7 Quick Takes

1) I love the idea of Conversion Diaries Quick Takes on Fridays, since it's easier than using my pre-weekend brain to actually think of something coherent to say, but today I'm too lazy to link in to the carnival-- so this is just mine own version.

2) This post by Jordana, on Curmudgeonry, really lifted my spirits yesterday. I would love for you all to go and read it and be re-invigorated in your commitment to the sacrifice of motherhood. And that includes those of you who are mothering other people's children, too-- nieces and nephews, neighbor kids, whatever. I've been saying over and over to myself today, "This is my body, broken for you..." and it has helped me keep my mind on the eternal significance of even the small daily "brokenesses".

3) As I approach the beginning of my third Breastfeeding Adventure, I'm starting to notice articles and posts about breastfeeding as I stroll through the internet. In particular, I've become aware that b/f-ing in public is a very controversial issue-- even in the Church. Well I'll be darned. I never knew. Really. I breastfed Sofi in movie theaters, college dorm rooms, church services, grocery stores, everywhere, and I never really noticed any looks of censure. Maybe I was just naive? But anyway, I found a great article by a breastfeeding husband in the church (for lack of a better label) and got permission to re-post it here. (it'll be up shortly)

4) If you've noticed, I haven't been posting much this week. You can always take blog silence as an indication that something (usually finances) has sent us bad news and I'm slogging through the Slough of Despond. I usually don't blog from there. Too muddy.

5) One more house to see in our price range. Then back to the waiting game-- see if anything else comes on the market in the next week or so. Our letter of approval from the bank is good for 60 days.

6) Home schooling a third grader really shortens your day. I spend an awful lot of my day on nouns, verbs, multiplication tables, line graphs, note-reading and whining children. It's exhausting.

7) On the other hand, there's this:

More Quick Takes to keep y'all in the loop

1) We found out the coolest thing ever! Check out Jude 1:1. Isn't that awesome? Totally didn't know about that before naming Jamie. I tend to skip past those introductory verses just a wee bit, but we've been reading Jude together out loud this week, so it just jumped out at me for the first time :)

2) Moving day is Sunday, starting at three. Anyone within a thirty-minute radius is hereby begged to come and help!

3) Does anyone have a co-sleeper (either the in-the-bed kind, or the bolt-to-the-bedside kind) they'd want to lend/give/sell real cheap? I'd willing to mail it back from Orlando if you want to just lend it short-term.

4) Judah and Sofi have been spending tons of time each day in the wading pool outside. They wear sunscreen, re-apply frequently and are inside between... say, noon-ish and four. However, they are both brown as nuts! Those of you used to hot climates, am I going to have to get more careful about sun exposure, or is this "tan" a safe and healthy one? Our apartment has a pool right out the back door and I foresee manymany more hours outside every day this summer... And neither of them will wear a hat.

5) Anyone want to come pick up a free:

growler from Cally's
desk
sandbox (the green plastic turtle kind)
lawnmower (reel, not motorized)

?

6) I trimmed my rose bushes for the last time last night. It made me very sad.

7)

A few Quick Takes for Tuesday

(this is what you do when you have six FB statuses rolling around in your head and you can't decide which one to post!)

1) What did I ever do to deserve kids who like neither grits, nor fried apples with scrambled egg? It's like Southern Breakfasts are anathema to them...

2) Dear Over-Zealous Mayorial Campaign Worker,
who drove her bike, complete with flashing red strobe light, up to our house, clumped up onto our porch, shone her head lamp into our bedroom window, opened and then slammed shut our screen door (I assume leaving literature about our dear mayor) and then clumped back down the steps to her strobe-lighted bike AT FOUR OCLOCK THIS MORNING.....

never mind. it's not printable.

3) If we don't get some rain real soon, this whole property is just going to blow right off the map and then where will all our plans to move to Fl be?

4) Everyone in this county who knows me is hereby invited to come visit ANY TIME in the next two weeks. I want LOTS of company :) We have no a/c, but we have a kiddie pool! And I will make you some iced mint tea and let you pick as many flowers as you like and dig up bits and pieces of whatever plants you want. Just give me about ten minutes warning so I can clear a path from the door to the kitchen table...

5) Birth Circle is a pregnant-women-and-new-moms support group, with an emphasis on the experience of natural birth and breastfeeding. Kinda like MOPS for hippies. (since you asked)

6) They are actually going to jack our house up off the foundation to repair some beams today. Apparently jacking a house up off it's foundation is not really that big a deal. I would rather have remained more ignorant about the permanence of my house's position on it's foundation. I now have visions of it just randomly sliding off one day to go visit another house down the street, or something.

Some Quick Takes with a little more joy

I am by no means a regular participator in this lovely meme, but I thought it might be a good way to balance out Wednesdays depressing post.

1) Thank you so much to all the lovely people who commented/emailed/called me to cheer me up :) I feel so much better. And also a little guilty for getting so low when I have so many things to be thankful for! Which things I will now discuss.

2) Sofi went for her well-child doctor visit this morning. She was given a clean bill of perfect health. She is in the 92nd percentile for both height and weight with a bmi well within the healthy range. Wonderful news for the part of me that worries about our family medical history (diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, among many other things).

3) Judah has learned to pee standing up! Hooray! You can laugh, but that really had me worried...

4) We've only had to fill our oil tank once this year, despite all the unusually cold weather! Thank the Lord for our wonderful, warm, cozy and efficient wood stove! And free wood! Thanks, J, Dad and Zeke :)

5) I have finally figured out how to shop at Goodwill. I spent $12 on six items for the kids. It's all about scanning the racks super fast and skimming past all the worn items. You gotta just zoom in on the crisp pleats and fresh fabrics and then you can avoid the endless hours of culling through stained, smelly, wrinkled and torn old rags. I snagged some pretty good deals today. Very encouraging, as Sofi is now in junior sizes and Judah is pushing his 3Ts.

6) I got The most awesome Christmas present Ever this year from Dad. Hopefully I will be able to post pics of it fully installed early next week. Live in anticipation till then....

7) I have chocolate :) And this recipe made me laugh!





head to Jen's for more Quick Takes

Seven Quick Takes Friday

1) I really love the Quick Takes meme, but so seldom have a chance to write on Fridays. If there's a post up here on Fridays, it's usually because I've written it earlier in the week and set it to autopost. But today I've decided to postpone my workout time till the kids wake up and we're going to do a Denise Austin Kid's Fit video together. It's all in the interest of mentoring the kids in a healthy lifestyle. I'll let you know how that goes...

2) I really do intend to finish up The Story of Us and I'm really not on a power trip. It just takes a while to dredge up a coherent story out of all the bits and pieces of my memories. I've already remembered stuff that I should have included earlier in the story... Such as a famous platter of shrimp that J and I shared when our families went out to dinner (we eat shrimp on every anniversary now). Also, I did find a few diary entries that were low enough on the embarrassment scale to actually share, but now they're moot. All that to say, I will finish the story, I promise, just let me take my time and do all the quality control needed to produce a series worthy of this most excellent blog. (*snort, choke, giggle*)

3) The Holiday Crazies are about to begin in the house of F. This weekend we take off for my parent's house to see my sister (this one) perform in a local production of Fiddler on the Roof. There's something about that show... It's like a family tradition. Or kinda. J and I sang selections from that show for our first public appearance together "after it all went down". You'll hear more about that later-- see number two, above. Anyway, we'll be back for two days and then off again for J's family's place for Thanksgiving. Can I express publicly just how grateful I am to be spending this holiday with J's family? Remember last year's harrowing experience?? Yeeeeah....

4) I've been coming to a depressing realization recently. I want to write more fully about it later, but for now I'll say it looks like I'm going to have to give up my precious nap time writing/reading/relaxing time in favor of giving Sofi more undivided attention during her school work. I am NOT looking forward to this. Advice and encouragement from moms who have survived the transition to No Naps would be appreciated... (Sofi isn't napping, she just has free reading time while Judah naps)

5) I am conducting an experiment in my bathroom to discover how long a shower can go un-scrubbed before the tub ring spontaneously generates life. So far, so good. I'll let you know how that goes, too.

6) I finally put up my button from Dawn! It's over there in my sidebar and you can click on it and read all about our big cross-country adventure with Two Mommies, Two Toddlers and a Princess. I have every intention of continuing to edit the pictures that never made it up (due to crappy hotel internet) and add them to fill in the holes in the story, so check back in a few weeks and see if there's anything new :)

7) If I don't go right now and wake up my children, Judah will not nap today. That would be bad. I must go. I will talk to all y'all later!

Seven VERY quick takes (hurry, hurry! gotta get moving before the kids wake up!)

1. Wow. Breathe. Gulp coffee. Pray the kids sleep a little longer so I can tend to my poor, neglected blog.

2. The last two weeks since getting home from our trip have been a whirlwind. I've felt rushed and stressed every. single. day. Our house is a wreck, I have bulbs that I paid real money for sitting and slowly dying on my kitchen counter, there are babies due any day now that will enter the world smocking-less, because all my patterns and plans have remained in my head and not on the fabric. My ironing pile defies description and the extent of our school fora week has been a math page each day and about fifteen minutes of Latin. I just cannot seem to get my head above water!

3. I've also discovered that I was kidding myself about Facebook. You really cannot have your Facebook and blog it, too. It's one or the other for me, baby, so Facebook? You are dead to me. I will no longer allow myself to heed your siren call of clever updates, amusing banter about spelling mistakes, hourly updates on what the Pregnant Woman is eating today and which political causes who supports.

4. As stressed out as I am, my thoughts are with a certain bride this week, whom, I imagine, is waaay more stressed out than I am. *silently hands bride a glass of wine and pats her on the back* Once this wedding is done (as fun as it will be) I think my life will (maaaaybe) relax back to it's low-pitched hum.

5. There's a slight possibility that I may (maybe) be watching just a wee tad bit too much Project Runway. Yesterday I had to "whip up" a Queen Esther costume for Sofi to wear to Co-op. The first time I tried it on her things did not go well and I heard myself say to my seven-year-old, "That's just a big, hot mess!"
"What's a big, hot mess mean, Mamma?"

Mmmm, yeeeeah. Let me get back to you on that one, sweetie.

6. It is very, very hard to run these days as the shorter days mean I cannot go after J gets home from work at 6. Anyone have suggestions on how to run with a seven-year-old and a two-year-old? A double stroller really isn't going to cut it for me... I tried having her bike, but she's too unsteady and needs too much help from me, so I end up running half the time and scooping her back up onto the bike the other half the time. It's crazy.

7. I had so much trouble with my Photobucket account while on our trip that I've been considering switching to Flikr, instead. Any thoughts from my other bloggy people?



Thanks to Jen at Conversion Diaries for hosting! Check out all the other Quick Takes....