7 Quick Tuesday Takes

It's November 8 and I haven't yet posted this month. I hate being so busy that I don't have time to sit down and write out the posts that stew in my head every day. But I do love being busy, so I really just have to work at finding a better balance.

But onto today's 7 items:

1. I keep seeing posts (usually on design blogs) about Advent calendars. Now, I grew up in a Christian home (Lutheran) and I love Christmas but I do not recall ever having an Advent calendar. In fact, I don't even understand what it is. After I post this, I'll probably go Google, "What is an advent calendar?" and then decide Nate needs one in a year or two.

2. It's a celebratory week at the Bookish Penguin household. Sunday was Buster's birthday; he turned two years old. Apparently that's some magic age for terriers and they're supposed to become significantly better behaved around then. He's better, but I don't see magic just yet. But I have hope. Tomorrow is the hubby's birthday; he'll be 32. And Thursday is Nate's half birthday; he'll be one and a half. (And next week is our third wedding anniversary. Lots to be joyous about in November.)

3. Nate sailed through Daylight Saving Time with no issues. Phew. I was seriously worried he'd be waking up at 5:30am for a week, but he hasn't seemed to notice a change. I swear, he's the best child on the planet and I thank my lucky stars for him every day.

4. Speaking of Nate, I never wrote about Halloween since I haven't written since then. Nate was a monkey (picture to follow in his 18 month post on Thursday) and charmed everyone at my dad's job, the hubby's job, my job, and my sister's in-law's house. He didn't ever say trick-or-treat, but that's okay by me. He doesn't really need to be begging for candy at one.

5. I was in a big funk on Halloween, depressed about how Nate didn't get to participate in the Halloween parade at daycare because he's not in daycare anymore and how I feel like I screw up every normal parenting experience that comes my way. Later in the day, I was met with a mom whose son was also a monkey, but she dressed up as a safari guide to match. I felt crappy because it never occurred to me to dress up at all, much less coordinate with Nate. I wonder if this is because my parents never dressed up? I've never really liked Halloween anyway. Dressing up always feels like a chore because it's not easy to find good costumes when you're overweight. There are only so many times you can hide yourself under a big black dress and call yourself a witch. So I was cranky, but Nate's cheery attitude throughout the day totally picked me up. It's right what "they" say about kids: they really can renew holidays for you. By the time we went home later, I had nearly forgotten what I was cranky about.

6. Speaking of things that make me cranky, the list of things in my life that need a serious cleaning is getting long. In size order: my dogs (both need a grooming), my car (needs a wash), my kitchen floor (is terrifying), my dining room floor (equally terrifying), my bedroom carpet (dustbunny colonies)... I'm sure there's more but that's about all my head can hold at once.

7. Sometimes I think it's a good thing that there's no Pinterest app for the iPad... or I'd probably forget to take time to breathe... but actually, Pinterest, if you're listening - iPad app, PLEASE. *twitch twitch* For me, Pinterest feels like YouTube. One day it didn't exist, then one day it did and now I can't imagine life without it.

So... how're you all? I hope you're finding the sunshine in your days.