7 Quick Takes Friday

1. I have finally had some days to enjoy my deck, now you all will no longer have to hear so much about it. Do you get that way?? SO obsessed over one small thing you have your heart set on that you tell everyone all the time about it, until you get it. I do that, my husband tells me. But I have not only been able to enjoy my deck this week but our yard. Just so we are clear, my yard is actually the side of a fairly steep hill. Which brings me to #2...

2. I have begun to exercise. Yes, I know how important it is. I was under the assumption that if you were chasing kids all day and were constantly up and down from the floor to a chair to another room, that was aerobic exercise. Well, if you are not aware, that is not actually considered "exercise". It falls under the category of "daily life". I have decided that to start my new "exercise routine" I would simply Wii Fit in the mornings and run up and down the "yard" in the afternoon. It seems to be working, as in I feel the tiredness I think is associated with exercise although the scale has showed no signs of my work.

3. Speaking of work, not mine, but my oldest son. My husband and I went to his parent/teacher conference this morning. Now, we waited to send him to kindergarten (his birthday is at the begining of June), not because he did not have the kindergarten skills, but because he is small and we worried that he would lack some maturity. Also, kids that would be in his kindergarten class could turn six the first week of school based on cut off dates. So that put them almost an entire year older than him. At our conference his teacher had no concerns, she even said that she will have him explain how he got his math answers to the rest of the class in hopes that one kid to another would be helpful. He is so smart. I would love to sit and rave about his AR level and tests and his ability to do a math problem (even some mulitiplication) in his head, but that would simply bore you. Our worry is that he will feel that school is easy and when it does become harder he will not have the work ethic to work harder or that we made a mistake in waiting. I worked with a girl who was a proponent of not waiting and we discussed this topic alot in Tyler's first year in school. I so far think we made the right decission to wait and also believe that even if we would have sent him he would still be ahead, simply because he gets it. The point is, we are proud, very proud (and would be even if it wasn't such a great report, as long as he really tried). On to worry about the next one!!!

4. The next one, Isaac. A few years ago when Isaac was about 3 my husband coined the phrase, "Isaac is not a child, he is an experience". He has since lived up to that very thing. He is unpredicatble, charismatic, loud, loving, and talkative. He is our ER baby. He has had more than one occasion staples and stiches in his head, all due to "trying before thinking". That is his life motto. This past week we caught him standing on the railing to the deck pretending to be a pirate. (this is usually how ER trips begin) I gasped and told him to get down, only to be met with reluctance. Why, he asked. I am a prirate. I know my history, so I am sure no pirate's mommy asked him to get down while watching for enemy shipes at the top of the flag. But this one has a mommy that did. So he settled for a little creative play with toys. He spent about 20 minutes building this massive battle. It took 10 to carry out. People were intrictly placed around the room where they met their demise.
I have tried to find the picture for fifteen minutes now and I give up.

5. I feel like I better discuss my youngest out of fairness. He is great, I just don't have any cute stories about him this week. He is 17 months old, refuses to talk. He can, we believe, but simply has no need. Somebody will eventually pity him and bow to his every wish and demand. This includes things we would have NEVER let our other two do at his age. He is so used to not using his words, that when we ( I ) push him to say "cup" or "bite" he looks around the table at the other boys in the room waiting for them to relieve all this pressure on him. It is pretty funny. He is also obsessed with golf. Give him a straight stick like object (remotes work fine) and a ball and he is off. For thirty minutes sometimes. Oh, the zoo!!

6. I am still reading "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. I really like the book, just takes a very quiet room for me to concentrate. This has the potential to take a while to read. I love reading books on Christianity. I am intrigued by others perception of God and what their opinions are of Him. I am also intrigued by why they choose Christianity over other religions. I have my own interepretations and decisions, but love hearing others. If your up for the challenge, what's yours????

7. Finally, next week is Isaac's 5th Birthday. It is also Halloween. He wants a MP3 player like his big brother and we think we found a good one. We didn't buy either boy an I Pod (my husband's theory is if I can't have one, they can't have one) and really, I would worry way to much about how they care for it. We bought them less expensive versions, Tyler is actually one marketed for "sport". It has a harder cover and thick plastic on it, but is very light weight and small. He has rolled over on it and dropped it a number of times and it is still working. Isaac's will have a screen that shows the album picture since he can't read yet. All of our boys love music so this has worked to help us encourage that.

After reading all of these, I must have my kids on the brain, it's all about the Family this week!!!