Friday, May 2, 2014

7 Quick Takes - The Book has Landed!!

I knew there was a reason for good hair day
#epic
1.  Yes, Something Other Than God has arrived!!  It came yesterday, two days ahead of schedule (I love you Amazon)!  We were heading out the door to soccer practice when one of the boys grabbed the mail and shouted "we got a package"!  Happy, happy day.

As Soccer Boy is putting on his shin guards in the car "Mom, why are you taking a selfie when we're running late to soccer?"  I reply "I need the picture for my blog".  I mean, priorities, you know?



2.  Speaking of that, the whole early arrival is giving me problems.  I have things planned for today, like homeschooling and three kids' annual checkups.  I do not have time to read.  I am trying to figure out how to squeeze some reading time into my day.  #netflix  #homeschoolholiday

3.  Fridays are our light schoolwork days anyway, right?

4.  OK, guess I'll be "responsible" and save it for Saturday afternoon.  Saturday evening I volunteered to sing with our choir at Mass because it's First Communion and we have some choir members out.  I'm a cantor, but I can't be a regular choir member because I can't commit to attend 10:30a.m. Mass.  I flex my Mass schedule around my family's protestant church attendance.  The Catholic Church has three weekend services, the protestant church has five (but only two have the junior high youth group).  My family occasionally flexes around my cantor schedule, if needed.  Right now it seems to work best if the family attends Saturday afternoon/evening service and I attend early Sunday Mass.  The choir practice was this past Tuesday night.  I really enjoy singing in a choir, more I think than I enjoy being solo.  I'm always so nervous when I cantor, I remember feeling nauseous when I first started.  I've calmed down a bit now that I've had more experience, it's not like I've never sang solos.  Singing in Greek or Latin in a Catholic Church can take it to a whole other level!  Also, singing/chanting the psalms took some getting used to, at first it felt like singing a cappella (which I had never done in front of an audience)!

5.  I got to go to lunch at a friend's house Wednesday afternoon.  I took the three younger kids with me because she has younger ones too.  A playdate for both me and Princess, so win-win.  The kids ran around and we had somewhat minimal interruptions to talk.  It was really nice, I need to make seeing my girlfriends more of a priority in my life.  You would think summers would be an easier time to get together with friends but everyone's schedules seem busier.  I can feel more "lonely" during the summer months, even when surrounded by people and activity.  I may have to start scheduling "girlfriend" outings the same way I schedule date nights with my hubby.  Something to think about.

6.  More pictures!  The kids finally got that Easter egg hunt at Grandma's house...
Blooming lilac bush in background!

He did not want to be in same pic
with siblings!

Not sure what to do with eggs...

I liked Princess' expression in this one

My mom in background
directing traffic



































7.  Kelly from This Ain't the Lyceum did a awesome post this week titled Why I Suck at Homesteading that I thought was really good.  I left a too long comment over there, but in summary...do you see the above pictures?  That's at my folks' house, they live in the "country" about 40 minutes from where we currently live.  That is a lot of grass to mow, and that is just part of the backyard.  Even with their high power riding mower I think Dad told me he averages about an hour a day during the week in the summers, I may be overestimating a bit.  They used to haul water every week too, for just the two of them (last year the water company ran water lines out there, so that is a thing of the past).  How many water trips would it be for a family of seven?  My point is that Doug and I have talked about moving out of town in the past.  Our kids love the open spaces, to be able to run in and out, no neighbors to worry about.  The country living idea is very romantic...we could have chickens for all those eggs we buy, we're up to 2 dozen a week!  (We technically can have chickens where we live now because our house is not inside the city limit).

However, the advantages of staying where we're at are too good.  Doug only has a 10 minute commute to work, he frequently comes home for lunch hours.  We're minutes away from the grocery store, pharmacy, doctor's office, the hospital, all our homeschooling activities, soccer and both churches.  The kids have friends in the neighborhood and play basketball and ride bikes.  Not to mention our family friends live nearby.  We're busy enough raising five kids without adding more to the workload.  We still like the "idea" of living in the country, maybe Doug & I will consider that when we retire.

Have a wonderful weekend and check out more 7 Quick Takes @ Conversion Diary!!

1 comment:

  1. I was only ever allowed to play flute at my childhood parish. When I got to college and the choir director asked me to take a psalm, I was like, Uh, whaaaa? I've adjusted now but as often as people tell me I should take it on the road, I shake my head and say, Uh, no. I'm a leader of sung prayer, not a performer. I would not be a good rock star. :)

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