7 Quick Takes Friday, #38

1. How many weeks ago was it that I wrote about not getting around to making the pumpkin shaped sugar cookies? 3? 4? Well, now we've gotten them made. Yesterday - 2 days before Halloween - we made our cookies. But still no frosting. It's like I can only accomplish one thing in a day: baking or decorating, but not both. There's a time warp in my kitchen or something, not allowing the two to be had on the same day. True story. BUT! My butter is sitting on the counter, ready to be whipped into frosting today. And no other baked goods will be attempted, so we should be okay.

In addition to the pumpkins, Mia decided she wanted flowers, triangles, and stars, so we really could have done this any time and not worried about getting them in before my self-imposed Halloween deadline.

2. Last year at Halloween, I made Mia a super cute red and white striped shirt for her Strawberry Shortcake costume. (Okay, I helped my mom make it. I'm still learning how to sew - by watching attentively.) The big day came, and my 2 year old Mia wouldn't even try on the shirt. She didn't want it - wouldn't wear it - and screamed at the sight of it. I was a little crushed. All that hard work and loving attention to detail, and she didn't care. I was about to force her into it, when my mom (apparently I can do nothing right without her) suggested just not making a big deal out of it and finding her something else to wear. It was supposed to be fun, after all, and if a 2 year old doesn't want to cooperate, that's no fun for anyone. It all worked out in the end, and now I can laugh at Mia's stubborn streak that year. Kind of.

3. This year, mom and I are making tutus for Mia and Lauren's ballerina costumes. I had intended to have Lauren be a lamb out of consideration for her love of her lambie, but that was proving to be more trouble than I could handle. I put off pattern and fabric searching for too long and then got overwhelmed with the whole thing and had to retrench. So I asked Mia what she thought Lauren should be, and without a moment's hesitation, she said 'ballerina!' It sounded perfect to me, simple and sweet, and the same thing Mia was going to be.

Keep your fingers crossed that Mia - at almost 4 years old - is more appreciative of her costume than she was last year. I have a feeling she'll love it, though. She helped pick out the fabric and she always loves dressing up in frilly, fluffy, shiny things, so this should be a slam dunk. KNOCK ON WOOD.

4. I'm sure many of you know this by now, but Pioneer Woman's cookbook is officially available to be purchased. And it is officially on my wishlist. Is it on yours?

5. Last week, I mentioned I was uploading about a million photos to purchase online. Would you believe I just completed the order on Wednesday? It was a nightmare. This photo site (I hate to mention the name of it because I don't want to be mean...) was terrible to work with. The uploads took forever. Putting photos in my 'to buy' list took double-forever. The whole thing took WAY too long, and I will never use that site again. Well, unless they send me more free money. But the point is, next time, I'll find somewhere better. In my comments last week, some of you gave me some good sites to try, so I think I'll seek them out next time. Seeing as how my pictures are now on the way though, I'm feeling better about the whole situation. Sarah, thou art fickle.

6. I'm pretty sure Lauren is done nursing. She hasn't been interested for 3 days in a row now, so I think the deal is sealed. There's no going back after 3 days with no activity, right?

How bad is it that I'm sad? She's definitely old enough to be done with it, and she just wasn't interested much anymore so I didn't push the issue. But I think if I would've kept offering, she would have kept taking. She would have kept falling asleep for naptimes while I got to snuggle her cheeks to my bare skin. I would have gotten to feel her relax in my arms like a baby - which she is clearly not anymore. For those few moments each day, I could have pretended she was still tiny and needed me to sustain her. My arms feel bare. My body feels empty. It's been so long since I've not used my physical body to grow or feed a life, and now I just feel - singular. Not alone, but - apart.

Have I lost you?

Here - the next QT will be more followable:

7. At school this week, Mia did a cute little activity I thought some of you might be interested in. It's a picture of a house with a straw taped to its side - a water spout, if you will. And on the water spout is none other than the Itsy Bitsy Spider - climbing up, if you will.

The spider is one of those plastic Halloween rings, and it's strung on the straw so it can climb up and down as needed in case of a stray rain shower. Mia loved it, and it doesn't have to be just for Halloween - the Itsy Bitsy Spider is timeless. And undaunted by the rain that keeps wiping her out. She's got spunk.

That's it for me, y'all. Have a treat-full Halloween weekend and visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes.