Seven Quick Takes on Friday the 13th

Happy Friday the 13th!  Linking up with Kelly and you should too :)

1)

Happy 100th Anniversary to Our Lady of Fatima!  

I feel like Mary's all "Just pray the Rosary already!!!  How many times do I have to tell you?"  :)  

Our beloved pastor who left us this summer has a great recitation of the rosary here.  I got it for free on Amazon Music so I can listen on my phone, it's a quick recitation with no music...perfect for our busy lives!

2)

Declan has been seeing a lot of specialists lately.  Long story short, he was having asthma symptoms (Phil had childhood asthma) so we were seen by a pulmonologist.  She recommended going to an allergist to have him tested because the symptoms started when we got a dog.  Turns out he was allergic to our cat (who had moved upstairs to the bedrooms when the dog moved in) and dust.  We re-homed our cat to a family friend (with six kids!) and his symptoms did improve.  We took him off the singulair.  When he went back to the pulmonologist for a checkup, she and our pediatrician had decided that Declan should be seen by the cardiologist for the fast heart rate he's had since birth.  So we went and did that, and everything looked good.  

Our last hurdle to jump through is to have Declan wear a heart monitor for 24 hours to make sure we can just chalk his fast heart rate up to, well, nothing I guess.  I was saying to the pulmonologist that Declan is being seen by more doctors then all our kids combined, and she said "You are so lucky to have seven kids and this is the most you've had to deal with.  I see sick kids all day, and having that many healthy children is amazing."  She is totally right, and I am totally thankful.

3)

We celebrated Phil's birthday all weekend.  

We went bowling, ice skating (both thanks to Groupons - how does anyone afford activities without Groupon?) and out to dinner because the Red Sox won (before they lost) so kids eat free at a local restaurant.  We ordered 4 adult meals and got 4 free kid meals.  Then we had a gift card for $50 so the total we had to pay in cash was $4.49.  Perfect!  I made him a french silk pie and we had such a wonderful long weekend together.

4)

Phil's actual birthday was on Wednesday but he had Parent-Teacher conferences that day.  Womp womp.  It's really weird to work with your kid's teachers and then have to face them for parent-teacher conferences, so I just didn't go.  I figure if there's anything really important I should know about JP in class, they will come find me.  

5)

Does anyone that reads this blog own an Etsy shop (or know someone who does) that embroiders shirts and/or hats?  I have an idea for a family Halloween costume, but I'm not crafty enough to do it myself.

6)

Somebody said to me, upon finding out we had seven kids, "I don't know how you do it!  They must be really well-behaved!  I can't even handle my two!" and I just wanted to show her this:

Maybe I should print out my Assumptions People Make post and hand it out when I get comments, that would be easier! ;)

7)

Do you guys want an amazing Chocolate Pumpkin Bread (more like cake) recipe?

  Here you go! 

Have a wonderful Fall-weather, treat-baking, football-watching kind of weekend everybody!