7 Quick Takes Friday

1. TOMORROW WE LEAVE FOR DISNEY WORLD!

2-7. See #1

See you on the flip side, People!

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. That I’m even typing at all is a testament to my commitment to the 7QT’s. Jim, Catie, Bennett and I worked like CRAZY on their science fair projects both last night and this morning. I went to bed happy, thinking we were finished. However, upon waking up, Jim informed me that we missed two whole parts–the plan (typed) and the abstract. Now, I don’t know about you, but I have a pretty good vocabulary. I read a lot. I had never heard the word “abstract” used that way (something other than the opposite of concrete or in addition to the word “art”). I googled it and found it meant “summary”. So why didn’t they USE the word SUMMARY?  For heaven’s sake! We somehow managed to get everything done and the kids to school ON TIME. The fair is happening as I type, I hope it’s going well. Neither one is going to win, but it’s important that they finished what they wanted to do.

2. I start work in T minus 20 days. I’m going out this morning to the local thrift store to see if I can find some pants that actually fit me. Oh joy. I hate clothing shopping unless a store has a petite department. Thrift stores are not known for this option.

3. Having purchased Inheritance by Christopher Paolini last November, I am finally getting around to rereading the first three books in the series so I can then read the 4th and final installment. I finished the first book and am starting on the 2nd. I love big books, but my, these are BIG BOOKS.

4. Jim finishes up his current contract on January 31st and starts the next one on February 1st. What a blessing!

5. Because of #4, we may actually be thinking about Disney World. Compared to last year, this is incredible!

6. I just discovered my new favorite tea. Well, except for Tetley first thing in the morning. That will always be my favorite. Bigalow Green Tea with Lemon. Oh my YUM! And I got the decaf version, so I can drink it anytime I want to!

7. Hey, I made it to 7 without breaking a sweat! WooHoo! Tomorrow they are forecasting snow–the first of the new year. I’m ready and especially glad it’s happening on a Saturday morning.

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. Howdy from Southeastern PA, the home of the very confused winter. Usually by now we’ve had some snow and it’s consistently in the 30′s. This past week we went up in the mid to high 50′s once and were in the 40s to 50′s the rest of the time. I’m actually a little grateful we’re heading down into the low 30′s right now. I don’t love winter. Not one bit. But I think it plays an important part in germ warfare and fun for my kids. Not to mention making “Roast Chicken with Winter Vegetables” more appealing.

2. Yeah, that will be a new recipe. It includes TURNIPS. I don’t think I’ve ever tried a turnip. They’re certainly pretty enough–white and purple. I’ll save my taste opinion until Sunday evening after the recipe. WalMart didn’t have fennel, so I’ll be buying that today. I love fennel. I never use it, but it’s nummy.

3. It’s been an interesting week with Jim’s work stuff. He was offered a position with the company he’s contracting with, but opted not to take it and instead stay self-employed. And you know what? I’m fine with that. Sure, it’s “riskier” and private insurance costs are definitely higher (not to mention mine does not cover my PCOS!), but still, he’s happier, which makes me happier. We might not get to Disney World this year like we promised the kids, but we’ll see.

4. Can I just tell you that getting a Wii for the family has ended up being an overall excellent decision? The three sighted kids LOVE it. What little I’ve played I like it– and Just Dance 3 makes you SWEAT! I even got Jim and I a game to play just for the two of us, and that’s been fun. Of course there is the inevitable squabbling. But in the end, I’m very glad we did it.

5. Having missed out on adult-female companionship for the past month, I’m making up this week. Yesterday I hung out over our pastor’s wife’s house (well, I guess it’s his house too!) with her and her two boys. We talked for almost 4 hours straight! LOVED IT. And then today I’m having lunch with a friend that I haven’t hung out with since last summer. Tuesday I’ll be seeing my sister and mom. On the bonus side, when I see girlfriends, I need to talk to Jim less, which I’m sure he appreciates!

6. In one short month I’ll be working again. At an office. Which I haven’t done in almost 11 years. Yikes! I’m nervous about it. I want to do a good job, I want to fit into a professional place again, I want to make it work with my home life and children’s schedules and snow days etc. It’s for 7 weeks while someone is out on maternity leave. If she didn’t come back….I’ve even thought about that and don’t know what I’d do. My children are home during the summer and it would absolutely not make sense to pay for day care. I wouldn’t make that much to even cover it…..but no sense putting the cart before the horse! Needless to say, I think about this a fair amount!

7. On a sad note, I talked to the vet yesterday. Based on our kitty Winky’s recent behavior, her kidney disease is progressing. The vet said she will not last out the year. I broke the news to the kids, which did not go over well. They obviously want me to look through my crystal ball and tell them when she will die. Not even the vet can do that. So we do our best and love her and continue to clean up the messes she is making all over the house. It’s going to be an interesting year with her.

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. 9 days until Christmas. Gulp! I’ve been so busy! Gift buying is thankfully finished, as is the first batch of fudge (and mostly given out today, the last day of school for my local-school kids. The tree is still only trimmed with the kids’ things and the adult stuff is still out. I haven’t wrapped, gotten our picture (and my hair SO needs to be colored!) or even thought about cards. Why, o why, does our Lord’s birth have to be celebrated with such a long to-do list??

2. Laura Update: The rheumatologist thinks it’s probably arthritis, but wants to wait for the blood work results as well as the bone scan. Blood work was yesterday, bone scan is on Monday. In the meantime, she’ll be on Naproxen (prescription strength Alleve) and needs orthotics in her shoes (gets fitted next Thursday). This morning I asked her how she felt after the Naproxin had time to take effect. Her answer? NOTHING HURTS!! For the first time in almost 3 months! Hallelujah!

3. I admit that I’ve been running around a little like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off. We haven’t had this medical stuff in so many years that I’m out of practice with it. I have, however, been keeping everyone (pediatrician, nurse, even gym teacher!) in the loop–I’m a FIRM believer in inclusion when it comes to information. The more everyone knows, the better they can handle the situation.

4. My next-door neighbor and I are building a nice new friendship. It’s hard working around kids and her work schedule, but I’m happy to have a “next-door friend” again after losing my last one when she moved.

5. Pursuant to #4, I’m babysitting her son for a few hours tomorrow. He’s 16 months old.  Consequently, I need to get on my hands and knees and see what he can put in his mouth and choke on. The older kids get, the smaller their toys get!

6. One of my children is really doing a LOT of lying lately. I’m not one to be a good mother and sit down and look at verses on stuff with the kids, but in this case, this child and I are going to do just that. We’ll look up the verse and what God has to say on lying and that child is going to write it down. Because both Jim and I are getting extremely fed up with the situation!

7. I wish I could think of a seventh thing, but I just can’t. Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. 3 1/2 weeks until Christmas. I’m slowly making my way through my gift-buying. I really need to sit down and put some major thought into it, or I’m going to be too late and then freak out.

2. Laura’s MRI is scheduled for Thursday. We’re going to try and attempt non-sedated (she’ll watch a movie), because the first sedated MRI slot was more than a week later than that! We’re again heading in Philadelphia, but I’m going  a completely different way, which should alleviate a lot of the stress. Theoretically at least.

3. I’m surrounded by many piles in my house. Paperwork, art stuff, decorations…I really need to buckle down and deal with them. But blogging is so much more fun, don’t you think? However, I’m hosting bible study next Tuesday, so the house will look FABULOUS by then!

4. The kids are starting the countdown to the end of school. The local school’s last day is the 16th, which I personally think is insane. I would rather have had a shorter winter break and a longer spring break. Sigh. What am I going to do with them all those days before the new toys hit??

5. We just found out that one of our kitties, Winky, is in renal failure. We’re trying her on a special low-protein kidney cat food to see if that helps. I’m not looking forward to breaking the news to the kids that she’s very sick. They adore her.

6. I just got Thum at the drugstore. You paint your kids’ nails with it to encourage them to stop biting their nails. Both Bennett and Laura chew their nails a LOT. I’m a cuticle picker, so they come by it naturally. Let’s hope this helps!

7. We started reading the Advent passages last night while decorating our Advent calendar. It’s a large felt Christmas tree with 24 felt pockets with felt decorations. My mother’s next door neighbor handmade it back in the late 60′s/early 70′s. I remember being thrilled at reaching December 16th because whoever did that day got to put up Baby Jesus. I love passing down this tradition to my kids!

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. 4 1/2 weeks until Christmas. I’ve started shopping, I admit it. Just a few things, but it feels good to be at least started.

2. I hosted Thanksgiving yesterday. Even though I bought the darn thing last Friday, our 21 lb turkey was still not thoroughly thawed when I started cooking it and therefore was not quite finished (ok, 45 mins to an hour late!) when we tried to carve it. Sigh. Thank goodness for my BIL, who took over and dealt with the re-roasting and carving and all those wonderful things. I love my BIL!

3. Pursuant to #1, we succumbed to the Wii. WalMart was having a very good sale and we finally agreed that we would spend some of that holiday money on it. Five of us will forgo some of our regular present money for the privilege, Ethan being the loan hold out. Wii’s tend to be someone visual in nature, so I’m thinking he won’t be playing with it much!

4. One of the things I love about the Thanksgiving holiday is Friday. It feels like Saturday right now, but it’s NOT! We get an extra day to sleep in and relax!

5. Laura has been having some physical problems of late. We saw the pediatrician. Twice. She referred us to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Although I’ve been to their satellite office, I’ve never driven into the city. YIKES. I got lost (thank goodness for Jim’s TomTom!), but we finally got there and met the surgeon, Dr. No-Bedside-Manner. He didn’t say hello and certainly didn’t apologize for being an HOUR late to our appointment. He thought her problem was on the surface and prescribed some cream. I thought he was wrong, but was willing to go along with it. 1 1/2 weeks later, no improvement. So now we will be scheduling an MRI, which is very scary for Laura. She even started to lie about feeling better because she was so scared about it. I called her on it and she confessed. I’m very glad I know my kids very well! I’m currently waiting on a call back from the scheduling nurse. I’m hoping the MRI helps diagnose what in the world is going on!

6. My kids are addicted to the DS game Mario Kart. They go “head to head” between themselves and with friends. I’ve never seen a more popular game in this house. If you are looking for suggestions for DS, I highly recommend it.

7. Instead of fighting the incredibly early Christmas music (at the store and on the radio), I have embraced it this year and have actually enjoyed it! Jim and I are both already ready to decorate and get into the holiday spirit. I should have done this years ago!

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. Well Hello everyone! I know it’s been awhile since I last posted, and I’m real sorry about that. It’s balancing wanting to post with having not a whole lot to say and not wanting to bore you, my faithful readers!

2. Just a little over 7 weeks until Christmas. This makes me feel somewhat twitchy, as I haven’t started Christmas shopping yet. By now I usually have some idea of what I’m going to buy and I haven’t even started that process yet. We have a large family and a LOT of people on our list, so it’s a fairly involved process. We’re talking about getting the kids (ok, and us too!) a Wii. That would, however, greatly reduce the amount of presents under the tree, because a Wii ain’t cheap. Thoughts?

3. Speaking of Christmas, the youngest child is still holding FIRMLY to the idea of Santa. We never–literally never–encouraged this, but the schools did. They even sent home “reindeer food” for heaven’s sake! She’ll be nine in March, so I’m of the opinion that this has GOT TO STOP. But even when she asked last year if he existed and I told her the truth, she refused to believe me. What does one do with that?

4. Our women’s bible study at church is studying the book of Colossians. I’m thoroughly enjoying it, as our pastor’s wife, Summer, graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary and actually WROTE the study. The book is very challenging to understand and I’m really loving digging into it.

5. Daylight Savings ends on Sunday. Thusly, it will be easier to get my children up in the morning. I really wish we would just do away with the whole practice. I think it made sense when we were an agrarian, candle-lit society. Not now. However, I don’t think the United States Government really cares what I think.

6. Ironic moment: YEARS ago, my left next-door neighbor’s daughter told me that my right next-door neighbor’s daughter was talking about being a lesbian. I called my right next-door neighbor’s ex-wife (long story), who was a Christian and I thought deserved to know what she was saying. She was happy I called, because she wanted to know, and talked about how her daughter was most likely going through a teenage stage. Fast forward to today, when that woman posted on Facebook that she was attending her daughter’s wedding to her girlfriend. Hmmmm.

7. This week may or may not include my first time on jury duty. I’ve been “called” for November 9 and 10, but I have to call the night before both days to see if they need me. I cannot serve on a long-term trial because of not having anyone to take care of the kids, but I could do a day or two. In a moment of “Really?”, it appears my father has also been called for the same two days.

8. We survived the crazy snowstorm last weekend. I ended up not getting together with a group of our friends, but almost had an accident in the morning and was feeling nervous about it. All in all, we got about 4 inches or so. In October. With green grass and leaves still on the trees. It was very, very weird.

Happy Friday everyone!

7 Quick Takes Friday

 

1. I tried to HTML thingy and it did NOT work for me. It just stayed in the HTML version; it didn’t become a pretty form or anything. Oh well! I guess I’m stuck with my old regular way!

2. Good intentions….road to hell paved with. It’s 3:06 in the afternoon and I have not gotten to the gym. I have, however, practiced lifting tubs of winter clothes from and then summer clothes to the closet, and then lifting mattresses with new sheets and blankets on them. So I worked out my biceps, right?

I did want to go on record as saying that when I weighed myself this morning, instead of 165 I saw 163.8. I’m not excited, because that falls within the normal parameters of my up and down weight. My body is very comfortable with between 163 and 165. Once I hit, say, 159, THEN I’ll start to get a little excited.

3. There is much commotion in our neighborhood right now. Yesterday, today and Monday they are dredging one of the roads and repaving it. It’s somewhat amusing to watch the school buses try to navigate around all the construction vehicles. I’m somewhat waiting for a collision–is that wrong?

4. I’m going on record as saying I HATE THE NEW FACEBOOK. I’ve given it more than a week. I’ve changed settings. I’ve subscribed and unsubscribed and jumped through hoops. I’ve listened to earnest friends try to convince me that it’s just so much better and I should really love it. And I still hate it. Stupid Mark Zuckerberg.

5. T minus one week and counting!! I’m so excited about our weekend away! And so very, very thankful that Jim’s mom is available to watch the kids. No way could we afford a babysitter for two full days! Weather.com is predicting cool but sunny for the whole time, so it’s looking to be a good weekend! I’ll definitely give details once we’re back.

6. Jim’s been working at the office this week. Consequently, I got a lot done. I don’t know what it is about him working from home…it’s not even like his office is in the house! He has a little one set up in the garage! But for some reason, he stays home and my brain says LET’S DO NOTHING! I’m sure he’s not impressed!

7. I’m making my first “Fallish” meal this weekend: Beef Stew in the Crockpot. Mmmmmm! I love fall cooking so much more than any other season. Are you making anything special this week?

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. Wow. THAT week flew by! Did everyone notice more posts from me, didja, huh, didja? I am trying to do what I said I’d do!!

2. We went to bed in summer and woke up firmly in fall. I LOVE IT. It was 40 when I got up. It’s supposed to go up to 65 today. This summer wasn’t HORRIBLE, but Fall is just way better. Plus, we only had ONE DAY of rain this week. That, after all we’ve had, is a miracle!

3. One of my favorite authors, Gayle Roper, just put out a new book. I LOVE when that happens! Shadows on the Sand is a good read, well written and worth it. If you are broke, just head to your local library!

4. T minus 3 weeks and counting for our anniversary getaway. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this. This is what we’ll be doing on Saturday. Doesn’t it look FUN?! Yeah, I know, I need to get out more.

5. I had the honor and privilege of delivering food to a family that had none this week. N. O. N. E. The father of five opened his fridge and showed me two shelf-stable cartons of milk. That was it. Our organization, the Parkesburg Churches Community Outreach, is getting more and more requests. The economy is really hitting so many people hard! Having been close to that this year, I’m very grateful for Jim’s job!

6. I just started reading a new book, The PCOS Diet Plan. I’ve known I had PCOS for more than 11 years now. When I was diagnosed with prediabetes, I made some immediate changes in my diet to started medication to treat it and am now no longer considered prediabetic. However, part of PCOS is having insulin resistance. And a lot of those changes I made those many years ago have ceased. I’ve already said I need to lose weight. I also need to take better care of myself, nutritionally. I’m hoping this book is a good place to start.

7. I’m going in, folks. Today is the day that I delve into the bins of children’s clothes and figure out what they have and what they need. This is, hands down, one of my least favorite things to do. If you don’t hear from me by tomorrow, send in a search part!

8. Oh, and I’m adding this quick “awkward parent conversation” as an extra. Backstory: Laura was too vigorous with the soap between her legs and ended up with some major irritation in her urethra. Water, Tylenol, bath with baking soda…all fine. While I was trying to describe where her urethra was, she asks “what’s the thing in the middle?”

I’m really hoping it’s just her vagina, but I asked “you mean the thing that sticks out?”

“Yes.” oh joy. Boys are so much easier!

“That’s your clitoris”

“What’s it do?”

Jim’s in the living room (we’re in the kitchen) and starts laughing. The jerk.

“Um….it’s for when you’re married. It’s for sex.”

“Oh.” Thank goodness no more questions!

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. If I could, I would send the rain we are getting to Texas. The rain has been non-stop. Before Irene, we had the most rain ever recorded in one month. We were saturated. Then Hurricane Irene. Then some unseasonable wet weather. Then the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee. People, we are WET. Thankfully, our home (and most of the neighborhood) is on high ground. We haven’t had any problems personally other than losing power from Irene. And that was more of a nuisance than anything. But hey, God, if you want to take the rain to Texas, please do so. We won’t mind a bit!

2. My friend, Julie, posted this on Facebook this morning. I’m in love.

The lyrics are here if you want.

3. I’m reading Colossians this week. Huh. Spell check doesn’t like that word! Well, PPPBBBTTT to spell check! Rabbit Hole! So, I’m reading Colossians this week, and reading a college NT bible course textbook with it. I love reading the bible (when I make myself actually SIT and READ), but I also love all the background stuff that it doesn’t tell you–which is why I’m loving this textbook. It’s almost like a sermon without the “here’s how you should change your life” part. It gives the background of the time, the people, the archeology involved. Its’ GREAT. If you want to do something similar, here it is. You can get it on Amazon and probably CBD as well.

4. We had back to school night at the local elementary. I poked Jim a few minutes into it and said “Do you realize this is our 6th one?” Kindergarten seems eons ago. Bennett and Laura are both “kindergarten helpers” even. The years are flying by, People. FLYING BY.

5.Pursuant to #4, I have really enjoyed my first week at home. I always try to get at least a few days to myself once they hit school. Jim’s been home some, and my brother visited (more on that next), but it’s been, by and large, a nice and quiet week. BLISS.

6. Ok, so my brother….he called Tuesday afternoon and says he wants to visit before going back to Florida (he’s a snow bird–summers in Rehoboth Beach, De and everything else West Palm, FL). He’s leaving next Tuesday. He can’t do the weekends. When can he come? Thursday, as I said, was back to school night and Friday is karate, so only Wednesday would work. So he left, turned around to get fudge and candy from the boardwalk for us (nice!), and came up 95. Trying to get off at 202, there was  a big accident. He was stopped completely. Finally got past that. Got to the 30 bypass and whoops! TONS of rain (See #1). They were going 15 mph. Normally 55-70. He finally got off at our exit and drove the 2 miles to our neighborhood. Which he couldn’t get into because of a creek flooding onto the highway (See #1) and it was completely closed off. Jim had him turn around, go back down the road to the previous exit off the highway, pass our exit and then do a U-Turn. He finally got here more than 3 hours after he originally left! Thankfully, he viewed it as an “adventure” and was fine.

7. We’re leaving for our anniversary getaway in four weeks. Jim’s mom is going to watch the kids Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon. I cannot WAIT!