I got the idea of Seven Quick Takes from this blog, which got it from this blog and I really like the concept. Typically as I gear up to post what’s new in Quinn-land or in my life in general, I find myself over-thinking subjects, which result in maybe a post once every week if you’re lucky.  SQT’s seems like a fairly informal way of updating my one reader on what’s been happening this week — following the ol’ saying, keep it simple stupid.

1. Earlier this week Jake and I took Quinn to the zoo and it was such a different experience than the last 4 times she and I gone. It was great to watch her actually SEE the animals as opposed to them being big spots on her horizon. She seemed to love the elephants, penguins, the tropical birds and the monkeys. We were watching the Mandrills and the big-daddy one with the reddest nose and the most colorful butt came over and had a staring contest with Quinn and I. I possibly had more fun with this than she did but still, she was totally mesmerized by him. Before we left we decided it would be worth the money to get a membership which I’m totally excited about. After paying for parking and two adult admissions we were already at $22.50 and to be a zoo member we forked over another $39 bucks. Seemed more than worth it.

2. Last week Quinn got her 1-year old immunizations which included the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) shot. The doctor told me that 1 in 6 kids has a slight reaction to this shot which is typically a slight fever and feeling generally crummy. She said the symptoms would show up 7-10 days after the shot and on day 8 Quinn started sporting a fever of 101.3 and had no interest in eating. This was on Wednesday and she’s still getting a fever off and on including last night around 2 a.m.  She’s had her fair share of colds over the past year but seeing her sick with basically a low-low-grade case of the measles really sucks. Poor girl is crabby and just doesn’t know what to do with herself half the time, that is, other than be held by me.

3. It was 4:30 on Wednesday and I realized I had nothing planned for dinner. As I’ve been working on being better at meal planning, this position is my default — 4:30 or 4:45 and I stare in my cabinets and fridge hoping for some sort of inspiration. In walks Allrecipes which always come through in a  pinch. This week I typed in “ground turkey” since that’s what I had in the freezer and found a recipe for “Turkey Chili“.  I actually followed the recipe fairly loosely and went off more what I had on hand. It was easy and very very delicious.

4. Favorite find on the interwebz:  realsimple. I can’t seem to bring myself to spend $5+ bucks on the actual magazine and their website is actually a great “free” substitute. Just like the magazine it’s got great “alternative uses” for everyday objects (which I love) as well as tons of recipes, organization ideas, etc.

5. When I need to sneak in a shower during the day, often times I’ll bring Quinn in with me. I alternate between holding her and letting her sit down where she can play with some toys while I scrub up. She loves the bathtub and the shower so it seems to be a good solution when I don’t have time to squeeze in a workout AND shower while she naps. Yesterday we hopped in the shower, I cleaned myself and filled up the tub so she could continue entertaining herself while I got dressed. I was busy drying my hair when I glanced at her and thought… look at her, so relaxed in there. Then I noticed a foreign substance float up from underneath her. POO as in POOP. I had this brief moment where all of the “next steps” that needed to be done got all jumbled up  in my head and I froze. Less than 2 seconds later I sprung into action. Removed baby and immediately drained the tub. Not sure if I was lucky that the “foreign substance” was less than solid… so most was able to drain to it’s final resting place. I then picked up baby and re-washed her in the kitchen sink. Got baby dressed and then returned to the crime scene where I scoured all surfaces. An unpleasant experience however I chose to look at the bright side of things… at least there were no squirter toys in the water with her. How would I have cleaned the inside of those toys???

6. I finally got my hair cut and colored and man, why do I wait so long every single time? I went to Primp Salon on Division and after an initial annoying last minute scheduling debacle on their part, I was really pleased with the service. I saw Rhonda who was efficient (but not too efficient), friendly and very talented. She ensured that I’d be a return customer by reducing my bill by $20 due to the scheduling error — receiving an A+++ in my book.

7. I am typically referred to as the nap Nazi in this house. In my perfect world, nothing in everyday life would ever interfere with Quinn’s two daily naps. I say “perfect” because a well rested child is a much happier child as many of us know. It’s also a little known fact that whenever an event arises that required some nap time altering, I get a twinge of anxiety. The last two weeks we seemed to have had a number of events that have required some fancy foot work around nap times and on these days I’ve done my best to move Quinn’s naps around the scheduled events and things seem to work in my favor every 1 in 3 times. On the days when my “plan” was foiled I was actually pleasantly surprised that as she get’s older, she’s better able to handle things if her nap time is cut short. Don’t get me wrong, she’s definitely more predictable and more pleasant to be around if she’s gotten her snooze time in, but she just isn’t the same lose-her-sh*t baby that she used to be. Which is one of the reasons why I’m loving this not-quiet-a-toddler-yet stage.