7 Late, Lazy, and Lengthy Quick Takes

1. Every week I say to myself, "This week I'm gonna do 7 quick takes. And then I start writing them. And then I never finish. Then Friday night I'll say "Well I guess it's too late" and I don't post.
WELL NOT THIS WEEK. I'm doin me some quick takes..LIVE ...IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT!!

It's Sunday Morning

It's Sunday afternoon. I refuse to be stopped.

So first: I'm going to THE EDEL GATHERING!!!!
Totally unexpected and I'm still in shock:)


2. Oh Winter 2014! Winter of the Sleepless Nights and Sicknesses and Other Crap.
 We have a bug right now. I thought it was a stomach bug for a sec, but it's not. It's a 'head cold, sore throat, nasty cough, runny nose, post nasal drip till the kids vomit' kind of bug and it is about to kill me. Now the baby has it, and you know what that means: doomed.

3. For Valentine's Day, Dan gave me some really beautiful flowers and he brought sushi home after his evening shift at work. But the best gift of the day was...dun dun dunnnnn..we took turns taking naps!!! You go through seasons in life where naps are the most loving thing you can offer your spouse is sleep. Also? I made him some chocolate covered bacon.

4. I have been meaning to share this next link for over a month.

 I don't normally recommend articles on child discipline, and many times I find them annoying and/or condescending, but my friend Amanda of A Life Well Loved wrote one recently  and I loved it.

I love reading stuff by Dr Ray Guarendi, but I have found that sometimes it depends on the personality of the parent. Discipline is necessary, but the goal can often be forgotten and  it can become a game of revenge where the parent seeks to "win" out of their own frustration. Relationships can become broken and lost. I really appreciate the way Amanda wrote about this and came up with ways to communicate some valuable points to her children while treating them like people.

5. Call me immature, but I posted these videos of farting olympians to my fb page and people have been enjoying it like crazy. Farts ftw!!! Spreading cheer is my calling and I am willing to fall on the fart-sword in order to do so.

6. Kelly of This Ain't The Lyceum wrote an awesome, encouraging post this week about teaching your child to read. It's so great, and I def recommend it. Last year, when we first *really* started home schooling, one of my children was having a very hard time. We use the All About Reading Curriculum, and I called them a few times in the beginning, ready to rip my own hair out. I was terrified that my child would not be able to learn. Truth is, I needed to learn. I needed to learn to chill out and stop freaking out and simply be patient and encouraging.

A year later, this same child is an excellent reader and is reading book 1 of The Boxcar Children series on his own every night FOR FUN. Not only that, but two more of my younger ones are reading now, and they love reading! They read to each other throughout the day and they love their reading lessons. They are each so proud of themselves and it's awesome.

 I'm sharing this because you have no idea how completely hopeless I felt about this in the beginning. I really thought there was something terribly wrong with my child. I know there are moms out there like me who need to hear that it WILL work if you just keep working at it and be patient. Try not to communicate your frustration to your child, and if you mess up then say you're sorry and tell your child that you believe in them and they WILL succeed! Even if your child has a disability, that's okay. They can learn to read. For real, go read Kelly's post.

7. Ok enough talking. How bout some pictures from the week? I don't normally do this, but what the heck.

making soap carving tools. i think prison inmates create these same tools.

He said his bread looks like a rabbit.

Hi Squish!

"Mm mm, honey"

Finished volume 2 of 3 for her reading curriculum this week!

Male and female downy woodpeckers.

Ribbon candy for the kiddos.

Go see Jen and all the other on-time Quick Takers!:)