Seven Quick Takes: Memorable Moments

Thanks to Jen at Conversion Diary for hosting. :-)

This week there was nothing earth shaking happening at our house, but sometimes it's all about the little moments.

1. Marty was being carried somewhere by one of his aunties. Apropo of nothing, he popped his head up and said "HEY!  Imma love you!"

2. Upon being given a donut, Kittybean (15mo) made happy smacking sounds with her mouth, punctuated by waving her arms in the air.  This is her rendition of the "happy dance."

3. At a coffee shop, I was putting cream and sugar in my coffee.  My curious Robbie was watching and started commenting. "Don't put in too much sugar." "Why do you need that much cream?"  "I think that's enough cream now, Mom.  You should stop now." Because a six year old who has never tasted coffee is of course an expert.

4. Girls' night at the cafe with dessert and coffee was awesome.  My girlfriends are wise, geeky, and the perfect group for me. Not to mention funny and supportive.  Love 'em to pieces.

5. While I was watching my son do his work sheet, he looked up and smiled ear to ear.  He loves his homeschooling.

6. Bri actually asked for more school work after she finished her quota. Her sister grabbed her crayon  and, instead of coloring on her sister's worksheet, made coloring motions over where Bri had already colored.  She's getting it!

7. Every day there are little moments where my kids interact with each other that warm my heart.  Yes, four is a lot and five will be more.  Yes, they keep me busy and a little tired.  But they fit together like puzzle pieces.  They love and help each other.  They belong together.

Seven Quick Takes

1. Power outages stink.  They re-set everything in the house and the kids wake up scared because their night lights aren't working.  It's also hard for a pregnant mama to use a windowless bathroom.

2. Husbands who get up at 4:30 a.m. because the power is out and their kids are scared are awesome.

3. Husbands who figure out how to use a match to light the gas stove to make coffee are even more awesome.

4. Getting the kids out of the house so they stop being squirrelly because the TV and the toaster both aren't working seems to be the Thing To Do.

Because then you get these:

5. First strawberry picking:

6. Contented, post strawberry smiles:

7. Coming home to a house where the power is back on and all is right with the world.  

Seven Quick Takes

Seven Quick Takes: New House Edition

Last summer, in the late summer, we moved into a new house.  For the first time in our married  lives, we're in an actual house, that isn't attached to anyone else's residence and that has a yard.  Here are some of my new favorite things about our home:

1. Lilacs.  The house previous owner (the only one, the one the house was built for) was an amazing gardener.  I'm falling behind in taking care of the sheer number of flower beds and garden areas.  But she planted these amazing lilac bushes that bloom in rotation, so we have had lilacs for almost a solid month.  I can smell them everywhere and the blooms are gorgeous.

2. Open windows.  We can keep our windows open most of the time starting in May.  We get a great cross breeze that keeps our house cool and let in the amazing scents of the garden, newly-mown grass, summer bonfires.  From my open bedroom window, I can hear the rainfall and hear the wind whisper in the trees.  I can also hear cranes, crickets, frogs and more birds than I can name.  We've never had "open window season" for a number of reasons, but I love it.

3. Our swing. We have an old porch swing in the back yard you can see a bunch of the garden areas and trees from.  It's one of my kids' favorite places in the world now.

4. Our big garden.  In addition to flower beds, we now have a huge vegetable garden with lots of sun and good drainage.  My mom is an enthusiastic gardener and thanks to her efforts we have gotten lettuce, spinach, radishes, dill, asparagus, garlic scapes, and wonder of wonders, strawberries!  I've never successfully grown anything before, so this bumper crop is overwhelming in the best possible way.

5. Our flower garden.  There are perennials everywhere! Right now it's irises, but I've seen alliums, bleeding hearts, lilies of the valley, flowers I don't know the names of, herbs I know but can't remember.  Crab grass has become my nemesis as it tries to choke out my pretty blossoms, but it can't lower my spirits.

6. The pool.  Yeah.  We have a pool now.  It's a big one.

7. The fire pit.  The biggest social draw has been our firepit.  Husband and kids love gathering burn material, getting the fire started, and cooking brats and marshmallows over an open flame.  We have cookouts a lot.

Bonus: 8.  My family lives a mile away.

7 Quick Takes: the Panic Edition

So, I guess it's Friday.  Again.

But this time, I'm blogging.  Win!

Go visit Jen for some more quick takes linky fun!

 So, in order to get ready for the school year, I need to:

1. Order syllabi for my new classes.  This is good because the new classes are a direct result of people liking me and wanting me to teach their kids for another year.  But it's only good if I'm prepared to do that.

2. Order books and supplies for my own kids' school year.  It's all on Amazon, so, that's a start, right?

3. Get my fancy headset in the mail to teach my online classes.  WHERE IS MY HEADSET?  TRAINING IS ON MONDAY!



4. Assemble book shelves and rearrange the office to resemble a space that a child would find conducive to learning peacefully in.  

5. Start lesson planning for my brand new job, actually teaching on-line classes.

6. Listen to many, many hours of overviews on how to teach what I'm teaching.

7.  Breathe.  It's important.

I guess what it boils down to this year is getting ready to TEACH ALL THE THINGS!

Here goes nothing.