7 Quick Takes - Baby pictures! Amusing videos! Nerdiness!

So that this blog isn't just all my wacky subconscious and pregnancy whining/bragging, I'm going to be joining Jen Fulwiler at Conversion Diary for 7 quick takes on Fridays! That way I can pretend to be kinda normal-ish. (I mean, it's a facade that disappears as soon as you actually talk to me or read my stuff, but I like to pretend so I don't scare people away in the first 10 minutes.)

—1—

BABY!

These were taken at a 12 week birth-defect screening. (For those who are curious, everything came back normal. One more blood test at 16 weeks to just verify, but it looks like we have a healthy baby who will have plenty of other issues growing up with such a strange mother.) They had a bit of trouble, because while the baby was in the right position, the silly child kept moving around. (I can't imagine where he/she could POSSIBLY have gotten it...) During the 15 minute ultrasound, the baby waved, clapped, sucked its thumb, did barrel rolls, kicked the walls of the uterus (I think that's when this picture was taken), and...

LOOKED AT US! Isn't the baby so cute????

(Sorry, I know this was going to be a normal-ish zone, but how can you resist that?)

—2—

I'm an animal lover. I grew up with cats, birds, dogs...I even had rabbits at one point. (Remind me to tell you someday how buying one rabbit had me end up with seven. It's an amusing story.) At the moment, the current animals in my home...are two fish and a snail. Two bettas (and two tanks), and the bigger tank (and fish, strangely enough) has the snail. The blue betta and snail are Sherlock and Holmes, and the other fish (who was the replacement for a friend whose first fish I may have accidentally killed while fish sitting) is Puzzles the White. (Because his predecessor was Puzzles. Get it?) 

Anyway, I am in dire straits because I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING FURRY. (I tried petting a fish. Sherlock spazzed out (completely normal behavior, he's a weird fish) and Puzzles went where I couldn't reach.) I would get into a similar position during college, and my roommate thought I was crazy because my solution...was to watch kitten cams. 

Day old kittens in birth order!

I'd gotten out of the habit after I was home and when my roommate had cats, but I've been without access to furry creatures since September. I was getting desperate. When, lo and behold, I saw something on Facebook about Eve going into labor. (Eve is mama cat in that picture.) That was Tuesday. Pretty much ever since I have the cam going in the background. It's arranged so that I can glance at it from time to time without it interfering with work, and I occasionally get to hear kitten squeaks. THEY ARE SO CUTE. You can watch the Livestream here. 

(Also, I hope that my labor is as easy as Eve's. Five kittens in four hours and she never screamed, just purred the entire time.)

(Although I am VERY glad I only will have one and not five children. They all seem to like the same three spots, and fights (adorable ones!) ensue.)

—3—

My husband and I watched Mr. Bean's Holiday on Wednesday night. Oh my goodness! It was so funny! I'd never really encountered Mr. Bean before I met Shane, but it is definitely worth taking a look. Family friendly fun, and it's mostly slapstick-style humor. At the end, though, I have just one word...

Oysters.

—4—

Also, just because this scene is a riot. He's stranded in this French city. His passport and wallet ended up left on a train platform. So this is his idea to acquire enough money to get to his destination.

—5—

This is turning remarkably video-heavy, but...oh well. Shane discovered this channel recently and promptly watched most of their videos. They're technically Lutheran, but this particular one is just really funny. Partially because it reminds me of a lot of our friends, who will spend quite a while debating different heresies. 

—6—

...So, as I've been getting ready for this post, I realized something that's kind of embarrassing...Jen Fulwiler doesn't actually host the linkup anymore. Oops. 

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what happens when you don't look at a thing for a month or two. (Or when you have a tendency to just binge-read mommy bloggers instead of being a normal person and checking on a regular basis.)

Anyway, it's hosted at This Ain't the Lyceum by Kelly Mantoan and has been for a while. (Since December, in fact.) 

I debated just changing the whole thing, and I opted not to for a handful of reasons. (Yay for lists inside lists!)

1. This is still a remarkably new blog, and it seems fitting that I make flubs. If I fix my flubs before anyone sees them, where's the fun? Also, it will help me learn humility. And theoretically from making the same mistake again. (That last bit is questionable.) 
2. My mom actually knows Jen. She's come for the Behold conference in Peoria (which unfortunately looks like it doesn't exist anymore), and my mom met her then. My mother has a great deal of respect for Jen, and her story, and it just seems fitting. 
3. Also, I actually saw Jen speak at a Behold conference when I was...younger. I can't remember if it was when I was 18 or 19, but it's somewhere in there. She was the keynote speaker that year. (Whenever it was.) 
4. And if you haven't read her yet...you should. She's funny and intelligent and regularly has problems with scorpions invading her house. So go read Jen and laugh so much that you forget my silly flub. 

—7—

It's May! Mary's month! Also, there's a bunch of saints whose feast days are today. I kinda wish that we didn't already have names picked out for our little munchkin, but I can always save them for future children! (For those who are reading and interested, "Caiaphas" is still off the list and will never be ON the list.) (For those who don't understand that...I can explain if you'd like. Just tell me so.)

Also, it's the end of the CCD year. Shane is (in addition to working in a high school) is a director of faith formation at a parish and I teach the ninth grade Confirmation class. (It's what happens when you marry the person in charge of CCD and they're short teachers. Also, Confirmation is a two-year class in this parish.) Anyway, their end-of-year retreat is on Sunday, and prayers for these kids would be great.

—Epilogue—

If you want to read more quick takes, you can find them over here at This Ain't the Lyceum. Go read them all!