Theme Thursday: Sports

She had to start with a hard one. Here I was so excited to have Theme Thursday back. My favorite party on the interwebs and she picks sports. I am only 27 so maybe I'm not in my late late enough twenties to enjoy sports. Last time I was pregnant I was convinced we would get a little athlete. Because I was a theater/ mass comm major and Husband was a theater/graphic design major and neither of us love sports. 

I wish I found God or happiness or anything but hatred in running.
Alas.

Which sport he'll choose is left to be seen. Probably soccer or basketball. Because I hate the squeaky shoes of basketball. And soccer. Oh soccer. There is no such thing as a good soccer season in the Midwest. That is because it is nice out for approximately 3 weeks out of the year. So for the rest of the season it is either rainy, wet and muddy for spring soccer. Hot, muggy and buggy for summer soccer. Or icy, cold tundra fall soccer. Of course there's indoor arena soccer in the winter which would be fine but no one just plays indoor arena soccer.

And I just don't get The World Cup. These giant fields and a tiny ball that still can't seem to make it into that big goal. Then if two players on the giant field happen to bump shoulders into each other they fall to the ground, grabbing their leg and writhe in agony. The leg will probably need to be amputated. Perhaps they are actually going to die where they lay. All justincase the other person will get a red card from their near death experience.  When that doesn't happen they then miraculously pop back up after being sprayed with a magical can of air. Seems like a lot of hullabaloo to me. 

I can hear you all in your own homes begging me to get on with it. "Let's see your picture Madeline." I know. I'm sorry. I just had to establish that sports were not my thing so that the apparent lack of sporty pictures would be justified. Even though basketball and soccer are low on my list of favorites we have a soccer goal and a few balls and Christopher was the proud recipient of his very own Little Tikes Basketball hoop for his birthday.  He likes it. Slam dunking is great! 

See? I can prove it. 

My second picture is of his FAVORITE sport. Endurance swinging. He is a champion of swinging. 

This is maybe one of my favorite pictures ever because it's my son, Christopher Peter and my brother Peter Christopher. Peter is C's Godfather and all around one of my favorite people. It is also his birthday this weekend! Plus they're twinsies. (Not planned.) Pretty awesome. 

So anyway, sports. There you have it. Linking up, of course, with Theme Thursday over at Clan Donaldson because everyone should on Thursdays. Plus it's summer--there will never be better light to practice with! And if your kids mention the B word have them go out to capture the word of the week in photograph form, I'd like to see that too! 

Next week's Theme is swim. Nevermind that's also a sport *ahem.* I kid because we love swimming over here and I am excited for an easy theme! Actually the themes through July are fairly easy to pull off. I look forward to seeing your pictures. Have a wonderful rest of your Thursday!

Answer Me This: 2 Late Late Late

I am back for another round of Answer Me This! If you are popping over from Kendra's place, well then Welcome! I am glad you're here! (I started these on Sunday... it is now Tuesday.)

1. What's something you intended to do today, but didn't?

Actually today has gone pretty much according to plan. I suppose I intended to buy C a donut at the gas station but the selection was of the sticky variety so he got a muffin instead. He liked it and he didn't know he was supposed to have a donut so no biggie!


2. What's your favorite grilling recipe?

Besides heat the charcoal and put the meat on? Um... sometimes I marinate the meat? I've got nothing. We actually grill often in the summer but mostly it's for meat and then we have veggies/pasta salad/fruit etc. because nobody likes a hot kitchen in the summer. But I am inspired to try one of the recipes I find this week. Game on.

3. What movie did I see most recently?

In truthfulness: While You Were Sleeping. I watch While You Were Sleeping multiple times per week. I like to fall asleep with noise. Yes I know the light is distracting and you shouldn't have a TV in the bedroom and I'm rotting my brain and I'll probably die a long painful death because of it. But: I wear an eye mask so there is no light, I don't care what the "experts" say and I am not afraid of death.

I can always tell how tired I am based on how far I get. My usual "watch til" part is when they say "He's in a coma.' "On Christmas Day!!!" (About 12 minutes in.) Once every few weeks I will watch the whole movie on purpose because I like it. I think it is funny to watch a movie titled "While You Were Sleeping" while I am trying to sleep. And Husband will almost certainly be asleep. It takes him about 30 seconds to fall asleep. Except from last night's 3:40 am tornado warning. After it expired I think we were both awake for a long while. "These mashed potatoes are so creamy."

4. Would you say your tendency is to over or under react to medical situations? 

Is there an appropriate reaction category? I tend to worry that things could happen but when faced in an actual medical situation I am actually really good in a crisis. C has only been to the doctor for illness 2 times in his 2 years. Once because I knew he had an ear infection so we went to Quick Med, he did and we went home with bubble gum medicine for him to take for a week. Once because I wanted to make sure he wasn't dehydrated. He had lots of output for almost a week and while I knew there wasn't anything we could do about the virus part I wanted to make sure I was doing the best I could with the hydration and wasn't above getting help. He was fine BTW.

And at work once a little boy ran head first into a stone corner of the park building and split his forehead open pretty good. I cleaned it, wrapped it, called Mom and Dad, called the ambulance to check him out (sirens off and not for transport) they determined he needed stitches, calmed his brother down and sent him off to the ER. (With his Mom.) I filled out an accident form and I was literally covered in blood. Because heads like to bleed.

So overused. So true in this situation.

And the whole time this was all happening I was like... no biggie. So, let's say a combo of the two because I do spend time worrying in advance but when put in the situation I am just fine.

5. Do you squeeze the toothpaste or roll it? 

Squeeze. I don't think I know anyone who rolls it.

6. What did you do for Father's Day? 

Called my Dad on Skype. Got my Husband a slice of breakfast pizza on the way to church. Sent him off to see a show during nap time. And we kept it really low key. He received new boxer shorts a few days early because the need had surpassed waiting for Sunday. He was able to open his new work shoes with his card on Sunday. (Boring present yes? Also more of a need than a want in you're curious. He old brown work shoes were BAD.) The day was about as low key as it could get. But that's okay. Good even.

So You Want to Make A Busy Bag

Busy Bags. The toddler/preschooler solution to killing time/learning/distracting during home schooling of older children/whatever. They're all the rage. Okay, so maybe not really but I have heard about them on a few different blogs and I participated in a busy bag swap. I made 8 of my activities, sent them off to Micaela and soon will get a box back with 7 other activities for me to do with C. 

For my busy bag I modified this cupcake activity for an ice cream activity. The busy bag swap was initially a toddler craft swap and I wanted something that could double team. So I thought ice cream was a good way to go. But we'll get to what to do with the busy bag later. 

First I cut up a cereal box to make stencils of the ice cream cones and ice cream scoops I wanted to make. I sized the scoops and cones around the end of a juice concentrate lid so that I could make sure they were about the same size. Also I figured that would make it a good size for toddlers and preschoolers--not too small but not too big either. 

Then I traced the shapes onto felt. And cut them out. 

Then I divided them up into each gallon ziploc. 3 scoops of each kind of ice cream and 2 different shaped cones. 

I put together a smaller bag that contained 1 "cherry" pom-pom, 2 magnet strips and a handful of "sprinkles." (I cut up the blue, purple and green felt into small pieces.) 

Then I put in the instruction sheet and called it good. 

Viola! A busy bag! But less you think I am not going to show you my instruction sheet, I will show you the first version before it got the cute ice cream cone you see above there. 

I think if you click on it, it will get bigger. But if not, there are 3 ways to use my busy bag.   You can just have free play to decorate your ice cream cones however you choose, or create cones using different patterns or craft the cones into keepsake magnets. 

The learning aspect was clearly following patterns and listed examples of ABA, ABBA etc. patterns to establish early math knowledge. 

I was pretty proud of my bags. They were easy enough (lots of cutting but I just put on a good movie 2 nights in a row and was all set.) and came out to cost me less than a $1 a bag. (Not including the ziplocs but I had those at home already so I didn't factor the cost in but I could have gotten dollar store versions and they would have worked just fine.) 

Anyway... if you are looking for quiet activities to engage and entertain your littles I recommend the busy bag. There are so many different kinds and lots of swaps to participate in! Marie at Joy Beyond the Cross was looking to have one and I'm not sure if there's still room but it wouldn't hurt to send her an email and ask! 

3.       

Theme Thursday Going Rogue: Old Fashioned

Not like Sarah Palin "Going Rogue" but inventing my own theme for the week because sometimes you just need to post pictures with a theme.

Cari is all taking a sanity break and getting over the school year and I get it. I was burned out with the early pregnancy blahs and took off all of Lent. Just in time for Cari to need time off herself. And now she's in birthday season and I... just... needed Theme Thursday back.

So in a totally unauthorized hijack of her linkup, well, I invented my own theme for the day! I needed a creative outlet and stealing lovingly borrowing Theme Thursday is apparently the best I can do. I'm not going to make it an actual link up though. Unless you also need a creative outlet and take a picture of something old-fashioned. In which case... let me know about it I'd like to see it.

Oh yeah. My theme for the week is Old-Fashioned.

With a button and everything people! Get it? It's a Cat. Fishing. (That's like a play on the fisher cat of Cari fame you see.) 

So with a fun button and a little bit of explaining what I'm up to, here is my old-fashioned picture: 

A good old-fashioned, family fun time. Pickin' strawberries. Now I ask you, what is early June without strawberries? No fun at all I'd say! With the weird winter/spring the strawberries weren't as good as last year but we still managed to get a flat. Someone who is just the age of 2 managed to get a few into his mouth as well. 

Feel free to join in with my going rogue! Or not. Let's go ahead and declare next week's theme to be abundant just in case you need a creative outlet too. *I reserve the right to fall back in line with Cari if/when she comes back with the real Theme Thursday and her own list of themes. She is the best host of Theme Thursday and I really hope she buys the whole "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" thing."*

Enjoy your Thursday! Leave me a comment if I should pop over to you to see something old-fashioned! 

WWRW: Don't You Forget About Me

I am posting this WWRW just a smidgeon early because... you don't want to miss out on this book and it's a free Kindle promo RIGHT NOW! (And if you read this late, it's totally worth spending the $!) This is also where I remind you that you don't have to have a Kindle because there are Kindle apps and other options.

A little way back I got an email from Miss Erin McColl-Cupp sent me an email asking me to read her book and post a WWRW about it. She sent me a PDF of the book in exchange for a blog post but I assure you that all thoughts and opinions are mine and she in no way tried to convince me I had to write a positive review.

Luckily for everyone involved I have nothing but praises to sing. Don't You Forget About Me follows Mary Catherine as she attends a funeral of her former elementary school principal and essentially has a small town class reunion because everyone is there. Mary Catherine was about as unpopular as one could possibly get in elementary school and while reluctant to go back she is intrigued by the knowledge that her one friend Gene would like to speak with her. Those young love crushes are powerful draws you see.

After Mary Catherine arrives in Walkerville she is confronted by her old fears, classmates and your everyday run of the mill murder. Just kidding. Kidding about the run of the mill, not the murder. There's a murder.  McColl-Cupp is kind of a genius because she weaves a tale that will have you guessing for a very long time. I thought I knew exactly what was going on and then I suddenly knew nothing. This is not your typical murder mystery.

The sub plot follows "The Curse of '87." Many of the members of the class have major health problems especially when it comes to their reproductive health. Don't You Forget About Me is a Catholic novel and stays truthful to the Magisterium without being heavy handed.

Don't You Forget About Me is a well-written, plot-twist filled, delightful look at small town Catholic school kids all grown up. Partly funny, partly deadly serious (pun completely intended) and completely engaging. You will want to know what happens to Mary Catherine! If you like 80s music, Italian food, drama, friendships, Catholicism, and a murder mystery this is definitely the book for you. If none of those things sound interesting then I would not order a pizza, download the Kindle book and enjoy a good read.

I will eventually be linking this up with Jessica unless she goes into labor before then in which case we'll all forgive her because baby trumps books at least for a little while!

Answer Me This

I am going to play Answer Me This this week. Because... I am trying to blog more and what better way than to start out with a link up? There is no better way. 

1. Do you have a land line?

Nope. We sure don't. When we were all getting married and registering for presents Husband kind of fell in love with this phone at Pottery Barn. (The black one.) And then his friends bought it for us. And it's been sitting as decoration ever since. We have talked about maybe getting a land line for emergencies but it's clearly been a low priority. 

2. What is your least favorite food?

This is the million dollar question my friends. I am what you may call a cautious eater. Some people may say "picky" but I don't think that's quite fair. I can be adventurous as long as I want to be. Truly. I am just extremely cautious. 

Near the top of the charts on things I really, really dislike however is Pepperoni Pizza. The pepperoni juice (grease) is just enough to make me die a thousand deaths. Pulling pepperoni off a slice of pizza does not a cheese pizza make. And telling me we can go "half pepperoni half whatever I want" is the same story. The juice leeches into the other half and ruins the whole thing. I mean, if you wanted it to taste like pepperoni you would just order a pizza to have pepperoni instead of half and half. 

3. What's on your summer reading list?

So many things. The new Jennifer Weiner book comes out next week and I usually read her books in the summer. Delightful escapism. I've heard good things about The Rosie Project so that's a definite thumbs up for summer reading plans. 

I don't even know all the books I will wind up reading. But I am excited. The best books always come out in the summer. :) 

4. Is there something that people consistently ask for your advice on? What is it?

Um... not really. I actually feel like I give advice a lot but not on the same topic frequently. 

5. What's the most physically demanding thing you've ever done?

I don't know. I've never escaped a fire. I had an epidural and have no shame in that at all. I don't run and the 5Ks I have done have been tolerable.  I suppose doing The Climb for the Cure was pretty taxing. Climbing 50 stories and becoming really thankful for elevators. And I was YOUNG then. 

Seriously I don't know that I have anything interesting to put here. Perhaps I should plan something exciting that could be physically demanding. I've always wanted to play paintball. The running/ducking/getting hit with paintballs could probably fulfill this spot. 

6. How do you feel about massages?

Any massage you don't want just send my way.

I am basically a cat. My ideal day is eating, sleeping and being rubbed on. (I also really love showering which isn't super cat like but they do clean themselves and that is my preferred method so, let's just say I'm a cat then okay?)

So I like them is what I'm saying.


I am linking up with Kendra because that's where this particular link up is hosted. Which is pretty nice of her I think.

Gardening.

There is a statistic that says something akin to gardening can reduce stress. While I feel that may be true for some people. I do not fall into the category. I can safely tell you that my first foray into vegetable gardening caused me nothing but stress and anxiety. 

It all started with a goal of mine... to grow a tomato. I aim low. I just want one. This has been my goal for 2 years. Last year it didn't happen. And this year I was determined. 

It started with 3 packets of seeds and this peet moss/indoor greenhouse kit thing. We started that in March. Due to the winter that wouldn't end they moved outside into their actual living arrangements today. So we (Husband and I) did gardening. We filled the potter things up with top soil and something called humus + manure, mixed it up and moved our little plants in. We had to use potters because our patio is the only place that gets sun with any consistency throughout the day. 

During this process I got dirty and there were lots of bugs. I am not a fan of nature. Or dirt. I can deal with it. I just prefer not to. All I can say is that this floppy little plant best be growing into something that tastes good with bacon and lettuce on bread. 

Our little tomato plants in their new homes and fake cages that we built. 

Gardening. The most popular hobby did not gain another fan today. We'll just look at each other through the windows and call it good.