Wherein I blab about the weather and business suits

Rosie had her first honest-to-goodness cold. She's had sniffles before, but Monday she had a cough and that night she had a fever. She even did that thing where she was looking beyond you instead of at you - just kind of blank and unfocused. It was a bit unsettling. But she slept in and I guess got enough rest that her fever broke, though her cough was still here all day.

This makes me even happier that my mom was able to come over at the last minute to watch the kiddos Monday afternoon so I didn't have to take them out in the cold with me while I ran errands. It was 19 - one-nine - degrees when I checked at 9:30, and while I hate the cold, I hate taking small children out in it more.

I'd be the worst pioneer mom.

Who am I kidding, I'd be the worst pioneer. Full stop. The cold and I are not buds, and you'd better believe I would be less than thrilled at the prospect of not being able to fully thaw and get warm from October (or earlier) to April (or later).

Speaking of which...

Quick takes Friday

I think I actually (finally) didn't take a ridiculously long time writing these!

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My dad had a grandkid itch that needed scratching, so he came over to have some baby time while Nate and I got to see "Thor: The Dark World." I enjoyed it, though the movie seemed to drag until Loki (Tom Hiddleston) finally got more involved in the plot. And man, there is one GREAT cameo that would make rewatching the movie totally worth it.

Five Favorites: Pre-Baby Luxuries

Maybe I'm a little cranky because Freddy decided to wake up sca-REE-HEE-HEAming around 3 am this morning and then again at 7ish, but I spent a little bit thinking of all sorts of things I took for granted before I had kids.

1. Sleeping when I want for as long as I want

Forget just sleeping through the night - I miss being able to go to sleep late (night owl insomniac here) and sleep until I wake myself up, skip breakfast to keep sleeping, sleep sleep sleep. I lurve sleep.

I like big bundts and I cannot lie

I couldn't resist.

Anyway, I found a few cake recipes that I want to remember to try at some point, and if I put them on people's walls on facebook (or even post them directly to mine) I'm never going to find them again.

So.

Pumpkin Cake with Maple Frosting and Apple Cider Caramel

I actually have NO idea why I want to try this one so badly - I don't have a huge affinity for pumpkin or maple flavors. But something about it screams fall and I just want my house to smell like that. I asked my BIL if he'd be my guinea pig since Nate isn't a pumpkin fan, either. Perhaps I should make it to take down to my in-laws on Saturday when we go watch the 50th anniversary Doctor Who special since we don't have cable.

Five Favorites: The Zoo!

I took Freddy and Rosie to the zoo for the first time on Monday. Since it was Veteran's Day, both my dad and my FIL had the day off, so they, plus my mom, MIL, BIL, and SIL, were able to come. We would have taken advantage of the sequester to take them before it got cooler, but, well, the zoo got closed then, too. Luckily, the day was sunny and clear, even if it was chilly.

I have to say, I enjoyed the zoo much more as a parent than I have in the past as a teenager or childless adult. I mean, I've always liked seeing the animals and learning about them, but seeing the wonderment of a child is kind of awesome. That said, here are some of my favorite parts of the trip.

Veterans Day 2013

We took advantage of the day off today to take a trip to the zoo, but I want to write about something a little different on this day.

I come from a military family. I know that to most people, that means that you have a parent in one of the branches, but our family takes it to an extreme. For that matter, so does my husband's. Between the two of them, we have 11 service members that I just thought of off the top of my head, 5 of whom are either parents or siblings. Whenever we go to military concerts and the service song medley is played, I stand pretty much the whole time (I get to sit during "Semper Paratus" and, since my aunt and uncle divorced, "Anchors Aweigh"). Some are still active duty - my oldest BIL just came home in July after a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan - but all have sacrificed. My maternal grandfather sacrificed more than most.

7QT + WIWS

Is this allowed? Am I cheating? It's just been such a busy, busy few days that I didn't get a chance to really sit and write.

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My former roommate got married yesterday! Forget "What I Wore Sunday," how about "What She Wore Saturday??"

The deacon she's hugging actually baptized her. 

Priest on the left is our college chaplain. There was actually supposed to be one more, but he didn't make it for some reason.

Seriously, she looked AMAZING. The dress was simultaneously not at all what I was expecting and absolutely 100% perfect. It was a beautiful wedding, and I wish I'd seen and participated a lot more of it - I spent a good amount of time either bouncing a baby or chasing a toddler. When two people meet at a 5 am holy hour, it's going to be a prayerful Mass.

Five Favorites: Hodgepodge

Gotta do this quick, because I don't know how much longer the babies will be down and I still need to make pizza dough for tonight so it can rise, so here's a few things off the top of my head that I'm enjoying.

Googly-Eyed Storytime: How We Started Dating

I figure we can safely say that we've moved past "met" and can get into things like "relationships." No, I'm not hitting on you - I'm talking about Nate and I.

We left off previously with Nate practically proposing to me after knowing me for about a month and me sitting there anxiously trying to figure out how to get this guy out of my car so I could deal with all sorts of confusing feelings (feeeeeeeelings!), namely that this dude was nuts but that maybe it could work. Caught up? Good.

WIWS Take 1!

You know how you can guarantee awful behavior at Mass? Brag about how well they did last time.

Today was rough. The time change did a number on Freddy. By the time we hit 12:15 Mass, he was way overtired and refused to fall asleep until about 5 minutes before the final blessing. He spent most of Mass in my arms screaming or arching or otherwise making life difficult, so please don't quiz me on the readings or the homily, because I missed all of them. Rosie was a peach, though, and even though she might not have been super quiet and demure, she was at least adorable (dancing and clapping in Nate's lap during the hymns, occasionally singing and chatting in a little voice).

And since the kids were up a little earlier than normal, Nate took them on his walk with Freya so I had time to ::gasp:: take a shower and pick an outfit without any kiddos around! And, even more shocking...I kind of felt cute! What the what. So hey, why don't I actually try to take a picture for "What I Wore Sunday" link-ups?

7QT: Today, all day!

I'm sure that I could be more creative with this title, but honestly, my brain is a little fried, and it's somehow both already and only 11:00 pm. So let's get this party started!