Quick Takes Friday

1-
Hubby had his 32nd birthday this week. He also had to carry mail on his birthday, and my aunt and uncle came into town for a visit, so my surprise for him was limited to making a carrot cake in the morning, and having it on the table when he walked in the door for his 30 minute lunch break. Because I got started on the cake later than I should have, it wasn't completely cool when hubby called to give me a 20 minute warning, so the frosting looked really bad (lots of crumbs). So, for the second year running, I pulled out some Halloween themed sprinkles to cover up the bad looking frosting. I chose grey and black headstones with purple sprinkles. It looks like next year, I need to make a cake with a non-white frosting so that I can use that last section of the can, white ghosts. My aunt thought that it was mean of me to put headstones on his cake before he turns 50. It's really not MY fault that his birthday is so conveniently close to Halloween!

2-
My aunt that was visiting is my mom's sister. It is kind of funny how much they are alike in many ways, since they have lived on opposite sides of the country for their adult lives (my parents have been in Colorado for over 30 years, and my aunt and uncle have lived in Ohio their entire lives.) There are also a lot of differences, but mostly due to the fact that my aunt is very religious (my uncle is a retired Methodist pastor) and my mom is not very religious at all. It makes a big difference in life.

3-
We seem to be passing a cold back and forth in our family, and back and forth with my in-laws as well. I was feeling pretty awful on Saturday and Sunday, but have been getting better all week (I still have a hacking cough) but Charlotte seems to be the one down with it now...she was really hacking all day yesterday, and seems to be a little tired and cranky. It is always hard to tell when that kid is sick though, because she never stops, and nothing really slows her down (for instance, when she broke her arm, she didn't really seem too hurt, but hubby noticed that she was favoring the other arm.)

4-
38 more days until hubby is unemployed. I'm getting a little excited, and a little nervous. Of course, that means that we only have eight days left before our target date to list the house. Not completely sure we'll meet our goal, but we are getting closer. I have the bathroom, the girls room and our bedroom all ready to stage (I know what needs to go away in each room before showings) I'm getting closer on the living room/dining room and kitchen...I have a long way to go yet on the laundry room. I haven't started the outdoor staging.

5-
It's been snowing the last two days...yuck! I'm glad that hubby took the time on Sunday and Monday to finish up the outdoor painting...other than the doors, which we haven't totally decided what to do with yet. We are thinking of painting them a slate gray color, but I guess we'd have to have some good weather to get that done!

6-
Because of the snow, school was cancelled in all of the little towns around here yesterday. Because the schools were canceled, so was story time at the library, which bummed Eva out a little bit. But, since Charlotte has been coughing so much, she's not going to her coop preschool class this morning, which is a bummer, because they will be doing something with orange paint...and I don't do very many painting activities (too much cleanup!) with the girls here.

7-
Speaking of school...my mom and my dad are both school teachers, my aunt and my uncle are both former school teachers. My grandma worked in the library at a school...I'm guessing there are educators further back in my family, too. One of my mom's not so great traits that my aunt shares is a strong bewilderment and disapproval of my homeschooling. Not to say that they MEAN to be disapproving, but they both think it is a phase I am going through, and while both my aunt and my mom bring me curriculum stuff when they visit, they just can't help themselves to open up their mouths (sometimes right in front of Eva) and state their opinions that I must be nuts to home school, and that living in a rural community that is relatively free of crime, I have no real reason I could possibly WANT to home school. Of course, then later in the conversations it will turn to many good reasons to avoid institutional schools, such as a college that has taken a dorm that was not in use and turned it into a sort of quarantine dorm for students with the swine flu...

Well, I guess I might need to go check on my little coughing girls! More quick takes (as always) at Conversion Diary!