7 Quick Takes Friday Volume 12

Visit Jennifer at Conversion Diary for her Quick Takes and links to those of other bloggers.

Please excuse the format ... or lack of formatting ... in this post. I really do not have time to go back and fix all of this! Arggghhh!

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Ascension Thursday was celebrated with a picnic on a hill. My friend Lindsay suggested it. I believe that she got the idea from Jessica over at Shower of Roses. Members of our bible study were there: six moms plus one dad, and twenty five children plus one in utero. I love the huge numbers! Thanks, Lindsay; we had a lot of fun!

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Jeremy's parents bought a Maple tree for Isaiah's birthday! Jeremy planted it and the boys and I made a mud ring around it and mulched it. I can't wait for it to grow! Until now, there were no trees in our very large backyard.

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I'm going to enjoy my kids all summer. This the first school year that I've had one child gone all day every day (our kindergarten is all day every other day). I missed her. Next year, Madeleine will be in 1st grade and Morgan will be in 2nd grade. Noah will go to Pre-K in the afternoons Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I'm going to enjoy every minute with them this summer when they're not fighting/crying/whining.

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Made-leine's kinder-garten class took a field trip at the end of the school year. The kids were more excited about riding the bus than they were about their destination!

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This is Madeleine (center) with her friends M and M. I hope she hangs out with these girls forever.

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J and J: if you want me to remove this picture, please say so!

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I have the best husband ever. The girls often tell me that I picked a good dad for them. That was the idea!

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There are 100 reasons for wanting more children, but this is near the top of the list. Morgan was having a rough evening. Isaiah was very worried about his sister and so he went over to give her his two year old version of hugs, kisses, and cuddles. Kids need siblings.

Overheard

Morgan: I was eating breakfast when Love left.

Madeleine: Yes, I haven't seen Love anywhere.


I later figured out that they were talking about one of their ponies whose name is Love. After all, I do not let them watch soap operas.

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During Isaiah's well-child visit, Dr. M said that the nurse would be back in with his shot. Noah was sitting on the table. All of a sudden, his face crumpled and he tensed up.

Noah: If I stay on the table, are they gonna shoot me too?

Isaiah got his shot and the nurse handed him a beanie monkey to distract him from the pain. He quit crying immediately and then Noah perked up.

Noah: Remember, on my birthday, I'm gonna get a shot so I can have a monkey.

Wordless Wednesday

If You Ever Meet A Cheetah by Morgan

If you ever meet a cheetah, then he mite hurt you. And if he hurts you, then yod haf to go to th hosbetle. And if you haf to go to the hosdele (hospital), then you get a tedee ber and if you get a tedee ber, then you will not get nitemers and if you don't hav nitemeers then you are happy and if you are happy then you not gropy (grumpy) and if you are not grontpy (grumpy) you can play out side.
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Have you ever read If You Give A Mouse A Cookie? I posted this because I got a kick out of her story. She's usually a little more meticulous about her spelling and drawing. However, that makes seeing so much phonetic spelling even more amusing. I love it!

Drive Thru Tips

When I was sitting in the drive-thru at McDonald's, this post started coming to me. I am careful to order a certain way and to be respectful of the employees behind the windows and of the other customers in line. Why? Because I've been there and I've done that and working the drive-thru is not much fun ... and it almost always has to do with the customers. Even customers who mean well often come off rude or condescending.

During college I worked in a local Mexican fast food restaurant. I spent quite a bit of time in the drive-thru window. Here's some suggestions for those of you who would like to be better customers in a drive thru and, as a result, would like to receive better service!

1. Begin your order with, "May I please have ..." If you were talking to a friend, would you say Gimme a or I wanna have a? Gimme, gimme, gimme drives workers crazy, especially without a please. How rude! Where are our manners? If they've made a suggestive sale, as they are required to, you could respond with No thank you. If you begin politely, you've already won over the tired drive-thru employee.

2. These people are multitasking. Go easy on them! The person taking your order is simultaneously taking the money of the first guy and making his change. The person in the next window is packing your order, handing it out and simultaneously packing the order of the four people behind you. Try to keep that straight!

3. Don't ask to add things at the window. Ask for everything that you can think of, even condiments, at the speaker. When you do try to add at the last minute, you dam up the stream of efficiency that is drive-thru service. Not only does it interrupt the multitasking employee, it makes the people behind you wait longer. Hint: if you must order at the window, I hope you started out the transaction with manners! The employee is more likely to help you if you did.

4. When you order a meal, remember to order your drink. You'd be amazed at how many people will pull up to the speaker and say, "Why don't you gimme a #4." Some drive thru employee somewhere is going to get sick of asking and just give you a Pepsi. Hope that's what you want!

5. Turn your stereo off. Even if you are not yet at the speaker, the noise of your stereo may be interfering with the order of the person in front of you or behind you. Noise in the drive-thru = mistakes with orders. Diesel engines are also quite noisy through a drive-thru speaker.

6. Get off the phone. Nothing makes an employee want to help a customer less than a mobile phone. How rude.

7. Check your bag before you leave. It's not always perfect! See #2 and #5. If you do find a mistake with your order and are willing to go back, you should state your problem and tell the employee exactly what you want. Last week, I returned to Arby's and said, "I ordered Sandwich A and got Sandwich B. I would like you to make Sandwich B for me, please, and refund the difference in price. I would also like to have a fresh order of curly fries since mine will be cold by the time I get home again. Thank you."

8. Driver, order for your passenger. The employee cannot hear your passenger calling his order from the passenger seat, even if he is yelling.

9. Say thank you! Smile, too. Wouldn't you hope for that kind of treatment for your son or daughter if s/he was working in a drive-thru?

10. Have your money ready and be prepared to receive your food. During the winter, IT'S COLD! The person working in the window will be cold, especially if you make them stand there and wait. During the summer, IT'S HOT and that employee is sweating and breathing your exhaust fumes. Ick.

11. Be respectful of the employee. You never know who you are dealing with. Whose son or daughter is this? Whose brother or sister? Think you're dealing with someone who dropped out of high school and has aspirations of running the restaurant? Maybe. They deserve respect too. That's not enough? Maybe you're dealing with your future doctor. Here are the careers of the people who worked fast food with me during college: nurse, fireman, immigration officer, nurse, nurse, wildlife specialist, insurance adjuster, surgeon!, teacher, nurse, mother, youth minister, college professor, public relations, accountant, builder, prison guard, architect, store owner. Will this person be taking care of you again someday? Be polite!

12. Employees recognize the regulars. Nearly 10 years after leaving food service, I recognize regular customers at the mall, walking downtown, at church, and at school. Most are pleasant memories, as regulars tend to be polite. Then there's the lady who always tried to steal food by telling us we forgot part of her order.

13. No, the employee won't spit in your food. But if you are rude, your portion might be smaller, less fresh, and they are less likely to help you with extra requests you might have.

14. The simpler you keep your order, the more likely it is to be correct. If you ask to hold this, add that, and talk yourself back and forth all over the menu, your order is likely to be wrong when you finally get it. Think about it before you approach the speaker; organize it in your head. Then speak clearly!

15. If you don't know the menu well, go inside. The drive-thru is for speed and convenience. You are damming up the stream of efficiency when you say, "I need a minute." Go inside where people can go around you to get to the counter to order.

16. If you have 101 questions, go inside.

17. If you have twelve different orders (separate totals), go inside!

18. Don't order fries without salt and then ask for salt at the window. Do you know what most people do? They put the already salted fries back in the grease to make the salt come off. You think you're getting fresh fries if you order that way? Ha!

19. Make sure that your order is actually wrong before you go back inside with your guns blazing. People actually threw food at me when I worked at this restaurant. No kidding. Drinks, too. I'm really sorry that lettuce on your taco ruined your entire life.

20. Don't threaten to call the owner. Please. It's pathetic. That employee just worked with the owner yesterday and they're not impressed. In fact, now they're turned off and they're probably not afraid to lose their job anyway. See #12.

21. Enjoy!

Blurb

I haven't updated in awhile. I'm busy working on a Blurb book for my Seattle Trip and Family Day Cruise aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. If you're wondering why I haven't stopped by your blog lately, it's for the same reason! I'll be back soon!

Isaiah is Two Years Old!

Here is Isaiah at about 10 minutes old, weighing seven pounds six ounces 9 days early.

Here, he is five days old. We used this picture for his birth announcement.Here is Mini-Jeremy Isaiah in all of his two year old glory with his cupcake-cone.

We got him a bird feeder for his birthday because he likes to stand at our bow window and watch the squirrels and birds outside. Here, there's a large one on top and a smaller one feeding at the bottom. He loves to go watch his birds.

Happy birthday, Isaiah!

Morgan is Seven!

Happy birthday, Morgan! She turned 7 this weekend. I blinked somewhere between her birth and now. Boy, time went by quickly. Here she is on her real birthday in her Grandpa's arms. She was a week overdue, weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces, was 21 inches long, and had more hair than my dad. (Only kidding, Dad.)
Here she is today, all 50 pounds of her, on her daddy's lap, happy to be seven!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day began with my own mother's graduation. She received her MA in Physician Assistant studies! Although she is Catholic, her college is Seventh Day Adventist, so their commencement was on Sunday morning (go figure--thank goodness for Saturday evening mass). There were only 250 graduating students, so the ceremony felt quick. The speakers were interesting, even funny, and I was genuinely amazed at the activity that I saw around the sanctuary--the young man in front of me didn't look up from his texting activity more than twice, his mother ate grapes out of her purse the whole time, and the people behind me were chatting throughout the speeches, songs, and ceremonies. Sheesh.

After graduation, my siblings came over for lunch. We celebrated Mother's Day, graduation, and Isaiah's and Morgan's birthdays, as they both fall close to Mother's Day every year. After lunch, the grown-ups played a few rounds of Boggle. It's hard to score when there are 10 people playing but Jeremy beat us all hands down.

When everyone went their separate ways, Jeremy, the kids, and I went out to his parents' house for the same celebration. Three of his sisters and their families were also present. We had a big celebration of motherhood and godmotherhood and ... again ... birthdays!Madeleine held her newest baby cousin, Louis, who is 2 months old. On Jeremy's side, there are 12 cousins, the oldest of whom is 8. No more than 13 months has passed without the addition of another cousin to the family. Life is beautiful!

Patriotism

Is this America, the people obsessed with Twitter, Facebook, and My Space, with keeping everyone up to speed on what they're up to every second, really the same nation whose people balked at the Patriot Act? Really?

Congratulations!

My mother has completed her studies, through trial and tribulation, and has earned her Master's Degree. We were lucky enough to attend her hooding ceremony last night and will attend her graduation in the morning. She is now a Physician's Assistant!


Way to go, Mom!




Some of my brothers and sisters were able to attend the hooding ceremony. From left: Eli, Leighton, Roger, Valley, Sophie-emelia, and Brianna

Wordless Wednesday

Overheard

I felt very happy after speaking with my almost 7 year old daughter yesterday. Her birthday is coming up and Jeremy and I were wondering what gift we should give her this year. We don't emphasize gifts at Christmas but we're not shy about birthday gifts. This is the conversation:

Mom: Morgan, what are you hoping to receive for your birthday this year?

Morgan: Mom, I don't know. You mean gifts? I have everything I want. I have my coloring things, my clipboard, my Bleeding Heart [an outdoor plant], my toys, my bike. There's nothing that I want. I don't need anything. You and Dad get me whatever you want to and I'll be happy. I don't need anything.

West of Here: Homeward Bound 10/10

Tuesday morning came again and it was time to leave Seattle. The leaving was very difficult for me; it's always hard to leave behind people that you love. My plane departed at 4:30 in the afternoon so Trudy and I had a little time to do a few little things. We took a long, beautiful walk with Sailor and then stopped at Starbucks--our first visit there in Seattle--then to the Seattle Art Museum's sculpture garden, home for lunch, basked in the sunshine, and then off to Sea-Tac. We saw this truck (below)on the way to the airport.When we took off from SEATAC, it was clear. I could see Mount Rainier, then Mount St. Helens, and then as we got higher, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Jefferson. I'm not kidding! The last was the most difficult to see but I counted five volcanic peaks over and over while we were taking off and I was kicking myself for stowing my camera--I'll probably never see that again. It was absolutely amazing. These peaks pictured are the Rockies in Colorado but I'm not sure which ones because I do not know from which direction we were approaching. The flights were smooth; we landed in Denver early, departed on time, and landed in Nebraska early.

I walked into a clean house with a tired but happy husband and ten roses waiting in a green vase. It is good to be home.

I am so very grateful to Trudy and John for keeping me and for entertaining and feeding me, for coming up with things to show me and for taking me all over, to Regina for coming to visit, and to Seth for spending all of his free time with me or driving to see me or fetch me, and for bringing me aboard his ship! I'm also grateful to my wonderful husband for making it possible for me to go. I can't say enough how blessed I feel to have been able to take this trip!

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WEST OF HERE is now complete. From now on, I am EAST OF HERE Seattle.

West of Here: Meeting Regina and Alki Beach 9/10

On Monday the 20th, Trudy suggested that we drive to a park where Mount Rainier would be visible, as it was clear outside. There is a saucer-like cloud which seems to be always near Mt. Rainier. John explained it to me but my memory is faulty so I searched the explanation and came up with this, courtesy of the KOMO news site.

The cap cloud (the official name is "lenticular cloud") is formed when warm, moist air runs into the surface of Mt. Rainier. The mountain's topography forces the air upward, which cools and condenses the air -- turning it into a cloud. As the air sinks back on the other side of the mountain, it dries out and the cloud dissipates. That's why it just hangs over the summit area."

Later that morning, I was privileged to finally meet a fellow blogger, Regina! Regina has reserved the rights to the pictures of her and me but she posted a little one of us which you can see here, on her site. I don't think she'll mind if I post the picture of her children: R, J, and L with Sailor (John and Trudy's dog) and S in the stroller. She was kind enough to bring her children along, as I was suffering from child-withdrawal by this time. We met at a park in West Seattle for a morning of playing and visiting. Thanks so much, Regina, for making the trip!

Regina took off with the kids to get them home for naptime. Trudy and I went out for lunch at a wonderful restaurant--we had fish, of course--and then relaxed on the beach for a couple of hours, as it was 70+ degrees outside. Trudy seemed happy to put up with me foraging through the sand in search of sea glass, little spiral shells, and pretty rocks to put in my special cabinet as a memory take home to the kids. She even took me to a couple of different beaches to do my hunting! What a beautiful day to sit and do nothing!

This piece of driftwood was sitting higher on the shore. There were divets, holes, and cups worn into its surface. These little holes were filled with tiny pebbles, rocks, shells, and other sea debris. It reminded me of a Mancala game and was very pretty. After yet another wonderful supper cooked by Trudy, John took Sailor for a walk. He called us from the beach and said that the sun was about to set over the mountains and encouraged us to come down. We did. Thank goodness! You are looking at the sun setting over the Olympic Mountains with Puget Sound in the foreground. Trudy said no pictures of her on the internet but I think that I might just get away with this one....That's me on the left and Trudy on the right. Puget Sound is behind us; so are the Olympic Mountains behind which the sun has set.