7 Quick Takes

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In celebration of the new season, Spring, I am devoting my seven takes to it...

Seven Things To Do In The Spring

1.

Have a Family Fun Day!! 

2.

Ride A Bike!

3.

Learn to Skateboard...Or teach Daddy!

4.

Go play in the park!

5.

Do some gardening!

6.

Climb a tree!!

7.

Get ready for Baseball Season!! (Go Cards!!)

Have a great weekend, and I hope Spring has arrived where you are!!

Visit Jennifer over at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!!

7 Quick Takes

I have fallen from my 7 quick takes lately, and I have missed them terribly!! This week, I am finally back!!

1.

As mentioned, I have been spratically blogging these days. My time seems to be full of "other" things these days. I would like to say I that my accomplishments will be in print or can be measured, but honestly, they can't be. I have been getting things accomplished, but immeasurable things. Thus is life. 

2. 

My Tyler has joined the Chess Team. Remember, he is in first grade. He goes to the High School once a week and plays with the rest of the club. He has a friend that got him into it, and he LOVES it. 

I have rarely played. I think I might have even poked fun at the chess team in a younger (and more immature) age. It is pretty cute though. 

3.

Tyler will also be in our county spelling bee. I think the words are hard. But, I am not one to ask! (click here) 

4.

Isaac is reading. Yup. He turned five in October and for a while he has been wanting to learn to read like his big brother. So I started helping him learn how to sound out a word and such, then after a while, he picked it up and now can read simple phonetic words!! 

5. 

My baby is no longer a baby. He is a full fleged toddler with ideas of his own and independence to exert. Screams and fits are becoming more of a habit and even a few pieces of food have been thrown. As a third child, I don't see too many differences between the beginning of his twos and his brothers . There are more people around to get attention from and more people to get you what you want. Nick does seem to have a bit more of a temper than the other two....he pushes and hits when he gets angry. So wish us luck with our last meeting of the terrible twos (which don't seem as bad around here as our 4s)

6.

Spring is coming. The sun is beginning to re apear after it's long hibernation  and we are ready!! There is so much to do in our new area that we missed out on in the fall due to moving busyness. 

7.

This weekend will be warm around here, the bikes are ready to go, the play shoes are on, and the sunglasses positioned. Have a great weekend!!

7 Quick Takes

Don't forget to visit Jen @ ConversionDiary.com for more Quick Takes!!

1. A funny little thing happened this week (funny to you, not so much to me). I was playing outside with the two little boys and this conversation started:

Hey momma, look, Tyler and I pooped outside. It's right here. 

Isaac, are you serious. Did you two really poop in the yard.


Yeah, see.

Sure enough, there was some poop right there in a hole they had dug in the fall under our deck.


Yuck, Isaac, that's gross. You go poop in our toilet, not in the yard. 

Later that night...

Hey Tyler, come here for a minute.

Yeah.

Did you and your brother poop in the yard.

Yeah. (sly smile)

Why? 

We didn't want to come in and we had to go. 

Boy Logic 101 (I failed this course apparently)

Son, that is disgusting. We have a toilet, inside, that you use. Do not poop outside. (daddy had joined in at this point)

Yeah. No more. (I really put it to him, huh?)

What are you gonna do? It's already there, and honestly, I didn't look close enough to guess for how long either. Yuck.

 2. Quickly moving on....I have to say I am not a big fan of the month of January. It has something to do with coming off the busyness of the holiday followed by a month with no holidays to celebrate (I count New Years with Christmas, it all seems to flow together). I'm not saying I need a holiday every month to have something to do, but it is nice to have a theme to bake cookies or create something to. For whatever reason January is that yuck month, I find myself falling in to the "winter blues". It's cold outside (usually) and the pace of life seems to come to a sudden halt. Well, it's almost over! 

3. Like so many others I have been keeping up on Haiti. We have discussed with our kids (or what we think they can handle). We took them on Google Earth to show them how far away Haiti is. We try to help them understand that we can help even if we can't leave our small town to do it. But on my side of the table, I feel overwhelmed.

4. I had a friend, an old friend I haven't seen in years, post a question on his blog. He basically was asking how can there be a God that allows this to happen, he says that it could be prevented by one way and that one way chose not to prevent it. In a place so stricken by poverty already, this is simply a tragedy of all tragedies. I wish I knew what to say, I admit that I don't understand it, and I am not sure that I ever will. I still wonder what to say to those questioning God during this time, or to my kids who may one day have those same questions. For now I sit and wonder,what could I say that would be helpful and not hurtful.


5. As I am writing this, Nick has already fallen out of the dining room chair twice and climbed the couch to sit in the window sill. Oh, the toddler days are knocking on my door.

6. I usually opt to stray from politics here, but find that the most recent elections in Mass. were very interesting. A state so traditionally Democratic now has a Republican senator, voted for by the people of that state. According to CNN there are more registered independents than democrats and republicans combined. In this particular article there are several theories why this change occurred. Hmmm. I just think it's pretty interesting, no matter which party you belong to! (here is the link to the article I refer to)

7. Now Nick is crawling into the bottom cabinets over my bread maker, Isaac is running through the house growling like a monster, guess my time is up!

7 Quick Takes

Hallelujah! It is Friday!!  Check out Jen at Conversion Diary for more!

1. As mentioned before , I began another chapter of my life. College student. Ok, so here is the low down on week one. College is kicking my butt. First off, I am being forced to take a computer class. My computer knowledge is on a strict need to know basis (mentioned before here), if I need to know it, I find it out. Now I will be forced to learn about spread sheets and Excel. That is a four letter word in this house.(a story for it's own day). I am also in a poetry class. If you have ever read my Perfectly Poetical Tuesday (if not and you need a good laugh go here, or here) post than you already know what my professor will soon find out. On the brighter side, I only have like 10 papers due every week, not to mention I still have two kids at home all day with me that need my attention, cooking, cleaning, and a marriage to attend to!! ok, deep breath, deep breath...

2. This is my new favorite thing. We bought them at Christmas and forgot about them. I know, they would have been handy for all those days we couldn't go outside, instead of now, when we can! They are great anyway, and clean off really easily. Be careful, they can stain clothing.

they are window crayons by Crayola!

3. I have been so worried about my Tyler lately. But good news is, he started back at school and seems refreshed. I hate that he had to leave our family (even if it is for school) to get refreshed. I wish I knew how to do that for him at home. Him and Isaac are best buds again and we are seeing some real progress in his attitude. Yeah!!

4. The temp around here has warmed up significantly and we have spent a lot of time outside. It's been great! Except the mud! Yuck! But I will take mud over -10 degrees any day!!

5.The Olympics are coming up. I love the Olympics.

6. Tyler was awarded the "Dog" award this week in school. Each month, there is a charectar quality that the school highlights. This month was Responsibility. He got this the same day he forgot his library book at home.

7. When he forgot his book, he went to Dan's room in tears. He couldn't check out new books until he turned in all his old ones. We found it, got it up there and he was ok. But in the mean time he started crying all over again in the hall because he "just can't stop thinking about my library book". Where did he get this perfectionist syndrome???? It was most definitely not from me! I am ultimately very glad he takes such things so seriously, but worry over his poor heart and stomach with such constant stress.

7 Quick Takes

It's Friday!!!

1. It's 10:00 at night on Friday and I am just now getting to do this and read any of my blog updates. I think that says it all.

2. Just about five minutes ago my husband said this as he was coming into the kitchen for the uptenth time for me to tell or show him something- "I am going to invent an electric blanket that is pants. You know, I can put a pocket for your MP3 player." Yeah, that would be awesome.

3. Why would he need electric blanket pants- because it is FREEZING here. Really. The HIGH today was 8 degrees. The snow wasn't even melting when it hit my gloves. That.is.cold.

4. Well, it's official. I am now a college student. I am struggling with the age thing right now. I am secretly intimidated by the youth that will occupy my undergrad classes. (not so secretly anymore since I just typed it here on the world wide web!!) But, my excitement out weighs my fear of the youth, so let's do this thing!!

5. My five year old threw a temper tantrum at grandmas this evening because he wanted her hamburger stew. She was sending the frozen bowl home with us to eat, by the way. When I reminded him of this, he calmed and was ready to go home and eat. I set the bowl of warm stew in from of him and he said "I don't want this". Direct quote. Frustrated momma. He ate it. Some of it. I loved it. Ate lots of it.

6. Did I mention it was cold here?? Dan and Tyler have not been able to go back from Christmas Break due to the snow and the fact that it isn't melting. Because it's cold. Did I mention that already??

7. I took this picture of the sunrise the day we were to have a very windy, cold, snow storm. I am amazed it turned out so well, I must brag!! I am so proud of it, I put it as our desk top wallpaper.

Have a great weekend and visit Jen at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

7 Quick Takes

It's Friday!! Check out more quick takes at conversiondiary.com! 

1. It's 2010 and the big topic is New Years Resolutions. I admit, I am not very good at keeping these but enjoy the fun of making them. So here is my 2010 New Years Resolution.

2. To devolop a healthier me. I know, this is by far the most unorginal resolution, but I realized a few things lately. Since I am now staying home and my kitchen is just a few feet away from me, I tend to go in there often and snack. This might be ok if I didn't eat full meals.  But I do both. And, to further add to my growing thighs and other parts of the body not meant to grow at my age, I am no longer chasing 12-20 preschoolers around all day and walking the halls and steps of a school. The lack of physical movement might just be the straw that broke this camels back. So I will add my name to the millions of people that say they will lose weight and become healthier in 2010. Just so you know, I will most likely fail at this along with the millions that make this resolution simply because it is so hard to keep. And it's winter here so outside is that much less appealing.

3. Speaking of ways to get healthier, we own a treadmill. The question that pops into my head is why not use it. I do use it.  I use it for air drying sweaters and such. The part you walk on makes a perfect flat area for laying dedicates. Uhmmmm, I better find a new place to dry our sweaters!!

4. As I mentioned in a previous post, here, I am going to re attend college. This makes me very nervous. It's a little out of my comfort zone and honestly, I remember how I might have treated a few "non traditional students" the first time I went to college and maybe have some negative karma waiting for me. The thought of following through with this has consumed my thoughts and prayer life for a while. I just can't seem to feel at ease about it. I feel excited, nervous, giddy, paranoid, and all the other first day of school emotions I remember from my childhood.

5. I suppose I do have maturity on my side and hopefully a bucket full of grace to ward off that negative karma. At any rate, I am doing it, so keep my in your prayers, please!!

6. My husband and oldest son have been on Christmas break for over a week now, and it's been great! I love having them both at the house with us. We have all slept in and been lazy bones this entire time. Also, I have gotten to spend some super quality time alone with him after the kids go to bed. With him not having to prepare for work or getting up early, our routine has definitly relaxed. Only a couple of more days of this bliss then back to normal. I can't say I am not ready for some "normal" , yet I will also miss them more than usual since I have seen them so much.

7. Well, this has been a very random quick takes!! Check out Conversion Diary for more (and possibly some that have a bit more flow to them!!).

7 Quick Takes

It is Friday!! And honestly, for whatever reason, this is the easiest post all week for me to write! I do love

structure, in any form!!!

1. My oldest son, Tyler, who is 7 years old is a complete and total perfectionist. I would like to say I am 

exaggerating, but I can not tell a lie. I will give you just a few examples. 

Last night he had reading homework. He told me that they read two stories in class and so he wasn't sure if they needed to read one or both. He asked me to call his teacher. I am not kidding. At first he was smiling, so I thought he might just be joking, but then he pulled out his serious face and really asked. So we read both stories just to

be safe. 

Each week his teacher sends home this cute little paper with his spelling words on it. (keep in mind that they have had spelling test every week since sept. and he has missed TWO the entire time!!) It has four little pictures along with the words Mon-Thur on the side. The kids color a picture each day they practice the words. This morning as he was putting his spelling sheet in his back pack and we were going back over the words, I said to him, "Tyler, I think if you don't miss any we don't have to go over them after you take your test."

"momma, she said we needed to practice them every day"

" I know, but you KNOW them, I think she meant the kids that didn't get them all right"

"No, she said it to everyone"

This went on for another minute, then I gave in. Better to have overly good habits now, so when he is a teenager and slacks off he will just be normal!!!!

2. Speaking of Tyler, last night was his school Chrsitmas Program. It was adorable!! He likes being on stage, but gets so nervous!! His eyes never once left the music teacher!

Too Cute!!

And, I finally got to meet his best friend's grandparents!! I hope now he can come visit and I feel much better about him going there!

3. Tyler also told us about a little girl in his class that couldn't be in the Christmas Program. I asked him if she did the Christmas activities with the class and he said yes. (in retrospect, maybe he didn't understand my question)

A week later he was telling me about this same girl and mentioned that it was because her family didn't believe in Christmas. Wow. Ok, so we talked. Some people don't believe in Christmas, some people think Jesus lived but that he didn't die on the cross and rise again, some people don't believe in Jesus at all. Did she talk to you about why she didn't celebrate Christmas?? He told me no, he wasn't her friend because she had to stay in at recess alot to do her work. (oops, did we go wrong somewhere?? While I appreciate that he is wanting to be friends with "good kids" I certianly don't want him deny someone friendship because they are bad students) I told him he could be her friend, that sometimes that is the best way to tell someone about Jesus and just because she doesn't always do her work does not mean she is a bad person.

He seems to have this heightened sense of how people are different than him this year. It is producing alot of conversations I was hoping to not have for a while. He is so mature in some ways and yet a total 7 year old in others! We try to be honest with our kids, for their given maturity level. Sometimes, I admit, I am not sure where that line is....

4. Now to the opposite end of the specturm. My baby. He is 19 months and has little language skills. I have had worries over this laguage thing for about 7 months. Our previous pediatrictian (whom I would totally drive two and a half hours to see if he accepted our insurance) told me not to worry, he has two older brothers doing the talking for him and experienced parents who probably know what he needs by visual cues.
Then, we moved. And I had to find a new dr. I hate finding new doctors. But, we were given an excellent reccomendation from some family and they even got us in months earlier than we were able to on our own. So he is no Dr.E, but he is pretty good. I spoke to him in October about the language and was told to wait a couple of months to see if it got better. I called again and made another appt to talk about it again. I don't think I am crazy (or maybe I am just in denial and I have no problem with being "that mother") but he does not seem to be having as many words as he should. I started a list this morning to take with me of all that he does say, but a bigger problem I *think* I am hearing is no articualation and a slight muted sound. Like he is using his tongue way to much and the sounds have no crispness. Even when we all (even the older boys) make an effort to enuciate every sound while he watches our lips he still does not mimic it. He does not seem to lack any other skills, maybe even a little more observant than I remember the other two being. At any rate, now I am a worry stone until we go to the doctor.

5. Next week is Christmas!! This has been the least busy of all our past seasons and I sure do like it. We are only traveling for a short time to see my family in our hometown. It will be so grand to have everyone home for two weeks to just have fun!!!

6. We deocrated our house on Thanksgiving night. We realized the only thing we had brought with us was the tree!!! All of our other items, stockings, tree skirt, ornaments, lights were in storage two and a half hours away! We debated on whether or not to make the drive to go get them, and decided for less money we would just buy a box of cheap bulbs and make do. Needless to say our house is not very decorated this year!

here is our sad tree, it's old and the ornaments only go down so far in order to keep nick out of them!!Ok, maybe you could call us a little lazy this year!! (please ingore the ugly paneling in the back)

7, Since this is the last Friday before Christmas, have a Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus!!

7 Quick Takes

It's Friday and time for Quick Takes. Normally I love this part of the week, but this has been a very boring week around my life so it may be short.....

1. There is still no snow at my house. This makes me sad.

2. I have been spending most of my time scourring the internet looking for things to do that will challenge my five year old's mind. He is watching tv while I do this. (something seems very wrong with this picture)

3. The sun is shinning at my house right now, but it's a trick, it is not warm.

4. A friend of mine posted this link on her facebook. I thought these guys were funny (and best of all, clean) so I will atempt (again this week) to attach a video. If I can't, I don't have a backup number four so I will just type the link.

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days (original from 1998)

I couldn't get the image but I right clicked on this link and it seemed to work for me. Hope it works. If not, you can find them on you tube, that is where this link is from.

5. Speaking of Youtube, I think the commercial with the carolers in the mall singing about spending to much money is hilarous. I wish I was at the mall when they filmed that.

6. I think I will use this one to plug another blogger. Sarah at This Heavenly Life wrote a beautiful retelling of her first child's birth. She is an excellent mother, one I would like to imitate if I had girls!But, alas, I have rowdy, loud, everybody is going to die in this scene, boys. (now do you see why I must scour the internet)

7. Speaking of my boys, I feel that I must give them a plug every friday. Yes, I admit, I find myself lost in boyness almost every day. I played barbies and read books and played house. I never once was a pirate that shot cannons and killed people with volcanos. I feel overwhelmed with the amount of violence they play. They don't usually hit each other, they just talk the talk. But I worry my lack of experience in the boy world will lead to mommy mistakes.

Ok, enough of my pity party, here is something positive we did. One night we sat on the couch and took turns telling parts of a Christmas story. (ground rules were laid) I wish I would have written it down. A Chrsitmas cat and mouse were taught the true meaning of Christmas and how to be giving. Lots of fun!!

Well, I made it through all seven, have a great week. Don't forget to stop by Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

7 Quick Takes

It's Friday, It's Friday, time for quick posts (can you hear me singing!!)!

1. In a previous quick takes I discussed how I was trying to figure out all of the things you could do with your blog and some of my achievments, see it here. However, I am falling short when it comes to posting videos. I had this really cute little post about my kids post bath dance involving a show that we watch and can't do it now because I CAN"T get the video to link here!!!!! Am I missing brain cells or just IQ points in this area? It is so frustrating. Ok, enough of that little tantrum, moving on......

2. So I can't get this video to post. Ha!! Just kidding, bet you thought that I was going to continue slidding around on my soap box? Nope. Speaking of slidding though, I would really like to see some snow. Not a little, a lot. Enough to go slidding down our yard/hill. I am itching to build a snowman and make snow angels and snow ice cream. There is maybe a hint of snow in the forecast for sometime next week, but I am sure the weather man is just toying with my emotions. For now, we have to look at the decieving sun outside, begging us to play only to realize it's like 9 degrees. (not really, just feels like it)

3. Last night we dug out some of our favorite Christmas movies to start watching. We watch all the Tim Allen Santa Clause movies and Polar Express. We also go with the more traditional ones like Dr. Seuss version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Charlie Brown Christmas on TV. What do you like to watch during this season, do you have a family favorite??

4. Tommorow at church we have a Christmas Tea. This has become an annual event and I have driven down for it in the past. This will be my first year to contribute. Here's how it works. Anybody is invited to set a table, you set a full place setting with tea cups, saucers, salad plates, dinner plates, and silerware. It is beautiful. Each woman brings her own family history or collectors items to the "table". We all bring brunch type food (this is where I contribute) for a great feast! Each year there is a theme and some women read poetry, tell stories, or sing. I have to admit, it is a fullfilment of a childhood fantasy. A beautiful real live tea party. It is truly grand.

5. Like any mommy, I hate to see my children sad. This past week Tyler was invited to his first sleepover. He opted to not stay the entire night, we were set to pick him up late so he could have fun for a while. But then the little boy got sick. We received a phone call last night confirming that the party would be cancelled. Oh, I hated to tell him this bad news. How would he take it?? Would he cry or just say ok?? I knew he would be upset, he had been talking about this all week!! But I wasn't sure how he would take the news. Well, let us just say he did not take it well. The tears came as fast as his feet carried themselves to me for cuddling. At that moment I wished more than anything that I had some magical power that transferred emotion from one human to another. I would take on his pain. Instead I simply held him for a very long time, letting the tears bury themselves in my shirt. I wanted to bribe him with anything I could think of. A new IPod (which he has been coveting), a trip to New York City (the place he wants to visit most) , food, movies, anything to fix this thing I could not fix.  I felt so helpless. If only this moment could be an episode of Handy Manny and Manny with his cute talking tools could put my little boys heart back together. Alas, there are no such things and bribing will only teach Tyler to not deal with pain. So, instead, I held my first little baby in my arms whispering softly to him. This morning he seemed himself and he has moved on. If only I were as resilient as him. My heart still aches as I write this.

6. Because our children are a little older now, we have been able to start some different Christmas traditons around here. We decided to do a Family Fun Activity every night of advent. We are trying to say the word alot and talking more about what this time of year means for our family. What it means to our faith or better yet, what it means to the reason we have faith at all. Both Dan and I have felt convicted for a while now that we are not doing enough to teach our children about Jesus. We go to church and we each have our own growing realtionships as well as a relationship with Him as a couple. But teaching our kids what he is all about has not been in the forefront of our minds. We try to show them by how we behave and choices we make because of our faith, but talking about it is another story. So I am giving this question to all of you?? If you teach your children about God, how do you do it?? Do you discuss at family times or simply allow them to learn by watching you?? Do they ask questions??

7. This post took me entirely to long, and now my living room is covered in toys and I think a book has been ripped. I must go and save this house!! Have a great weekend and check out Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes.

7 Quick Takes

Look!! I actually got the picture this week. It doesn't go anywhere if you click on it, but the picture is there!! So exciting!! Ok, here we go...

My past Quick Takes have been mostly about my kids. And while they are the center of my attention these days, I felt as though this week I would be more likely to keep your attention if I expanded my horizons. Let's give it a try.

1. This week I committed myself to figuring out how to use this amazing thing called the internet without asking my tech savy hubby. This has meant that most of my use of the computer must be done when he is not here. If he even glances over my shoulder he can figure out what I am trying to do and then conduct a much more effecient way of doing it. If I should protest that he show me and not do it for me, it's like learning to drive all over again. Scared, unsure, and feeling the pressure of not messing up and hitting something very expensive!! Now, just to clarify, I am not computer illerate. I am computer inabled. I have had no need for over ten years to learn on my own. I simply ask and receive. But in light of my new found perspective on life (more on that later) I felt the need to become independent. So far, I have gotten a picture from one site to another (check out the top of this blog), Labeled blogs, and even put a link in my writing (thank you Sarah @ This Heavenly Life -did it again!!). I have also dipped my creative feet into ordering pictures online!! I can feel the wind in my hair as I breeze through the World Wide Web as an amazingly fast speed of at least 35miles per hour. Look out people, I'm coming!!

2. I mentioned my new found perspective on life. I will be having a Birthday in about 6 1/2 months. It seems a little premature to be thinking about this, but this is no ordinary birthday. This is a milestone birthday. One of those you are suppose to look back and see how far you have come, laugh about all the stupid things you did in your previous years, and feel accomplished and content. I do not feel accomplished. I do not wish to look back and laugh at all those things. I LIVED through them, isn't that enough????  Those around me have already lived through this birthday and are still alive to tell the tale, so I am pretty sure I will still be here. But, it has brought to mind my priorities and desires. Me. Apart from my husband and children. I can't imagine a life without them, but I would like to at least a personality and interests that may or may not coincide with all of theirs. How is my brain doing?? Is it rotting from neglect of inteligent conversations? Can I still read a book that has more than 10 pages? Will Junie B. ever get that nasty May??? I pull books off the bookshelf in hopes of reading them. They sit until someone comes by and puts them back on the bookshelf. I guess I am just questioning my head. What do I enjoy?? How can I incorprate what I enjoy into my daily life and still wear all the hats I need to?

3. Christmas is coming. I love Christmas. I love to decorate for Christmas. And I am a stickler for waiting until Thanksgiving night to put them up or listen to any Christmas Music. This year, I am extra excited. I have BIG plans for our deck!! You know, the one no one can see because there are no houses behind us. I don't care though and I am super excited. So, should I wait or go for it???

4. I have been watching this spider outside my window for over a month. He built his web in a precuilar spot. Perched high above the ground with only two beams to anchor him. The wind always seemed to be blowing his home in all different directions. But he stayed. Today, I noticed he was gone. His web is no longer there. I felt a tinge of grief over the loss of him. He never spoke to me or wrote kind things about me in his web like Charlotte nor did he come down beside me and scare me like Little Miss Muffett. But he was there, and I found myself, more than once, wondering why he chose to build his home there. Was it the view?? The rush of adrenaline over the constant threat of destruction?? Or perhaps that was the best place to catch flies. For whatever reason he came, he is now gone. And I feel just a little sad. I hope he found a more secure place to build his home.  

This is a picture of him early one morining with the dew, it really is beautiful.

5. Did I mention Christmas was coming?? Well, I love Christmas. It may be my favorite holiday. Not for the gifts or stress over buying them, but the joy it seems to bring out in everyone. Even those that don't know or beilieve in the reason behind it. We have this tradition with Grandma. We buy a birthday cake and have a birthday party. We sing Happy Birthday and talk about Jesus. The past years it has been short. Yes, he was born today and he loves us very much. Ok, we can eat cake now. Maybe this year, our oldest will ask more? Maybe we will tell more. We have some others that are pretty fun, like buying a new Christmas Cd every year (we have quite a collection now!) and making yummy food. What are some of yours?? Any good ones I might want to steal and start here???  (I didn't make it!! I just have very little to say that doesn't have to do with my kids. Oh well, maybe next week!!)

6. This week I discovered the night sky. I know what your thinking. Geez Emily, did you have any thoughts on your own before this week or were just a sheep following the herd??? I can not tell you what happened this week to create this crazy steriod like intitative to discover inside my brain, I am sure by next week I will have settled back into my old procrasting, child centered life again. But while I am here, in this place, let me tell you about the sky. It's not just the night sky. It's the night sky after midnight. It is breathtaking. The stars seem so bright and close. Like if I stood on my tippy toes I could reach them. The picturs they create are exactly like the ones I remember seeing in books as a child. Only in 3D and much bigger. They just go on forever. I have been meaning to research what this season is in our place on Earth. What constellations should we see, is this brightness normal, and I have been sleeping like a normal person at this hour and have never noticed!? Maybe if I actually research it, I will let you know. (See, it's still me!)

7. And lastly, thank you for actually getting to number 7. Such random thoughts this week and I must digress.  Have a great week and check out more 7 Quick Takes at Conversion Diary (ha! I did it again!!!)

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!!!