7 Quick Takes Friday, #21

1. Wish us luck this weekend - we're leaving for the lake in just a few minutes. Last time we went to the lake, we dealt with toddler car-puke, a baby who didn't like long car rides, two kids who don't ever sleep in the car, tantrums, and power outages. Despite all that, it was a good trip, so we're venturing out into the wild world to try our hand at another one. Please pass the vomit bag.

When we get there, we'll be staying with aunts, uncles, cousins, kids, and dogs in a beautiful lake house. The drive and my worrying will be worth it when we get there. It will be worth it when we get there. It will be worth it when we get there. It will be worth it whe...OK, I'm convinced now.

2. Have I mentioned before that I'm not very good at uprooting my family from our normal daily activities and sleep routines? But I want so badly to be able to take short little trips like this (eventually, bigger trips), and the only way to make that a reality is to just DO it. It's not like it's a punishment - this is supposed to be fun and relaxing! I'll just shield my eyes from the clock, and hope for kids that are quiet-tired, instead of cranky-tired. If you're up for a slightly unimportant prayer request today, pray for me to calm down and for my kids to sleep peacefully and later than usual in a louder than usual house. Surely that's a possibility, right?

3. Oh, and Lauren is teething. That should just add another layer of ease to our weekend. And tell me if you've ever heard of this before: she has only four front teeth on top, 3 on bottom, and the teeth she's cutting right now? Are her lower back molars. Is this weird? Aren't they supposed to come in after all the front and side teeth do?

I can't decide which I think are more painful to get - sharp, thin front teeth, or wide, blunt molars. On the one hand, the front teeth will just wedge right up, quick and clean. But man do they look razor sharp. On the other hand, the molars are smooth and rounded. But they have such a large surface area to break through.

Either way, Motrin is my answer.

4. My brother took a picture of Mia last weekend, and doctored it up a bit with photoshop. He then sent it to me, and I fainted. Then I picked myself up from the computer keyboard and called him to say THANK YOU! for such a gorgeous shot of my precious girl.

5. I wrote earlier this week about my trip to the movies to see My Sister's Keeper, but I didn't say anything about the movie itself.

I was frustrated with the ending, I have to admit. It was the complete opposite of the book's ending, and I couldn't reconcile the two in my head. It was like I'd been told two separate stories; the emotion of the book's ending was so heart-shattering that the movie version felt like a dull thud instead. It would have been great if I didn't know how the story was supposed to end up. I thought the actors were all really good (except for the aunt - I didn't like her performance or the way her character was changed) and the writers did a nice job of scaling out the parts of the story that didn't fit easily into a 2 hour movie. I just can't figure out why they changed the end!

I'll never understand it.

6. Last night I made cinnamon rolls to take with us for this weekend. I used a new (to me) recipe from The Sisters' Cafe. These. Rolls. Are. Perfect.

I mean, they um, look pretty good. Not that I've eaten any of them yet. Not that I've already had 3. I'll bet they're amazing- tender, pillowy, sweet & spicy, melt in your (MY) mouth, amazing. I'd bet a million dollars.

7. Mia and Lauren built a 'dam' this week.

All the cushions from both couches, piled on the floor, makes one comfy dam. Mia started calling it her 'dam bed' and I hid my face in a cookbook to obscure the sound of my snorting laughter.

It made for one giant mess, and hours of fun. I highly recommend that you all make your own cozy dam in the middle of your living room, and try to come up with as many dam jokes as propriety will allow.

Enjoy your holiday weekend, and visit Jen at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes.