?

1


You know you're a tired old adult when you get excited about a chair. 

Over the weekend a friend organized a trip to see a movie at a theater I'd never been to, and I was probably way too excited at seeing the gigantic leather recliners we got to sit in once we got there.

I will definitely be going there again. Even if there's not a movie playing, I'd be willing to pay $12.50 to sit in one of those again for a few hours.

2


Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful... for the long weekend that is such a good time to throw away all the crap in your house. Week Two of becoming a minimalist and it went really well.

While Phillip cooked an entire Thanksgiving feast downstairs from scratch, I sequestered myself in the kids' rooms upstairs and spent an entire morning gleefully throwing away broken Transformers, full coloring books, plastic birthday party favors, and Pokemon cards the kids haven't touched in a year.

Every now and then I'd skip downstairs with a trash bag headed to the garbage or Goodwill and tell Phillip, "I'm having such a good time!"

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
NOM NOM NOM NOM.

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
This photo might lead you to believe I wasn't in my pajamas until 5 minutes before dinner.

Dinner was wonderful, we had pumpkin pie for dessert, and the kids finished off the night by playing tag outside in the dark with some glow sticks left over from Halloween. They loved that part so much I think we just might make it a yearly thing.

3


On the way home from the grocery store:

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

This was the end of a line of 16 turkeys crossing the road.

I think they did it just to taunt me because I'd literally just gotten back from buying a Thanksgiving turkey.

Had I but known, I could've just gone easy on the brakes and had myself a few free turkeys! They'd have been fresher than the one in the trunk that had probably been sitting frozen in the Jennie-O warehouse since March, too.

4


I realize this is a little late, but keep in mind for next year, vegetarians:

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}
Apple, candy corn, raisins, toothpicks, and a ton of marshmallows equals turkey.

Because tofurkys are weird.

5


In other food-related news, I'm now putting Crisco on my baby.

I've had other kids with eczema before, but as the weather turned colder a few weeks ago his previously smooth skin exploded into the worst flare-up I've ever seen. We've tried lots of things (up to and including processed vegetable shortening) but so far, he's still red and itchy.

Any suggestions? Slathering him in Crisco seems like it's at least keeping it from getting worse, but it also makes me feel like I'm getting him ready to pop in the oven.

6


My kids were pretty excited to watch Sound of Music for the first time. In fact, they were getting so excited I was worried it wasn't going to live up to their hype. Trying to tamp down their enthusiasm I said, "Now remember, this is an old movie and-"

"We know, they didn't have action back then," one of the kids finished for me.

Well, sort of.

Other notable moments from our viewing:

  • 10-year-old asking, "Why isn't anybody on the bus looking at her? Did people just randomly burst into song a lot more back then?"
  • The kids guessing why the Von Trapp family needed a governess: "The guy hates people and the kids are really bad. Well, bad for back then. Now they'd probably seem pretty good."
  • When Maria went back to the abbey and asked Revered Mother for advice, which she gave by turning to the window and singing; the kids thought it would be hilarious if on Sunday, we went in to get some spiritual guidance from our bishop and he did the same thing.
Also, when the Von Trapp family finished singing at the concert, my daughter gave them a slow clap.

7


Looking ahead, December is coming! I hope that in all the busyness of the month we never get too busy to help another person out.

Here's a short video about this year's #LIGHTtheWORLD campaign, and mark your calendar so you can do something (big or small) for someone on December 1st:


You can find a few easy ideas in this free download (created by yours truly for a church activity last week). What are your favorite small and simple ways to help somebody else out?

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24 comments:

Ann-Marie Ulczynski said...

Mary Kay extra emollient night cream is my go to for anything skin related. It feels a lot like Crisco.

Unknown said...

I think every kid's skin cooperates best with something different. First make sure you are using scent and dye free detergent, change to a different shampoo. I had a kid that did great with the Aveeno eczema, but it does nothing for my 2-year-old. She does best with Eucerin Baby eczema or Cortizone eczema.( Ithink it is a pretty new product.) I tried coconut oil on her and she woke up the next day with it twice as bad, but some people swear by it!

The Not So Perfect Catholic said...

I completely forgot about The Sound of Music on Thanksgiving! I have it on dvd, so I'm putting that on my list for today!!! Love your kids' comments! :)
Our theater has those nice seats. The only problem is that, unless it's a really good movie, it will put me right to sleep. ;)
A husband who cooks? HEAVEN. I wouldn't know. My husband's idea of cooking is using his plastic to buy a meal.
Looks like you had a good Thanksgiving!

The Not So Perfect Catholic said...

I forgot to mention: #Lighttheworld campaign is a GREAT idea! :)

Anna said...

I laughed out loud at my desk about popping the baby in the oven. I've never tried Crisco, but my personal favourite is coconut oil because then the baby smells like a pina colada.

The slow clap got me, too. My husband's never seen The Sound of Music so in ten years when the kids are old enough we'll have to do a family viewing of it, too.

Jenny Evans (sister, not author) said...

Loved the kiddos reactions to the movie . . . I can picture the 10-year-old's voice as they say it. And baby is getting so big!!!

Rachel said...

I absolutely love your glee over decluttering. It's the best, isn't it?

PurpleSlob said...

Too bad those turkeys mocked you. I would have made them pay up! LOL I wish I had your decluttering glee!
What is "Pay fast offering"? I love the LightTheWorld. Never heard of it before, but wonderful idea!!

Crystal Green from Sharing Life's Moments said...

I love those ideas for making someone else's day special. I do compliment strangers quite often. It sounds like you had a fun Thanksgiving.

Jenny Evans said...

I think this is the first year they've done #LIGHTtheWORLD. Hope you can join in!

I made that handout for a church activity so there is a little Mormon-speak in there, sorry about that. Once a month we don't eat two meals and then donate the monetary value (or more, if we're able) of those skipped meals to help needy people in our ward pay bills or buy food - that money is called fast offering. If there's more money than is needed in our congregation, the money gets sent to church headquarters to be distributed to other congregations in the world that have more needs than they can cover locally.

Jenny Evans said...

Someone online said that their $100 cream has the exact same ingredients as Crisco, so I might believe that!

Jenny Evans said...

I've seen that with my other kids - products that work for one do nothing for the other. His skin seems a lot better today, and part of the reason (I think) is that we have him sleeping with a humidifier now.

Jenny Evans said...

Maybe I'm guilty of worse-case scenario thinking, but I keep wondering "What if I do that and then find out the baby is allergic to coconut??"

Jenny Evans said...

YES.

Laurie said...

In the LDS (Mormon) church, the members are encouraged to fast (refrain from food or drink) for two meals on the first Sunday of the month and take the money they would have used to buy food and donate it as a "fast offering". The fast offering money can be used to help local needs, or if there is a surplus, it can be put to use anywhere in the world to help in the church's charitable efforts. Members are encouraged to be generous in this offering. I find for me, it really does make a person feel great to intentionally donate money to feed the hungry on a monthly basis.

AnneMarie said...

Haha! That line of turkeys is hilarious.
I'm glad you introduced your children to The Sound of Music! That's such a great movie :) The book is really interesting, too-it covers what happened to the family when they moved to America.

Anonymous said...

If the eczema gets too bad, we ask the pediatrician for a prescription for Triamcinolone. Otherwise Equate Moisture Care Advanced Recovery body lotion from Wal-Mart is the go to for our kids. It's fragrance free, contains petroleum jelly and is cheap!

Jenny Evans said...

We should actually read it together. We live in New England so it's got a local connection (I think the family ended up in Vermont if I remember right.)

Queen Mom Jen said...

I wouldn't have messed with those turkeys. They look like they were kind of upset that you were EATING Uncle John for the holidays.... Welcome to the holidays :)

Crystal said...

Maybe try hydrocortisone? You've probably already done that though. It helped my son's mild eczema after awhile of using it. And dude, my kids think black and white movies are from the 90's. Because I'm really old now.

The Rambler said...

Loved the kids take on The Sound of Music. Slow clap. Hahahahaha, THAT was funny! =) Hope your little one's flare up gets better! Those turkeys were lucky. haha. #happynowlinkup.

Unknown said...

I can't imagine having eczema so bad you're thinking about using Crisco! Thankfully Cetaphil cream always worked for us. But I have a feeling you've already tried that if you're considering crisco!

Jenny Evans said...

We got a prescription hydrocortisone cream from the pediatrician which helped, but the steroids can thin the skin if you use it too often so we're supposed to be sparing with it (and not use it on his face, where the eczema was the worst.)

My kids ask if something was "from the 1900s" like I'm some kind of ancient relic.

Jenny Evans said...

Oh, we're not just considering it, we're doing it!