7 Quick Takes (about Primrose and...other stuff)

1.

Primrose, the other day: Mom, I don't know how your blog readers stand it.

Me (getting defensive)(because, what? I exaggerate too much?) (or use too many parentheses?): Stand what exactly?

Her, incredulously: I don't know how they stand seeing all these pictures of Posy but never getting to kiss and hold her!

So that is our question for you- how DO you stand it?

2.

This is probably one of those things that the rest of the world already knows but I only just figured out.

If you want the convenience of a lap-size whiteboard, you can slide a plain piece of cardstock into a page protector and use dry-erase markers on it. Of course we use dry-erase markers on page protectors all the time, but it only just occurred to me that I could use the same idea for a small, portable white board. Before sliding it into the page protector, I drew lines on one side of the cardstock. The other side I just left blank. Snap and I have been using this every day with Primary Arts of Language, and I keep it right in our P.A.L. basket. Handy, quick, cheap cheap cheap.

3.

So... my (fabulous) (hunky) (totally sweet) husband joined in our comment-box conversation about my cloth diaper woes. Did you see? :) Oh yes. He is awesome. And I am totally selling my stash.

4.

I don't think I ever showed you this gift from Mother's Day. It's from Primrose.

You know what this is, right? It's my very own I Love You Because Board. Prim said I was the only one in the family without, so she made me one. So, so sweet.

5.

Speaking of sweet, I know I've bragged about her before, but the girl is just constantly outdoing herself. I've been a wee bit... overwhelmed lately (cough), and... (what Andy? You think that's understating things?) Ahem. Where was I? Oh yes, Primrose. So anyway, the other night I threw pizza at the kids served Italian for dinner and then went to hibernate with the baby for a nursing. When I got back to the kitchen about a half hour later, the floor was swept, dishes clean, and the countertops and table were wiped. Oh, and she made brownies. Peanut butter chocolate brownies, which is pretty much awesome. Then (because like I said, she outdoes herself) she scooped the baby from my arms, changed her diaper and got her into pajamas.

Without being asked. Just because.

6.

No, you cannot have her.

7.

I'm going to do some serious begging here. For the love of my sanity, would my fellow bloggers PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE turn off the word verification on your comment boxes?

Look, I know. I get lots of spam, too. In Chinese. Daily. But I love you, see? I love you and so I put up with it and never make you do word verification (and besides, blogger does a dang good job of filtering out the spam for you- it shows up in your email, but not often on your blog).

This is all I'm saying:

1. There will be no word verification in Heaven.

2. Word verification stresses me to a degree that requires copious amounts of chocolate to remedy.

3. If you have word verification on your blog and I still leave you comments, know that I must really really like you. Because usually, as soon as that box comes up that tells me to type in letters I CAN'T EVEN BLASTED READ I ditch the whole comment-leaving effort and click away. I never get the sequence of letters right the first time, anyway, so I go do something more worthwhile. Like grumble about word verification codes. And eat chocolate.

That's it. I'm done.

Happy Weekend! :)

Making it Count :: Time Offline

Every week, Pam and I are co-hosting the Making it Count Tuesday link-up. Start with any one of those fabulous ideas you've found online. Then, do it. Make it. Cook it. Create it. Take it from the screen, give it life and let it bless your world. When you're done, snap a photo, write about it and share it with us.

Make your time online count.

We're meeting at Pam's today- come on over!

***

Making it Count is all about using the time we spend online to bless our families. But sometimes-- most of the time-- we bless our family best by closing the browser window and turning away from the screen.

That's where it really counts.

 That's what I've been up to lately. In part, cutting back my online time was prompted by a certain little person who decided she doesn't much care for naps anymore.

Mmmm, yes.

A wee little baby who only wants her mama and doesn't nod off so often (or at all- sheesh) will do that to a girl's writing time- throw it into a tailspin, I mean. And honestly, I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed by the daily workload anyway-- all those cloth diapers to wash, you know -hee! ;). But actually, the dailiness of tending this little flock of mine does feel like a lot some days, and I'm finding that I need every spare second to pour into our family so that things run smoothly. I've needed to turn away from the computer to find my equilibrium. And when I come back to the screen to read and respond to emails or to post something here on my blog, I feel energized again because I'm putting the bulk of my time where it really counts.

“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.”― Henry David Thoreau

(hat tip: Jenny)

I don't want to miss out on any of the living. So it's good to remember- I make my time online count most when I make my time offline count first.

Which is, of course, easy to do when you've got a little something like this to tend to. I mean, really- naps are overrated anyway. ;)

Meet us over at Pam's and tell us what you're doing to make it count this week.

May Daybook

Outside my window...

rain and thunderstorms this week. We had a pretty busy weekend and I'm looking forward to some quiet days at home.

I am thankful for...

Gluten-free cookies at Sheila's son's graduation party. There must have been 20 different kinds of cookies on the table, all of them (every! last! one!) were gluten-free, and all of them were awesome (good job, Cinnamon!). When Tulip found out that the entire table was gluten-free, she was elated. "Oh wow, I never get to choose from everything on the table!" she squealed.

Can I tell you what that did to my heart? If you have a child with allergies or food intolerances, you already know. The opportunity to feel like everybody else, to pick from everything on the table- it's a big deal. A big awesome deal.

I am thinking about...

next school year. I've been busy making new color-coded checklists. They are prettier than last year's and I'm happier with our curriculum choices than I was last year, so- good things all around.

In the Schoolroom...

Three more weeks till we call it a wrap. We're focusing on finishing strong this year. It's so easy to fizzle and just get on with summer, but I'm resisting the temptation.

From the kitchen...

I dunno. I am very un-inspired at the moment.

I am creating...

end-of-year summaries for the kids. It is such a satisfying experience to write up year-end booklists. I am amazed at how much we accomplished, and I don't think I'd have realized how much we really did if I didn't write it all out. I've got a fun little idea to go with the write-ups, and I'll share it here when I'm done.

I am working on...

being less impulsive. Seriously, it would do me a world of good to actually think something through before doing it. Case in point: cloth diapering. I hate it. Really hate it. But once you (impulsively) sink hundreds of dollars at the Fuzzibunz store, your husband might just think you should follow through and use them for the long haul.

Unless, of course, your blog readers could convince him otherwise. Please! Go at him in the comments! :) Not a diaper change goes by without my pining away for those beloved disposables. (granola moms, please pretend like I didn't just say that.) (I like you! I just don't like your cloth diapers.) (actually, that's not true. I like your cloth diapers just fine. I just don't like mine.)

Sigh. Must not be so hasty. Must consider and think through. Must also refrain from using so many parentheses.

Clicking Around...

Oh heck, I don't know. I haven't so much as peeked at my google reader in a week.

I am reading...

Mockingjay- still. This book better end well because I'm doing some serious slogging to get there.
I've also just started a Louise Bates Ames book, Gregory Popcak's Beyond the Birds and the Bees, and Keep it Simple: The Busy Catholic's Guide to Growing Closer to God.

I am praying for...

an email friend.

I am hearing...

Snap told me that I look like I still have a baby in my tummy. Which is like, awesome. Obviously. (No really, I'm over it.) (I don't even think about it.) (Pretty much ever.) (Cause he's a kid and it's totally no big deal, right?) (And besides, I begged everybody to tell me how HUGE I was when I was pregnant, so what's a kid to do?)

Sigh. There I go with the parentheses again.

Around the house...

Staying disciplined with the daily chores. The kids rock their chore packs; that's been awesome.

One of my favorite things...

The fact that Posy cries when I hand her off to other people. I know I'm probably insane to love the fact that I can't ever hand her off, but I do. Her bottom lip gets all pouty and it's all mama to the rescue! :) Hee.

(But I like to be held by my daddy. Of course, right? He's my daddy!)

A few plans for the rest of the week...

Same ol' stuff. Just the way I like it.

small joys

Making it Count: A Mama/Daughter Book of Letters

Every week, Pam and I are co-hosting the Making it Count Tuesday link-up. Start with any one of those fabulous ideas you've found online. Then, do it. Make it. Cook it. Create it. Take it from the screen, give it life and let it bless your world. When you're done, snap a photo, write about it and share it with us.

Make your time online count.

***

Getting here a little late, and I'm hosting, too! So sorry about that. Yestserday. I was a little sabatoged by...well, by this:

But thank goodness for Making it Count Tuesdays. Because even when I feel like I'm just barely hangin' on to my sanity (what? that never happens to you?), this link-up reminds me to put everything on pause for just a minute and focus on something beautiful.

This week I was inspired by the Making it Count project at The Towers Family blog a few weeks back. The idea is basically to create a journal of letters between a mama and her daughter. We become pen pals. We take turns writing letters in the journal and leaving it on the other's bed to write back.

Little stuff? Big stuff? I bet this medium will be a good way to tackle both. Last night, both Primrose and Tulip decorated the front of simple spiral notebooks with scrapbook paper, and we began. I hope it was just the first letter of many. In fact, I hope that these are our first journals of many.

Posy Rolls

At first I thought it was a fluke, because I mean, really- 11 weeks old and rolling belly to back? So I put her on her belly again and she rolled over 7 more times! We even got it on video. We were all cheering so loud that we scared the jeepers right out of her. The kids decided that she hates tummy time so she figured out a way to get out of it. :) She smiles all cute and big-eyed every time she rolls. It's hilarious.

(happy sigh) Life doesn't get much better than kissing on these cheeks, folks.

First, Second, Third (and Happy Mothers Day!)

First, a winner of the Key to Taking Pictures like a Professional Photographer giveaway: Greg's Wife. Email me and I'll get you hooked up with Katie Evans. You're gonna love it!

Second, I got a present for Mother's Day:

Which means that hopefully-maybe-possibly-conceivably Mama will get off her duff and get some actual exercise.

Oops. I hope you didn't like, fall out of your chair and get hurt or anything. I know it's an astonishing prospect. I should have warned you ahead of time.

Snap and I took a spin together this evening. It was fun. And I will need aspirin tomorrow.

Third, a picture of the baby (because what is a post at Amongst Lovely Things without a picture of the baby, amIright?)

Happy Mothers Day, my beautiful friends. I hope you relish your day with gusto.