7 Quick Takes (Volume 271)

--- 1 ---

You ever wonder what your brain is doing or rehashing when you dream?

I had a dream this week that the pope was coming to my house. For some reason I wasn't too stressed about the event as I was lackadaisically cleaning things up here and there without any real urgency. Kevin invited our church choir to come over and meet the pope too and ladies were traipsing in the back door. At one point I noticed the Popemobile drive through our alley, obviously having a hard time finding the place, and instead of flagging them down, I let them wander a little longer in hopes of getting my dishwasher loaded before they arrived.

Now tell me. What was that all about?! I haven't read or heard any news about the pope lately. I've never had any great desire to meet the pope. I have been to the Vatican many years ago, but didn't see the pope while I was there. I'm not even Catholic, for crying out loud. The only thing I can decipher is that the state of my house has been driving me crazy lately, but I don't have the motivation to do anything about it. Apparently my attitude is really bad because even the pope coming could not get me in enough of a frenzy to get my house cleaned!

--- 2 ---

The Heartland Winter Arts Association drumline championships were last weekend. Princess Dawdle enjoyed participating this year for the first time. I think it was even more fun for her to have her brother and sister as instructors.


Here she is in action. Don't let the face fool you. She's doing the traditional drumline don't-mess-with-me face.


Sadly, our kids didn't place as high as they'd like, but they felt good about their performance. And I gotta brag about our snare players (one of which is near and dear to us as he's Drama Queen's boyfriend and the other has been a family friend his entire life). They were awesome! I know I'm biased, but I'd say they were some of the best snare players there that day. The highlight of their performance is a split part where each of them uses one hand to play as if they are one player. It's kind of like playing a drum roll (although not quite as fast) with each of them using only one hand.


I think the look on The Boyfriend's face proves they totally nailed it. Nice job, guys!


Here's a picture of the whole line.


At the end of the competition they do kind of a cool ceremony called the "Retreat." They line up all the color guards and drumlines and announce scores. Our kids changed out of their costumes for the retreat, but if you look closely, you can see some of the costumes of the other groups. Many of the shows were dark in nature--zombies, fear, nightmares. One show was based on Dante's inferno and their kids were drumming in the depths of hell. Ick.


I was glad we were one of few who didn't look gruesome. Our theme was "Reflections." Here's a shout out to Drama Queen and Drummer Boy for choosing something more enjoyable and less creepy to watch.

--- 3 ---

Do families ever grow out of bathroom humor?

We were clearing the table from dinner when I heard a commotion in the dining room.

Ladies Man: Dad, Princess Dawdle farted. Ground her.

Kevin: If I grounded somebody every time someone farted, no one would ever leave this house.

The kids thought he was hysterical and immediately raced to see who could tweet his words the fastest.

I don't get it. Shouldn't they be old enough to find fart stories as uneventful as we do?

--- 4 ---

Princess Dawdle had her first tennis meet this week. To be honest I was not looking forward to it as the school marquee said it was 38 degrees when I picked her up that day. But I bundled up and brought blankets and the sun was out so it didn't seem that cold. She was super nervous and lost her match, but got in some good shots and I think she will really improve over the course of the season. I'm just so proud of her for trying something completely new and different. And I love seeing this new competitiveness emerging in her. She came home from the meet fired up and ready to take on another opponent, wishing the next meet were sooner.

I did find one negative about tennis meets though. It's impossible to get a good picture through the fence!

--- 5 ---

Ladies Man was super excited about his outfit yesterday morning. He wore a pair of colored skinny jeans and t-shirt that his girlfriend bought him and topped it off with a collared shirt that brought the whole ensemble together in an awesome way.

Ladies Man: I look like a pop star today. Even the shoes totally work.

I admit he did look good. But for me the best part was that he was wearing Kevin's shirt! Yes, the shirt that made the outfit sing belonged to his dad. That's right, my husband's got the goods, baby. He knows style.

Come to think of it, maybe I do too because Princess Dawdle wore my sweater the same day!

As my kids would say, "BOOM!"

--- 6 ---

I really don't understand the whole snapchat phenomenon. It's just a bunch of people taking selfies all the time. I mean, how many times can you send a friend a picture of you with your tongue hanging out or at your smiling best or pulling your hair out? I bet Princess Dawdle has sent 1000 of virtually the same picture to her buddies. I dont' get it, but I've humored my kids lately. The other night I caught Princess Dawdle snapchatting one of her friends at 1:AM and we took a picture together with me shaking my finger and looking mean to tell the friend she'd been busted.

And then there was this impromptu pic when Ladies Man said, "Mom, take a selfie with us."


I think you can tell I am less than enthusiastic. I guess it's fun to have a few silly pics together but you can't even save them with snapchat.

Wait, I'm sounding like a fuddy duddy, huh? Okay, 'nough said.

--- 7 ---

Now that drumline and show choir seasons are over, we'll get our weekends back, except I'm spending tomorrow in the metropolis of Fairbury, Nebraska, speaking at a women's retreat. I'm excited to spend time with some quality women, though (including my mom and aunt--yay!) and talk about how God works. What better way is there to spend a Saturday? Sunday I'm planning to see some old friends (friends I've known for a long time, not friends that are old, okay? I know what you were thinking!). Should be good even if the sun doesn't shine. At least it won't involve cleaning the house for the pope.


I hope your weekend is relaxing or exciting or boring or whatever you wish for, friends. Enjoy it in the way you do and find time to read more Quick Takes at Conversion Diary.