Friday, August 14, 2015

7 Quick Takes about The Today Show, Improvising on the Road, and Why Housekeeping at the Residence Inn Probably Hates Us

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday!

1


Last weekend I had plans to be the fun mom by doing a water blob (see what that is here,) but then we ended up going to the emergency room instead.

My 1-year-old fell and chomped on the finger he had in his mouth, and apparently it looked way worse than it was. The doctor decided not to do stitches or glue, and said to let it heal on its own. So pretty much, we sat in the E.R. for two hours and left with a $100 Band-aid.

(P.S: This is why I superglued my own finger back together at home when I cut it with a kitchen knife a few months ago!)

On the plus side, the nurse had highly complimentary things to say about the bandaging job we did on my son's finger before coming in. I smiled and said thank you and didn't mention it was because of the practice we had when the exact same thing happened to his sister two years ago. It was the same hand and same finger, even  pretty eery. She wasn't so lucky, though, and ended up with 10 stitches.

2


It was also quite an honor to make it onto The Today Show's list of funniest parents on Facebook for last week (see #9.)

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

I choose to believe that the list is ordered randomly instead of from most to least funny, because I'm clearly the funniest.

3


My kids' favorite feature of the new grocery store we've been shopping at for the last 6 months or so is the free sample table.

They start gearing up when we round the corner of the refrigerated section: "Can we get foooooood at the foooooooood place??"

On our last trip I said yes, and then tried to dislodge my heart from my throat when we got close enough to see what the free sample was: a small plate of salad.

I think I may have experienced heart palpitations. My hands for sure got clammy. How would my kids react to salad (SALAD!) at the same place where just last week they were each given a big chocolate chip cookie?

In the most bizarre turn of events I've ever witnessed, they not only ate the salad, they also requested salad with their lunch when we got home. Cue Twilight Zone theme music.

4


My son has had his eye on this humongous Lego Minecraft set for months. He's been doing extra chores and saving like crazy, but it cost $100 and he was still only about halfway there.

Then one day he and his sister came downstairs announcing that they'd pooled their money and were ready to buy the set. They would've both been totally broke after the transaction, though, so their other sister chipped in $5.

Still not sure how this arrangement came about or who approached who with the idea, but they sure were happy to rip open the Amazon box when it arrived.


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

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

5


Since it hadn't been a full enough week already, we also drove to Washington, D.C.!

Figured out a nifty road trip hack for forgetful parents. I was planning on bringing plastic cups for each kid for snacks, and of course brought things like berries that required individual cups. And then I forgot the cups.

But Phillip remembered that you could make one from a piece of paper! So not only did we get to eat our snacks after all, the kids stayed occupied for a few extra minutes looking up directions on Phillip's phone, following them, and marveling over how cool it was that you could make a cup from a flat piece of paper.

Got to remember that one for future reference.


6


Phillip and I have been to D.C. before by ourselves (well, we did have one baby with us but when you're used to 5 kids that's the functional equivalent of being alone) and I've always wanted to take the whole family there.

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


Most of the time I was either thinking, "This is the best vacation ever!" as my children got along and skipped among the monuments holding hands, or "Why did we ever think it was a good idea to come here?!" as I chased my overtired toddler around the Smithsonian while frantically doing head counts and trying to keep us all together.

(Despite my best efforts, we still may have had to find a museum employee to ask where they keep the lost preschoolers.)

7


I'll put more details about our trip on the blog in the next week or so, but this picture should pretty much sum it up for you.

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


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8 comments:

Emily said...

Just don't tell the kids that salad is healthy! Wait until they figure it out on their own ;)

Jenny said...

You're a fun mom for packing them all up and going! I would have loved that.

Salad, my four year old would have turned her nose up at the thought of it. The two year old probably would have at least tried it. Good for your kids for asking for it at lunch!

Unknown said...

Awesome note you left for housekeeping! I may or may not have had to do similar (or tell them at the desk) when Dietrich was younger, before knowing about his egg allergy.

Mrs. Amen said...

Salad is just about the only thing my 3yo will eat these days. Great, but annoying. Your funny on the Today Show list was spectacular! That's exactly what I expect to have happen at my house one of these days.

Jenny Evans said...

A friend just told me about the Guided Access feature... would've been nice to know about!!

Rachel said...

You guys always seem to have the most adventurous weeks. It was after a $500 trip to the E.R. for superglue for me after a fall that my mom decided to henceforth become the superglue doctor herself. Stitches, though, she still had to take us in for.

Anonymous said...

Jenny, I'm so glad I got to know you. Your life makes my weekends with my 2 yr old grand baby seem so much more peaceful! Thanks!
Congrats on making the funniest list. And you ARE the funniest!
Melinda

Unknown said...

I definitely agree on the 'functional equivalent of alone' I once went to Wal-mart and my friend back at the hotel waiting for Tide to wash our girls' softball uniform called to make sure i was okay. I apologized and said it had just been so long since I had been at Wal-mart alone that I started to wander a little. She got a little panicky and asked, "But you have your baby, don't you?" I did. Same baby one year later, same softball tourney, different location, threw up a dozen times in the hotel room.