Quick Takes Friday

It's been a week...here's what we've got going on:

1.  After a couple of weeks of sickness, dare I say that we are getting back to some semblance of order?
I could say that.  But then I also should mention that tonight, Liam, who is on day 9 of a 10 day antibiotic, complained that one of his ears is bothering him.  His ear appeared red and was warm to the touch.  If Liam is actually complaining, then I know it's for real...because that boy has some badass pain tolerance.   So I will give a quick call to our pediatrician tomorrow, just to update them and see if we need to bring Liam in for a check or wait a few days.  For tonight, it's ibuprofen to the rescue!

2.  Michael has his testing for Kindergarten at our local public school on Monday morning at 9:45am.  I am excited for him but also in a state of disbelief that my very first baby is going to turn 5 in June and be off to school (full day BTW) in September!!

3.  Chloe has started to say a few words which is exciting and lots of fun.  Some of her words are: Mama, Dada, waffle, bye-bye, uh-oh, juice, cracker.  She also says "tissue" as a result of all the recent tissue use.  And if I start counting for (as in, a timeout warning), after I say "One", Chloe chimes in "dooooo" (two).  I love hearing her try out different sounds :)

4. The IRS has provided us with an "April Fools" joke of the worst kind.  We have our taxes down by an accountant and our return this year is quite nice (thanks to 3 children and unemployment).  Then when the money was auto-deposited into our account, it was over by about $1100.  Then we got a letter from the IRS saying that our tax return was wrong and we are supposed to have this "extra".  I found it odd that our accountant made such a sizable error and was skeptical.  That was at the end of March.  Last Monday, we got a letter stating that the "extra" was not really ours and that the tax return was correct as originally submitted.  So now I have to send back the money....BOOOOO!  I think we should get to keep it- I need a new washer and a new fridge!!  Which is what we were planning to buy until Uncle Sam snatched it from my kung fu grip.  Sorry economy, you will not be stimulated by us this month (or any time soon!).

5.  Because I was finishing up another book, I have not yet started reading my new book, courtesy of Kelsey's giveaway!  I am really excited to read it!! Will be started in the next couple of days for sure :)

6.  Despite my overall feelings of contentment about our family, I am still plagued by baby thoughts.  When does that go away?  Does it EVER go away?  We have no business even entertaining the thought of another child because of our finances/lack of jobs/etc.  I wish that logic or common sense would kick in and solve this for me.

7.  On a real downer note, related to my struggle with Catholicism in light of the abuse scandal...I found out that the former pastor of our parish had an abuse claim brought against him.  Something that happened 40 years ago (not at our parish).  This is the priest who performed our wedding ceremony...so creepy.  Supposedly, it was just that incident but seriously?  I'm just waiting for the other stories to come out, probably involving families in my parish.  Horrible...I'm still at a loss- this topic needs it's own post.  It sounds cheesy to say that my church really is a spiritual home for me but it IS.  It's more than just recited prayers and rituals.  That's why this is such a struggle for me.  To be continued...

8.  I really need the winterish weather to GO AWAY already!!  I need warmth and spring breezes! Not this cold, damp, rainy Friday that is a real bummer.  Thankfully, I was pretty busy so I didn't let it get to me as I normally would.  It is supposed to warm  up this weekend and be close to EIGHTY degrees on Monday.  I plan to enjoy it!

Hope you have some fun plans too :)