Quick Takes

Linking up over at This Ain't The Lyceum again today!

Hi y'all.  Let's get started, shall we?

1.  

School started up again this week.   We waited until Wednesday to get started, but then we hit the ground running.   I'm still playing catch-up from all of the time we did "Bare Bones School"  (aka reading and math) after Ruthie and Theo came home, but I'm slowly closing in on actually meeting my end-of-June goal for finishing up this year.  I think between June and starting up again in August, we're going to do an intensive "Learn cursive and learn to type" summer school kind of thing.  They're all starting to really show interest in both of those things, and I want to focus on those.  That, and I need to get them to stop copying other people's cursive writing because it's not correct usually (guilty as charged here) and "Js" look like "Ls" when they do that.   Any tried-and-true curriculum out there for either subject?

2.

Baby Girl is miserable right now.  And not sleeping.  Which means Mommy and Daddy are pretty darn miserable, too.   Last night was a new record for her - sleeping a total of 3 hours, and screaming the rest.   Between the stuffy nose/cold she has and cutting new teeth, she's pretty darn pathetic.  I'd been trying to head it off with baby chest rub and the nose Frida thing (I canNOT get the hang of that on my own -it's definitely a two person job) and a humidifier with moderate success, but just now I broke down and brought on the baby Motrin.   She's napping now, and I'm hoping that we can get a good chunk of sleep.  Keep your fingers crossed.

3.

It's that time of year again.....time to gather up tax documents and fill out paperwork for Uncle Sam.  It makes me depressed every year, I won't lie.   I *know* how much we pay in student loans every month, and I'm very grateful for Mike's education and his ability to do what he loves every day now, but man, it's depressing to look at that end of the year statement.   To see how very much we paid throughout the year and how very little (relatively) that went to the actual loan instead of interest, and knowing that we can't write off any of that interest on the taxes.....well, it's depressing.   Our system is so screwed up in so many ways.....but this is a quick takes post and not a political post, so I'll stop there.

4.

We're packing up Christmas decorations today.   It's kind of sad.  The kids have a little Ikea couch that we moved into their playroom to make room for the Christmas tree, and now I can't decide what to do with the spot where the tree was.   I really like the couch in the playroom and the kids get good use out of it.   But it would be a HUGE empty spot if we don't move it back.  I'll post pictures in a bit, once we actually get the tree remnants cleaned up, and crowd source some ideas.    It's in a room that doubles as a front/living room space and our school room, so I'm thinking it I'd like to keep it some sort of reading area, but I don't want to buy any furniture or anything like that.   Hmmmm.....

5.

I started a 52 week organizational challenge this week, just like millions of others, I think, haha.  This week's goal was to clear off your kitchen countertops and table.  I didn't think that ours were that cluttered and made just a few changes, but it's really made a huge difference in how the kitchen FEELS.   I didn't even take pictures, because it didn't feel like that big of a deal when I did it, but now I'm wishing that I had.   You guys should try it, too.   I'm excited to see what future weeks bring.

6.

"Real" gym season starts this weekend with a meet in New Hampshire.  The boys had a meet earlier this season (December) and both did really well, but that one was unsanctioned.  This one is definitely more competitive and draws from the Boston region.   I'm looking forward to it - they've been working SO hard to improve their skills and it'll be good to see how they stack up against other gymnasts in the region.   The following week is a meet in West Point, which is my favourite meet of the year - it pulls from the entire East Coast region, and also involves a college-level mens meet in the evenings.  It's so much fun to see the college guys compete!   With their schedule over the next two weeks, and the news that the US Olympic committee has officially named Boston as their 2024 Olympic bid city,  there are some excited gymnasts (and gym parents) in the Circus tent today.

7.

Well, it's been our first week without Facebook, other than occasionally checking in to look at the messenger and trying to save important pictures to the computer instead of to our FB profile.    I haven't missed it as much as I thought I would have, to be honest.   I have been trying to make it a point to actually reach out to people via email, text, and phone, and that feels good.   I've missed actually making a connection with people, to be honest.  Facebook definitely has its good points - like when it's 2 am and you're awake with a sick baby and need ideas for how to soothe her (not that this has happened or anything) and know that you'll get answers immediately because there's ALWAYS something on - but that's really all that it's good for, I think.   Yes, we're "connected" to tons of people that we otherwise may not see, but I think it's made us super lazy in forming those connections.   You can't actually base a relationship on "likes", but we seem to believe that clicking those links is all it takes.    

Alright, Mike just walked in, and I need to help knock chores off of our "Friday" list.   Have a great weekend, everyone!