Sort've Quick Takes

1. 7 Posts in 7 Days 

It sounds like a good idea, but really it just means we all force ourselves to write everyday and since every other blog we read is doing the same time, no one has time for any commenting or connecting. I know that we "all blog for ourselves" but we all love the comments. And I know that I have been a bad commenter this week. Next time I propose a 20 posts in 30 days challenge. Or something like that. Even 15/30 is half. OR a comment challenge. I don't know. Clearly Jen will read this and change her mind and the link up. Because, yeah right. 

2. Antics of The Toddler

It was a long week here in the household. Husband was on a business trip Monday and Tuesday so I was ready for the weekend by Wednesday. Luckily Cari wrote her "Keep a Toddler Happy During Homeschool" post which I decided was really a "Keep a Toddler Happy" post. We played rice on Wednesday for about 45 minutes and yesterday for about 25. 

3. Obligatory Take About The Horrible Winter That Won't End

While I am happy to bid farewell to February me thinks it's going to be a little more like this 

Than this

For a long long while. 

But a lot can happen in 31 days. Hopefully happy warm sunny kind of things!

4. In Which I Got Out of the House 2 Nights In A Row

To celebrate making it through the month of business trips I went to Walgreens by myself on Wednesday night. I didn't even stroll, I was a moseying. And it was glorious. I spent an hour just not doing anything. And promptly forgot to buy the envelope for which I based the entire trip about. Last night I had book club. It was great. A small group again. Which is good. So we could actually discuss the book. I really enjoyed it. 

5. Photo Shoot

I did a mini photo shoot this week. I have to show you my favorite. It's so toddler GQ! 

Sheer dumb luck he posed like that and actually looked at me. I just love how his hair is the right amount of tousled! So funny. Very biased Mom over here. 

6. Lent

I wish I could tell you we are super prepared and ready to embrace this season.  We'll get it together by Wednesday I think. I am giving up paper plates and that's going to be challenging. I've got to go stock up on the Mac and Cheese. Because I am not creative on Fridays. Mac and Cheese, Grilled Cheese, Cheese Pizza... I'm good with that. 

7. This Weekend

Oh I am ready for the weekend. I have no real plans. Which is the very best weekend. Husband and C are going on an outing tomorrow morning. They are excited about it. I am happy for them. I will sleep through it or maybe watch a show. Who knows? Best kind of weekend for sure. 

 

Theme Thursday: Fences

You may have noticed, (okay probably not, I am not that important and that is a really self-centered statement I just made) that I did not participate in Theme Thursday last week. I wish I had a good reason for you or something. But no.  I don't have any particularly interesting or pretty dishes. And I have written about this recently but as I hate washing dishes more than any other household chore, I love me some paper plates. And that's all good and fine but that makes for a really uninteresting picture. 

Then we got to this week and fences. Call me lazy or crazy but there wasn't a chance in *use your preferred strong word here* that I was venturing out of this house into the arctic to take a picture of an interesting fence. And while we have a chain link fence in the back yard it's about as interesting as tin foil. And since you could build a cool sculpture out of tin foil, the chain link fence is even less interesting.

And I just thought that maybe Theme Thursday and I were going to have to have a little alone time. It's not you, it's me kind of a thing. It's too cold, I'm not feeling creative enough, Husband always has the nice camera at work these days... you know, first world problems at their finest really. 

But I couldn't do it. Thursdays beckon me and I just have to. So here. Fine. It only involved going to the basement. 

Fences by August Wilson

August Wilson. Do you know about him? He wrote "The Pittsburg Cycle" or the "Century Cycle." 10 plays. One for every decade to explore the Black experience in America. They were not written in order of their decade but they are beautiful works of dramatic literature.

Anyhow, Fences, is the Pulitzer Prize winning story set in the 1950s. It's pretty good. Lots of symbolism. A tragedy at it's core. Nevertheless, it's the only Fence I have inside my house and so that's what I have for this week. 

I am just super failing at this 7 in 7 week. Clearly I blog differently than others because I don't have a bunch of unpublished drafts started. And Micaela is all "Link-ups don't count and must be in addition." She's got guts I'll tell you that because if link-ups actually didn't count I wouldn't have signed on.

Anyway, Happy Thursday. I will see all of you back here tomorrow for another post. Link up with Cari if you are more ambitious than I and have a picture of a fence.

WWRW: The Cuckoo's Calling and Wonder

So you remember back when there was that big "news" story that J.K. Rowling had "secretly" wrote and published a book but it wasn't doing very well. Then, remarkably, right after the "news" story the book became a best seller? Well I wasn't about to buy it. But I did put my name on multiple multiple Library lists. Having 3 different library cards gets you on 3 different digital copy lists and then 1 hard copy list because I only live here so it didn't make sense to try and get a 2 week book in Minnesota for instance.

And I forgot about it and read a lot of other books.

Then apparently Ms. Rowling got a little too far away from the limelight and had to stir the pot again with the whole Ron/Hermoine debacle. She is wrong.  All I can say is it's a good thing I already liked Harry because her antics wouldn't make me want to run out and read the books.

Then, the very day after a sequel was announced, I got the lovely email from the library letting me know my very own digital copy was available for 2 weeks! Delightful!

So "Robert Galbraith" wrote this book called The Cuckoo's Calling. And here's the scoop: 

It wasn't bad. There was a lot of British slang. And I think it went on a little too much. But overall it was not a bad book. The characters are well developed and interesting to read. You are curious about their back story but slowly the onion skin layers are peeled back and you're given what you wanted. I can even see how a sequel will be well received. It's definitely a whodunit and certainly I thought it was going to go a different way for quite a while. I am delighted that I am wrong. J.K. has strength is in believable dialogue. And while it all wrapped up a little too "cherry on top" there's a sequel so it probably isn't all sunshine and roses. Though I am worried for Robin's relationship and it's future, just sayin'.

Overall: worth a read. Not appropriate for kids. 

Also this week I got another email for another book from the library I had been waiting for. Wonder by R.J. Palacio

I feel like everyone's heard of this book at least. A 10 year old with a severe cranio-facial abnormality is switching from homeschool to traditional school for the first time. Along the way August (our main guy) discovers how the world works, mean people and all. He also works on his family relationships and creates lasting relationships. 

Was this book a little bit "happy ending you could see coming?" Yep it was. 

Are there some elements that seemed forced or trite? Yes. 

Was it all around a pretty accurate portrayal of fifth grade, ninth grade, family life and friendship? Yes. 

And I loved it. Yes, there are some happy happy parts and some people may feel that some of the "tragedy" seems forced but it just seemed like life to me. Things that sneak up on you when you least expect it, like not recognizing a family member is sick until much later. Life is full of ups and downs ranging from tragedy to wonderful, so it just felt realistic to me. Plus emotions are complicated. And it's written for youth so there's that. I think some reviewers out there are jaded souls. 

Wonder is not all written from August's perspective, it switches to his sister and friends occasionally. It isn't typical YA where it goes every other chapter either. Palacio uses the other voices to give more insight and clarity to situations so the reader is given a more well-rounded picture. Because everyone has a story to tell. 

The book made me cry, both of sadness and happiness, and I couldn't put it down. From start to finish it took only a few hours and I read straight through. I haven't done that in a long time. If Wonder doesn't fill your heart with kindness... well I don't know because it probably will. In high school I took a Modern Dance class and I had a teacher who always said "In this room we watch with love in our eyes." It stuck with me and I try, generally, to have love in my eyes as I go about my day because everyone could use a little less judgement. That's what Wonder reinforces. 

I'd say 10 and up would do well with this book but younger readers may have questions or a want to discuss with someone. There are some teenagers kissing (only mentioned) but that's about as racy as it gets. 

Linking up with Jessica for WWRW

3/7 for the week. Nice. 

Find Your Happy

So we are on day 2 of this 7 posts in 7 days journey.

My goodness. Have you seen the whole 100 days of happiness thing? You take and post a picture everyday of things that make you happy. I find this a worthy project but I don't like to tweet or instagram enough to take it on officially. But this doesn't mean something doesn't make me happy every day.

I wouldn't say that I am an optimist. Generally speaking I just focus on whatever is in front of me whether that is happy or sad. I am a realist however.

I also have high hopes. If I had a Native American name it would be Little High Hopes. If my hopes aren't met, I get incredibly disappointed. Which actually proves how much of an optimist/control freak I am. If I have made a plan or had an idea it should probably follow through. 

But I am working on letting go of that a little bit. The whole toddler thing is helping this, there's not a whole lot that goes exactly according to plan. It takes quite a bit of finagling to just get out the door on time but once we are in the car it's anyone's guess how the outing will go. I can't control it, but I can set it up for success. 

That's kind of like life though. We aren't really in control as much as we'd like to be. We can only prepare and hope for the best. And in that, it is my plan to find the happy. I mean why wallow? I hung out with my friend this weekend and realized everything she said was negative. That's sad. It is just sad. There has to be a glimmer of hope or enjoyment or really what's the point?! 

And it all started to sound like Charlie Brown's teacher. "Waa waaaaa Waaa Waa" I don't know how to fix it or help her but I've got to do something. There's so much good in the world. There's plenty of bad too but if you let yourself get all swept up in it... that's not good. 

So here is a list of 10 totally arbitrary things that make me happy! Perhaps something will make you happy as well. Happiness is contagious after all! 

1. Rubber Duckies
2. Making cookies
3. Sunshine
4. Fresh nail polish
5. New socks
6. Blog comments
7. Getting real honest to goodness mail
8. Crafting
9. A delightful beverage
10. Hugs

So I challenge you, if you're reading this to find the happy today. Life is pretty awesome. You do not want to miss it! 

7 in 7: #1

So to kick off this little "let's all blog for 7 days in a row thing" I am just going to do a little run on blogging and go where my mind takes me.

So let's recap the Olympics. I LOVED the closing ceremony. I am a huge fan of Marc Chagall so I loved it. Plus the ballet, writers and everything. I still think I'd go to Russia. Very cool. I think that probably NBC should not have sportscasters announce the Opening and Closing ceremonies... they are pretty clueless when it comes to art. (Phantom of the Opera has not a thing to do with Russia but nice try.) Though... The Spice Girls in London were pretty great.

Who says Russia doesn't have a sense of humor?

I liked what I saw of the Olympics. Which wasn't much. NBC decided NOT to interrupt basically any of their everyday broadcasts for the Olympics. So if it wasn't in Prime Time I couldn't watch. And since I don't pay for TV I couldn't watch online either. Kind of pathetic NBC.

But anyway I will get excited for Brazil 2016! Woo!

We had a delightful night out on Friday. We went to see The Lego Movie, dinner with a gift card at Red Lobster and then ended the night with a quick run to the grocery store. Pretty snazzy. The Lego Movie was just fine. I didn't see anything wrong with it, I was just enjoying. There were lots of kids with us in the theater and we of course laughed at completely different times but that's to be expected. I LOVED the Lego ocean, so so cool!

Those were the weekend highlights. See you tomorrow for more blog fun.

7 Quickish Takes

1. So on Monday it snowed 6 inches. Tuesday it was 50, sunny and melty. Wednesday was in the 40s and nice as well. Thursday it thunderstormed and flooded everything. Basements, roads, the creek... floods. Today it's sunny again but there are those pesky 50 mph winds we're dealing with. Plus it got cold again so all the melting turned to thick sheets of ice. Hot dog. Oh February. The most volatile of the months.

2. We're having fun learning about the Walrus these days. And in scoping out the closest walrus to us... I hope C is content with YouTube, :)

3. We are going on a date tonight. Supposed to be dinner and a movie but we might ditch the movie I actually do want to see it but it just seems like a lot of money when they put movies out on DVD/streaming so quickly now.

4. Working on language skills has been very rewarding, it's fun to see progress! Every time he learns a new word and uses it on his own is great!

5. Generally speaking my house is cleanish. I need to vacuum but when don't I? I could vacuum every hour and that might actually combat the problem but who knows. I've always wanted a Roomba but my Dyson works great and honestly a Roomba would just be in the way these days.

6. I cannot believe there's only a week left of February! Thrilled that it's a short month but I'm not entirely ready for March and Lent and all that. Though I do know what I'm doing for Lent. I think.

7. After these the most boring quick takes of all I give you take 7:

We actually had a pretty good week but Husband has been busy and I am really looking forward to this weekend! 

Have a nice weekend! And Link up with Jen. 

WWRW: Walrus Books

It probably started with The Pigeon Wants a Puppy by Mo Willems. Our love for Mo is well documented on this blog and that is probably C's most read. In the book, wait for it, the Pigeon wants a puppy. And when he gets a puppy he realizes that he does not in fact want a puppy. He changes his mind to a walrus.

And that my friend, planted the seed. Babies, toddlers and children, they are like little gardens. You plant seeds of knowledge, faith and manners and with some nurture they will eventually grow into (hopefully) self-sufficient adult people.

It was the one line about Pigeon wanting a walrus. Then we read the wallpaper on the inside of back cover. You can "Look Inside" on Amazon but it's a box that says "One Walrus" repeated. So at the end of the book we say "One Walrus" many many times.

Then there's the classic Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle. After a smattering of zoo animals the very last zoo animal is a walrus bellowing.

We apparently read these books a lot. I knew we did, but gosh we must have. Because in C's magnetic fishing  there is a walrus to grab and it is his favorite. He carries it around.

Some kids like dinosaurs. Or trains. My younger brother liked gnomes. C... has a thing for walruses. I know this will shock you, but there's not a whole lot of toddler appropriate information about the walrus out there. We made some walrus coloring sheets. Those are fun. We've been watching some YouTube videos obsessively. Here's his favorite:

Bonus: When he watches this he sits in my lap and gives me a hug when the two walruses do!

So as of 3:00 today when my package finally arrived. (Oh President's Day getting in the way.) We have been reading:

Where's Walrus by Stephen Savage. The walrus escapes from the zoo and hides from the zookeeper who is chasing him down. In the end, the walrus does go back to the zoo and gets a bigger enclosure to boot. So in some respect it's a book about tiny zoo enclosures and animals getting bored in captivity. Except it's not really about that at all. (That's me really really digging for an over arching theme.) 

This is the perfect book for a toddler who has a fascination with walruses for a few reasons: 

• He gets to find and point to the walrus on every page. But it's easier than Where's Waldo? So he is actively engaged. 

• There are no words. I know listening to stories is so important but narrating what's happening is a lot of fun and super helpful for understanding as well. Plus then it can be as short or as long as we want. 

• The graphic-y design is really fun. Not all kids have a graphic designer Dad but since C does, we're happy to engage him in good design and talk about good design elements with him. And he doesn't mind because it's about a walrus. 

So that is what we are reading, or rather, paging through this week on our journey of walrus love. Any other walrus book suggestions? We'd be happy to hear them. 

 Linking up with Jessica and her other lovely people.

Ode to a Diaper Bag

You probably read Grace's blog right? Who doesn't read that hilarious bit of wonderful?

So you probably already know that she has an amazing giveaway right now. A Lily Jade Diaper Bag. But not just either of their diaper bags. The Madeline Bag. In red.

Just to be clear for a minute, my name is Madeline and red is already my color. It is the color of my kitchen. It is the color I picked for C. It is the color of the diaper bag we already have. I'll be honest with you and tell you that my L.L. Bean Bag is getting the job done. Apparently they don't have red anymore which means I would definitely not buy it again but since L.L. Bean stuff lasts forever it doesn't matter one bit.

It's just that it looks like a diaper bag. Which is great and fine by me when C was a baby. In his infant car seat (also red, he coordinated with his diaper bag) and when it was so easy to go places with him. But now, C is a toddler. He hasn't been in a carrier car seat in a long while now. He's grown up. 

Unfortunately, our diaper bag hasn't. I cannot tell you the amount of covet I have for the Lily Jade Madeline diaper bag in red. But it is extreme. 

I've never been much of a purse girl to be honest. The thing about schooling for 18 years in a row meant I had a backpack 90% of the time to put stuff in. And in the summer, I worked at camp which was another great option for a backpack. As I have transitioned to true adulthood however (read: no longer take a backpack with me everywhere) I have basically just switched to the diaper bag. 

And that was fine. I guess. Then I saw the Lily Jade bag and I fell in deep, hardcore love. It's real leather. (Grown Up.) Mature. Stylish and I could really use some stylish in my life. But best of all, it has this amazing insert that converts it from a diaper bag into a purse in a moment. So I can take the youngster to the museum and playdates with his stuff in tow but later when it's time for book club... it will no longer be jammed packed with fruit snacks, wipes and cars. (I carry diapers too I do, but I have like 4 different kinds of wipes and a whole lotta fruit snacks.) Oh. And it can be a backpack if I want it to be. As a long time backpack user I can safely say that this bag is magic. 

This is not a post like Cari's boots. I certainly do not expect that anything will come from this post. I just needed to put it out there. Get my feelings out on paper you know? Or typed into the blog but whatever. 

I entered the giveaway every.single.way I knew how including dusting off the Facebook account I don't really use to like Camp Patton. Which seriously goes against all of my own policies on Facebook as I haven't liked anything in years. Literal years. Since they were links in paragraph form on your profile. 

There isn't another entry for writing a post all about how much I want the diaper bag. But I'm putting it out to the universe that this Madeline wants THAT Madeline very badly. 

A Party of Cookies

Listen, I know everyone is all America's Test Kitchen is the best all the time. I get that I do. My brother has the book and I have taken a few recipes from it. I especially like the Blueberry muffins for the times when you want something a little different than my Bisquick Blueberry Muffins. (I've used that link so many times I can't even tell you.)

But when it comes to cookies well Betty Crocker is where it's at. Sure I have Martha's book too and some of her recipes are really good. But Betty's got that down home you could actually make these kind of recipes. I use:

I have written about this book before, back during Gingerbread House time. But in case you don't remember I will explain. This is my favorite cook book. I have my Grandmother's copy, with vanilla stains, and notes about certain recipes and clippings from magazines and newspapers pressed between the pages but the binding isn't doing so well. However, the lovely Betty Crocker people re-released the book EXACTLY the same. (There is a note about how food safety and popular ingredients have changed through the years) but it is still all 1963. The photographs are real and the food styling is just so homey that every single cookie looks possible because they aren't too perfect.

When it came time on Friday to make our cookies for our party, C and I got out the Cooky Book (I just love that it's spelled with a Y) and got to work. We use Mary's Sugar Cookies on page 18. I have made Ethel's Sugar Cookies as well (very tasty and also on page 18) but for cookies for decorating Mary's cookies are where it's at.

And you guys, they were perfect. We chilled them for about 4 hours and rolled them out, cut them with our heart cookie cutters and 8 minutes later we had PERFECT cookies. Crisp around the edges with a soft chew in the middle, perfect for decorating. Just ignore my flash and head in the window and look at the fun C is having.

(He insists on putting on his apron when we cook and apparently that spilled over into decorating too.)

It was a very happy Valentine's Day with cookies to decorate. Everyone enjoyed themselves. I used store bought frosting and then just a few different kinds of sprinkles so that it was easy peasy. And it was. We also had Papa Murphey's and punch because we're fancy like that. 

We had a great Valentine's Day and a good weekend. Now we're back to Monday and the weather is GROSS. But on the upside it is supposed to be nice the rest of the week so I am looking forward to that! 

Valentine's Day Quick Takes

1. Mother Nature is a tease. Yes. It was 33 yesterday. Maybe even 34. That is above freezing people. And it was sunny. And the snow did start a melting. But my glory was short lived when I awoke to snow. More snow. And cold. Snowy and cold. I'm willing to bet the Pagans dancing naked in Spring weren't crazy they were just relieved the Winter was over.

2. Happy St. Valentine's Day! I know a lot of people are all "we don't need material things to show love" and "corporate Holiday" and all that. But I don't subscribe to that philosophy and I enjoy even the small gift giving holidays.

3. C got 2 new Elephant and Piggie books for his collection:

He is excited by this and in the hour since receiving them we have read each 3 times and the other Elephant and Piggie books once. It's an Elephant and Piggie kind of day up in here.

4. Husband got a desperately needed pair of tennis shoes, which is not entirely selfless because I may strongly dislike the pair he has taken to now. (A pair that is in goodish condition but are ugly to the ugliest power.) But since Husband's life revolved around 4 pairs of shoes: black dress shoes, brown dress shoes, tennis shoes and a casual summer shoe it really is okay to throw a new pair in the mix selfish or not.

5. We are having a party tonight, the details of which I have not hammered out. It may involve cookie decorating but we'll see. The guest list is in fact figured out so I suppose that is something.

6. I am being summoned to read some new books over again so I should probably go.

7. Link up with Jen will ya?

Theme Thursday: Heart (What About Love?!)

The title did in fact warn you I would have this here. 

Hearts is a hard theme for me. I don't have Valentine's decorations that I put out. We did make some Valentine's Day crafts but they didn't actually involve hearts and I can't post them because their recipients have not actually become the recipients yet.

Sadly I'm kind of over the Olympics, my heart just isn't in it. Thanks NBC. I know I can stream all the stuff on the interwebs but my interwebs is of the slow variety. I also realize that Summer vs. Winter and the shows being reruns in the summer. But the last round they had Olympic coverage all day and now it's the standard line up. I don't love Rachael Ray anyway but when I could and should be watching something Olympic-y it's even more of a let down. So it's hard to get pumped watching snowboarding, again, at night when I haven't seen anything else.

Okay, enough lamenting. Ridiculous. It's Thursday. There's a theme. And it's a happy one. Well as long as we mostly all stick with Valentinesy hearts and not heart disease hearts. Though I suppose if we're all taking pictures of our oatmeal containers and their heart healthy warning that would be okay. (And I completely missed the #WhatWomenNeed thing and had no idea, but the way you're all responding is in fact happy, healthy and hopeful!)

So y'all (in my longing for Southern Living life because... more snow/cold.) get this:

A random smattering of stuff on a tray and some hearts. Think of it like the baby/bridal shower game that is sometimes played. Or hidden pictures or something. Either way. Have a good Thursday. 

Oh and link up with Cari because that's what some people like to do on Thursdays and it's pretty swell. 

Sochi 2014: Pt. 1

So... here is the Madeline's play by play of the Olympics weekend 1.

• First of all, in my normal life (not during the Olympics) I would never want cable. These next few days... I wish I had DVR and all.the.channels. 

Okay now that we've covered that little issue we will continue our look alike game from Friday.

• Canadian Figure Skater Kevin Reynolds is the human embodiment of Peter Pan. 

I'm not even going to post a picture of Peter Pan because I am certain you already see it. Plus he flies with a little bit of pixie dust hard work. Just saying. 

• If you are in the process of naming a baby watch the Olympics. ENDLESS possibilities. Having a girl? I would go with the female speed skating list: Ireen, Martina, Olga, Claudia, Annouk, Ida, Antoinette, Yuliya, Shiho, Jilleanne, Bente, Jelena, Kim, Mari, Shoko, Natalia, Stephanie, Luiza, Brittany, Yekaterina, Masako, Anna x2, Francesca, Ivanie, Noh, Yang, Katarzyna. 

There's pretty much an event that will suit your naming style. Like the hip names? Slopestyle snowboarding is jammed packed with great names for you.

My favorite boy names can be found in the men's cross country skiathlon: Dario, Marcus, Martin, Maxim, Ilia, Jean-Marc, Daniel, Johannes, Maurice, Lars, Alexander, Giorgio, Hannes, Anders, Tobias, Alexey, Petter, Alex, Evgeniy. Sjur, Tord, Francesco, Axel, Mikhail, Ivan, Iivo, Curdin, Jonas, Roland. 

So many swell choices. 

• I also believe I missed my calling as a biathlon athlete. Now, when we did cross country skiiing in gym class I was horrible but nobody told me I could have a rifle strapped to my back and shoot targets before continuing. That's all I am saying. It's is my new favorite sport. Easy. 

• It is 65 degrees warm in Sochi today. I have clearly made the wrong choice to not travel to the Winter Olympics. I never pictured Russia as beautiful. (Bleak might have been a more correct term) I know it's a beach resort town but it really is stunning. Shamefully I'll be here in my windchill warning tundra wishing I was in temperate RUSSIA. 

Lazy Saturday Goodness

Today was one of those days that was uneventfully perfect. Except for the fact it snowed again. Because, really, it's hard to get excited about snow these days. At least it's pretty? Maybe? *trying for the bright side I guess*

Let's start with the fact that I didn't actually watch the Opening Ceremony. I am sad about this. We didn't stay out too late at the dinner and it wasn't even over yet when we got home. And I started watching the re-run but didn't really want to see the part with our President, because I just like the Olympics not the politics. So I watched Saved By The Bell (yeah. for real.) and fell asleep after Zack, Slater and Screech saw Jeff cheating on Kelly at The Attic.

So because I had fallen asleep early my sleeping in all day didn't pan out. I still slept in until about 10:00 though. I came downstairs to my guys and we enjoyed reading, playing and some extra snuggles when I caught the toddler.

For lunch we had a hot dog party! It was a blast. After our hot dogs, baked beans, pasta salad and Cheetos for the boys we celebrated with one Girl Scout Cookie each! Love that they are on sale now, we only bought 3 boxes total so we're taking it easy on them this year. If you're curious it was Peanut Butter Patties we broke into. (There's a box of Thin Mints and Caramel Delights waiting on the sidelines.)

After a super short Skyping with my parental units it was rest time. Which was enjoyed by all because it is Saturday and we could!

Our late afternoon was spent shoveling the snow we didn't need, making dinner and playing. After our delicious evening meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and Caribbean blend veggies we all headed out to the living room for Wheel of Fortune and the Olympics.

It just doesn't get much better than that.

And because I was enjoying rather than observing I have no photos to document our pretty good day.

7 Quick Takes: The Big News Edition!!

1. I am incredibly impatient so I'll just get on with the good news... It's Friday. No really. The week that wouldn't end is actually coming to an end and that is today! Praise the sweet little baby Jesus, adult Jesus and any version of Jesus you like better than those two.

2. Now, technically the week is not over yet, I have to make it through today, which involves a work dinner with Husband and the 14 other people+spouses from his department. This dinner has been incredibly drama filled on the planning level and the 2 things I was looking forward to ordering are off the table as Husband's boss pre-ordered everyone's salads and desserts because it's a group of 16. (It is not the lobster bisque and bananas foster flamed table side that I was hoping for.) But lest you think I am ungrateful for a free dinner out at an expensive place, I am not, I just wanted it to be on February 21 because now I can't see the Opening Ceremonies. (Don't worry, I am staying up LATE and watching the rerun.)

3. Did you all watch the Olympics last night? First of all, my knees hurt just watching the Moguls. Seriously. And how sad it is for that American who injured herself badly and the only thing she asked her parents was "Can I still be called an Olympian?" Oh it broke my heart.

4. Second of all who thinks that Evgeni Plushenko

He's the Russian figure skater if you weren't sure

 Looks an awful lot like Johnny Lawrence from Cobra Kai?

That's William Zabka's character in The Karate Kid if you weren't sure. 

I am just putting it out there now because someone famous is going to say it and the world will think it's hysterical.

5. Sometimes I let C watch Jake and the Neverland Pirates because it's just so cute when he sings along with the songs. It's his favorite. When my parents were here last weekend they supplemented his pirate ship Duplo set he got for Christmas and now he has the whole Jake set. It is the best thing ever.

6. I've got to clean today and write up an instruction sheet for the babysitter. (Husband's uncle.) I'm sure it'll be fine but I still want to make it as smooth as possible. We don't get out much.

7. Yesterday was Ronald Reagan's 103 birthday. We celebrated it in our "social studies" class yesterday. We sang "Happy Birthday" and then we pointed to Ronald Reagan a few times on our Presidents of the USA place mat. C can find him by face now. (One side has them in order the other side they're all jumbled up.) We also practiced saying "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Which pretty much consisted of saying "wall" but hey I'll go with it.

C was also able to Skype with his uncle and show off his Ronald Reagan skills. My brother is a pretty big Ronald Reagan fan. Both my brothers like government and politics and things like that so we work on social studies a lot with C. He can also find George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. (And we do "I cannot tell a lie" and "Four score and seven years ago" respectively.) 

Have a great weekend friends.

Theme Thursday: Church Windows

I was going to take a picture of one of my windows this week. Sort of a domestic church, front porch looking in, home is your castle introspective thing. But I didn't. You don't care how my drafty windows help me to be a better person and inspire me in a similar fashion as an actual church. Because the picture would be BORING. And a week like church windows should not include boring pictures even if the sentiment would be nice. 

In the spirit of full disclosure, I must admit that this week I am using old pictures that were taken by others. But I own the rights to these pictures so I am not in violation of anything and they are my favorite church windows. 

These first 3 are from the day of our wedding. At the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. I would have taken them myself but I was a little busy. 

They're just beautiful and classic and huge. They just speak to my heart and that light shining through certainly made me feel God's presence that day. I don't know that I've ever been to a more beautiful mass. I am totally biased and all because I got to plan it but really, it was the perfect mass.

Ack, I am just sick looking at the beauty. I was going to take a stained glass class once and then realized that they were making stained glass tulips. And I love tulips I do, but when I yearned for this kind of majesty it was kind of a let down. 

So not just a church window but some of the other beauty the Basilica has to offer. 

This is a recent addition to the church window picture collection. Taken by Husband at our friend's wedding mass in September. Some church in one of those Chicago suburbs. Who can keep track over there?! Funny enough it was pouring, it was not a nice day, but you'd never know that by the window. That my friends is Divine Light. Glorious. 

Okay linking up with Cari and I cannot wait to see your awesome windows, and pictures you probably took yourselves for that matter. 

Sunshine Award: Wednesday Bonus Post

Allison tagged me for a Sunshine Award and so I thought, why not?

The "rules" for the award are as follows:

• Use the award image in the post. 
• Link to whoever nominated you.
• Write 10 pieces of information about yourself.
• Nominate fellow bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere

Alright I've got the first 2 rules followed already. Now 10 things about myself. 

1. I loved going to summer camp. I learned life skills and who I was at camp. I really believe camps are a safe space to grow and develop away from home, which is crucial. Not that my home wasn't great, it was! But it was good to get out and explore too. I am not biased either, I loved day and overnight camp from 3 days to 1 month. Loved it. Working as a camp counselor taught me a lot too. Husband hated camp but I am firmly sending C to camp when he's the right age. 

2. I don't drink coffee or tea. I think tea tastes like sticks. I like the smell of coffee but I only like it if it's doctored with sugar and chocolate. That kind of coffee is expensive and it's probably been 3 years since I've had any. I try to stay away from caffeine but sugar pop is my weakness. We don't usually buy it but when we go out... I will most likely have a Coke. 

3. My earliest memory is of coloring while watching Oprah. Because of this I always liked Oprah. I don't agree with her politics or everything she says or stand for, but I did like her show a lot. 

4. I would only ever use paper plates if I had my way. I loathe doing dishes. It's the floating food particles. I don't care if it's bad for the environment or our bank account, the splendor of paper plates beckons me when plating food. I am thinking of giving up paper plate for Lent, it would truly be a sacrifice for me. Which sounds dumb but it's true.  

5. I was a terribly messy child but now I get all excited when I clean and the house looks great. 

6. I like to cook and bake but Husband likes it more so often I don't have to. I read somewhere that baking banana bread specifically is one of the most stress reducing things you can do and I have claimed that as my own. Husband can bake and cook anything he'd like but banana bread is mine. I guess it's something about the counting and following a recipe plus the scent of bananas. I'm sure you could Google it if you're interested. 

7. I read very fast and still to this day hate reading aloud as a group. (Syllabus reading on the first day of class made me want to claw my eyes out.) 

8. I very often look up endings to movies (never books though) because if I don't know what is going to happen it stresses me out. I never look up endings to romantic comedies though because I generally know they'll end to my satisfaction. My family hates this about me but I can't help it. 

9. I love the Duggar family. I love them. I liked them when they were just a one hour special. I have their books. My brother met Jim Bob once and I am totally jealous. I can name them all in order. I just think they are the nicest people. 

10. I eat ribs with a fork and knife. I don't know why. 

Okay so with that fun list of stuff you may or may not care about. 

I nominate:

Hafsa at The Peace of Christ 

Laura at String of Pearls

and anyone else who may stumble upon this and want to play! (Because I am a rule bender!) 

WWRW: Bomb

Not like this week's book was so bad that it was a bomb. But that is the title. Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon. By Steve Sheinkin. Winner or nominee of pretty much any award a book can get. Including the 2013 Newberry. In my book clubs "unofficial let's only pick WWII books" this is the new pick.

It is a book, which I am sure you can gather from the title, is about the process of creating the atomic bomb. The book is supposedly geared towards a YA audience though I am really starting to think that line has been blurred in the book world because it's about building bombs, and science and spies. I wouldn't say that the book is really intense, though SPOILER ALERT: the scientists succeed and the bombs are used against Japan. (I was being sarcastic about the spoiler alert, clearly.)

The story weaves all the elements of the bomb's creation. It simultaneously follows scientists in the US working on building the bomb, scientist solders in Norway trying to prevent Germany from building the bomb and the USSR using spies to steal information so they could also build the bomb.

Bomb gets down to the nitty gritty of the science and the secrecy behind everything. Although this is a non-fiction book about spies so let your conspiracy warning alarm go off in your head as you wonder how much more to the story there really is. The direct quotes from the Presidents (Roosevelt and Truman) as well as others taken directly from their writings make it at least as accurate as it can be.

Even though the book takes place during WWII almost entirely, it is much less about war than it is about science. As a good discussion point, the ethics of the bomb and how it changes the world are absolutely touched upon. (Also the punishment of spies is a good ethical talking point.) I think if you have a homeschooler in upper middle/high school this would be a good book for science, history and ethics curriculum. Even if you don't homeschool this book would be a good one for your older child. The last chunk of book is copies of primary sources so it really is an approachable book that is not over the heads of many.

It does make you wonder whether it was a good idea to go down this path at all and what else the government is working on secretly. I am certainly not the scientist they'd be recruiting so I'll probably never know. Bomb also reinforces my belief that I would MUCH rather perish in nuclear fallout than survive. From a purely internal ethics thought process I found the book to be deeply fascinating so I would recommend especially if you've got a budding physicist, philosopher or politician on your hands.

I am looking forward to my book club discussing this book and would really love to discuss it with any of you WWRW/blog readers as well.

Linking up with Jessica for WWRW because that's what I do.

Trudging Along

Trudge:

1. Walk slowly and with heavy steps, typically because of exhaustion or harsh conditions.

I feel like I am trudging through this week. And it's only Tuesday. I don't think it is because I am exhausted. And while it is supposed to snow another delightful round this afternoon/tomorrow I don't know that it is because the conditions are particularly harsh.

The trouble with trudging is that it's so easy to continue once you've started. If trudging is getting you where you need to be why would try much harder than that?

My parents were here this past weekend. It was fabulous. It was restful and relaxing. Cozy even. My dad even made me my favorite breakfast ever, the incomparable Jelly-Rollups. He was unimpressed with my frying pan and spatulas as it happens (frying pan too deep and spatula not the right kind) but they were wonderful. And even after they left my house smelled like Jelly-Rollups and that made everything okay. But when the smell dissipated that left me with real life once more and the trudging began.

But today is a good day. It is February 4. Which not only marks 8 years since Husband and I started dating but also the very day that Husband got his first cell phone. There are many things to be thankful for and I just need to put a little pep in my step to really enjoy.

So I am going to! I am going to ignore the fact I'll need to shovel in a few hours and I am going to just enjoy the afternoon. I am going to Tigger my way through this week--that means I am going to bounce. Probably more figuratively than literally but you never know.

It's a good week ending in THE OLYMPICS and a free delicious work dinner. That's pretty snazzy. (We are going to miss the opening ceremonies for the dinner and we don't have DVR but NBC is going to replay it starting at 12:10 AM so I'm just going to pajama party it in bed and watch it anyway!)

My Random Opinions of Important News Stories (Not really)

I have to get this off my chest.

I know that J.K. Rowling wrote the books and that they are essentially her characters. But she is wrong. Wrong I tell you.

I can accept that maybe Ron and Hermione might not have made it in real life, but there is no way that Harry and Hermione would have been any better. Harry and Ginny are an excellent match up and it allowed him to really become a Weasley, which is all he wanted the entire series. Oh and I think adult Ron would serve Hermione positively as a "stop taking everything so seriously" kind of guy. Or maybe Hermione would have been great with Krum in the long run. Or someone else not at Hogwarts. But it's not relevant because Harry and Hermoine would NEVER have happened. That would have been disastrous!

Furthermore I think (which of course makes me the foremost expert here) that J.K. is just crazy over thinking the books this many years later and wanted to cause a stir. Because, at the end of the day, she wrote the books. She controlled all of their fates. So just buck up and deal with the ending you created.

Okay, Philip Seymour Hoffman. What a sad thing. Why do people feel the need to do drugs? It's just such a waste of talent and life. This is pretty much why I can't bring myself to watch Breaking Bad. Yes, Walter is going to die, but does he have to take down others with him? Drugs are bad. The end.

The Super Bowl. Here's what you need to know about me: I don't love football. But when I watch football I love it when players make a safety. It's my favorite. So imagine my shock when the Seattle Seahawks made a safety within the first 15 seconds of play and I HADN'T turned on the television yet!!! Bummed is the only thing I can say.

Alright. Thank you for listening.