Quick Takes

Linking up again today!

Doing this quickly before we head out on a field trip!

1.   

At School

Is it weird that I'm not feeling the February burnout coming on yet?   Hmmmm.

Also, today Nicholas told me that he wanted to go to "homeschool college."   Would that mean an online degree?  ;)   I also can't decide if this is a sign that he loves what I'm doing and I'm just plain awesome.....or if it means that he needs more social interaction.

Nah. 

I'm definitely awesome.

2.

In the Kitchen

I'll write up our version of this recipe later, but this is tonight's dinner.    Basically, I follow the recipe loosely, but omit the pasta and double the beans.  Half of the beans I stick in a blender with some of the broth and puree them.   All of the family likes it, but Theo LOVES it.

3.

 In The Gym

Well, after West Point, we picked back up the T-25 workouts again.  I'm slightly annoyed that I haven't lost more weight yet, but I also have had a lot working against me.   And while I haven't lost much weight (only 4 lbs so far), I *have* noticed that I've gotten much stronger - I can push harder during the workout itself, and my balance is WAY better during the stretching/strength portions.    Oh, and my pants are too big, even after just washing them.   So things are definitely improving, even if the scale isn't moving.  I'm guessing that my muscles are getting stronger, and if I keep it up, I'll suddenly have a weight loss jump or something like that.  We'll see!  I'm definitely not giving up, though.   

4.

On The Radio

We do a lot of audio books in the car during long rides, so that's really been all that's been on my radio recently....hmmmm....let's see.  We listened to The Railway Children on the trip to and from NY.   Can I ask just how one family of children has SO MANY THINGS happen to them?!?!  Seriously.   Save a deathly ill mother.  Have a father arrested.   Save a random Russian.  Arrange a surprise birthday party for the town.  Stop a train wreck...and those are just a few of the things.  It was really quite impressive!

5.

What I'm Reading

I'm still working through "Quiet", so I thought I'd link to a couple of online articles that I've found interesting recently.   Click on through!

Raising Prudent Kids, not Independent Kids

It's not about Rabbits, but maybe it's not about you either

10 Common Myths About Catholics that Critics Believe  (This one struck a chord, growing up in the bible belt and all...)

Want to save the babies?  Save their mothers

6.

Clown Update

Guess who can sit herself up now?  Yeppers!  Baby Ruthie.  She may have given up on crawling, as she prefers to just roll herself to where she wants to go, and then sit up.   Or pull herself up on anyone that happens to be nearby.   We'll see.  Maybe by next week she will have changed her mind again!  

She's also decided (thanks to a taste of yogurt last weekend) that she's definitely a big kid now and wants real food.   Any and all real food.  Or things that look like real food, like paper (sigh, true story).   This one's going to keep us all on our toes, I think!

7.

The Week In Review

I struggle with this week, every year.   Roe v Wade and the March for Life totally take over my thoughts January 22nd, every single year.  I'm sure it will come out in a post later this weekend, but this year I found myself getting angry on top of the sadness (I usually spend this week breaking into tears at the slightest thing).  I'm not sure what it was.  Maybe it was the pro-abortion protesters who ripped up the stage at the March for Life and then attempted to block the march itself (and were then arrested and the marchers went right past them - if there was ever a better depiction of good triumphing during these marches...I'm not sure what it is), but something struck me this year of the need to defend not only the babies, but the women involved in the abortion industry.    These women who have had abortions - the ones who the pro-abortion activists attacked (it was the Silent No More campaign stage that they attempted to destroy) - do not deserve the way that we treat them.  On both sides of the debate, honestly.  You've got the rabid pro-lifers who accuse them of murder....and the rabid pro-choicers who totally ignore and minimize the pain and depression (and often addictions to numb that pain and depression) that they are facing.  They deserve better from all of us.

Normally, this week finds me mourning my two babies that were lost - if other babies are just a "ball of cells" and "products of conception" and can be dismembered and lost.....what does that make MY babies?   But this week, I found myself angry.  Angry for the lack of recognition of the dignity of these babies AND the mothers.   We need to do better.  Much much better.

*****

I need to go load the rascals into the car and hit the road.  Please join me in praying for the safety of everyone heading home from Washington, and for the comfort of all who are hurting due to abortion.