7 QT: American Girl Giveaway, shuttle buses, and T-25

Linking up again today!

1.

I know, I know.  I've been a bad blogger.  I don't really have an excuse, other than, well, I've been busy!  Yes, I know, that evil "busy" word.    I don't know how I feel about that article, but I can see where it's coming from.  When being busy is having a negative effect on your health, yes, I could agree that it isn't a good thing and needs to be stopped......but I don't think the problem can be boiled down to just being "busy".  It's more than that.  It's about expectations and your own desires and needs and putting yourself and your health last.   It's more about what you're busy WITH than the fact that you're BUSY.   But I digress.....

2.

But, yeah, we've been busy.   It's the height of gymnastics season, so we were in Boston last weekend for a big gym meet, and the state meet is next weekend.   This part of the year is our "all gymnastics all of the time" part of the year - the boys live and breathe gymnastics.   If we're not actually AT the gym, they're practicing things at home, talking about their routines, comparing previous scores, and analyzing the competition.   Seriously, I'm pretty sure Mr Graham can't think about anything other than gymnastics.....

My role as a gym mom is to make sure that they're eating well, resting well, and staying away from as many germs as possible, so that we don't have to scratch any meets due to sickness.   With Mr Theo in preschool right now, this has been my sole focus.   Honestly, I've been living and breathing healthy living right now and nothing else.    What we eat, how much we eat, extremely stringent bedtimes and naptimes, and limiting our interactions out in the "real world."    It's not much, but it's what I can do as Mom.   I'm not 100% on board with the whole essential oils thing yet, so my big focus is making sure we're eating well and resting.

3.

Along those lines, naptime has been guarded like crazy.   We're home for naps every day, and the babies are definitely protected during that time.    I would not be exaggerating if I said that our life is based around sleep schedules right now.  Because it is.   Very much so.

But while the babies sleep......Mommy gets to do fun things like this:

I may or may not have had the supplies for months before actually DOING it.   I'm happy with it - I wanted something to put current candid shots up on that was easy to change out AND easy to add things like note cards and notes from the kids.  Bonus - prayer cards fit nicely on it, too!

4.

Talk to me about big cars, y'all.   We're not ready to take the plunge into a big ol' van yet (our cars are hanging in there quite well), but we're starting to look at what's out there.   While we were in Boston last weekend, we test drove this one and this one.  Yep, you read that right.  I drove TWO big ol' vans in BOSTON.   BOSTON, y'all.   Yes, I needed a drink afterward.  It's hard to find these two vans in Maine, so we wanted to check them out in a big city (where there are plenty), so I swallowed my fear and held on tight (literally) and test drove a car in Boston.  

But, anywho, I liked both of them and wanted to know what your thoughts were.   Do you have a big ol' car that you love?  We're interested more in seats than cargo (so no Suburbans or anything like that), so we can cart friends around with us, too.  We need 7 seats just with our family, so keep that in mind.   

5.

Hmmmm....what else?  I'm not following my QT format, sorry.    I'm trying to sneak this in while Baby Girl is still sleeping (everyone else is making coffee filter flowers, in hopes that spring is right around the corner!). 

I did just read a book for fun - I actually splurged on this book after listening to an interview with the authour.  It sounded really good:  a woman's experience with the transition into motherhood after the birth of her first child, along with a struggle with PPD.  Obviously, a lot of that would resonate with someone like me.   

I hate to say it, but I was disappointed.   The story was good, the themes were good (but could have been developed SO much more), but the language was absolutely ATROCIOUS.   I'm not a perfectly clean speaker myself - I've come a long way since college with cleaning up my language - but holy smokes, this was horrible.  I honestly couldn't get past the language to make it into the themes.   It totally detracted from the story to have every other word be some sort of curse.    I'm sad that I paid full price for it, to be honest.   Consider this your fair warning.

6.

T-25 update!   I'm trying hard to work out more days during the week than not.  It's not perfect (he wants you to do 7 workouts a week), but it's better than what I was doing before.   Since Valentine's Day, I've also been tracking my food just to get an idea of what I was doing.  I'm still following Dr Fuhrman's diet plan loosely, but I was curious just how much snacking I was doing mindlessly.   Since then, I've lost 6 lbs, without changing anything except logging my food.   I guess I was eating more mindlessly than I realized!!   

I'm seeing my shape changing more than anything else with T-25.  Obviously, I'm losing weight (see above) too, but things are fitting differently more than anything else.  I definitely feel like I'm getting stronger - when we first started, I could barely hold some of the positions (Hello, plank walk.  I'm talking to you!).  While I still can't hold them as long as he does.....I'm getting there.  I'm seeing a dramatic improvement from just a few weeks ago.   

I'm also really motivated to keep it up - I really, really like these workouts.   They're hard, but they're quick, which makes them easier to work into daily life.   I'm having to compromise and not do them as much as I originally wanted (every day), in order to do things like sleep and homeschool and live in a clean house, but it's soooooo much easier to work into the day than going to a gym or even running on our treadmill.   I would definitely recommend them!

7.

Speaking of recommending things.....have you heard about my friend Kara?  She's a dear friend from our time in Arizona, and we watched her bring home a little guy named Maks just over a year ago.   She and her husband Kyle are heading back to Maks' home country to adopt a second little boy, Truman.   They're trying to raise the funds for the adoption as quickly as possible - it's a very fast moving country! - and are currently hosting an American Girl Doll giveaway.  Go check it out and if you can, support this amazing family in their journey to bring home baby Truman.     Bringing Theo home was one of the hardest, yet most rewarding, things we've ever done, and we could not have come close to actually doing it if it weren't for the support of our extended community (financially, spiritually, and emotionally).   If you can, please help us surround them in the same support that you showed us.   

Quick Takes: Musings

Linking up with Kelly because it's still open, even for us lazy procrastinators!


*******

My view...well, up until a few minutes ago with the big brothers barged in and woke her up:

It was almost the perfect break time.   Oh well.   Next time!

I'm currently banished to the master bedroom.   The boys are all working on a Valentine's dinner and surprise for me.  I'm not complaining.  They came into the bedroom bearing hot coffee and chocolate, after a quick run to the grocery store.   I'm happy to stay in here a little longer.

*******

Also, if I stay in the bedroom, I avoid looking at this monstrosity: 

  That's one heck of a fort creation.   And it's totally stressing me out.

*******

Yesterday, we told the boys that we were going to change our plans and go out for lunch before gymnastics practice.   I told them to get their shoes and socks on, and Mr Theo stopped abruptly, turned around QUICKLY, and took off running down the hallway to his bedroom.  He came out minutes later, socks in hand.   Such a smarty-pants.

Also, you may visit Chipotle too much as a family when they give you coupons for free burritos the next time you come in, because "You're such loyal customers."

*******

I've been thinking a lot about happiness recently.   It seems to be the word that keeps popping up in day-to-day conversation, especially in relation to things like disappointments.   I'm coming to realize that a lot of my role as a parent is helping the kids recognize that happiness isn't our goal in this life.  That there's a difference between choosing happiness and choosing joy.    And that sometimes (all of the time?) you learn more from your disappointments than your happiness.

*******

Lent has been on my mind a lot recently.  It starts next week (!!!).   As is the tradition in the Catholic world, I'm planning on sacrificing something for the 40 days of Lent (people typically say they're "giving something up.").  I'm contemplating giving up my snooze button, but that sounds so silly and superficial to say.   But Lent is supposed to be the time that you sacrifice something as a way of growing closer to Christ, right?   Well, that darn snooze button is a huge stumbling block in my prayer time and writing time.   I tend to hit it 2-3 times every morning, and well, that's 18-27 minutes of my life every day that I could be using in a better manner.  I think getting rid of the snooze button in my life might be way more spiritually beneficial than, say, giving up coffee.

*******

Ruthie is full-time pulling herself up and cruising now.  Didn't take her long to figure it out - and now she's also starting to let go and balance there, in a standing position.   Silly girlie.

*******

I'm trying hard to get back on track with the diet plan again this week, and I'm happy to say that I've done a pretty good job.   My biggest hurdle was/is breakfast - it's hard to have a veggie-based breakfast that isn't also grain based (because I'm trying to limit how much grain I have (it's a trigger food for me for over-eating), too).   Getting this blender seems to have been the magic trick.   I really like eating bowls of fruit for breakfast, but prepping them and then sitting down to eat them would take WAY more time than I had before the kids needed me.  Now, I've just been blending them and drinking them as a smothie instead of sitting down to eat them.   I love the to-go cup option, especially on Theo's early school/therapy mornings.  I've found that if I start the day with a fresh fruit smoothie, the rest of my food choices are so much better throughout the day.

*******

My coffee's cold, so it's time to venture out and see what exactly is going on out there in the Circus.    It sounds a bit crazy!

Quick Takes: Mommy's Magic Trick and more!

Linking up with Kelly again today!

Single-parenting for the past few days and the next few days, so this has got to be quick.....here we go!

1.

In the Kitchen

Tonight's Dinner.  I made a double batch so that I could freeze some and give some away, and there's soooooo much food in my kitchen right now!     I'd take a picture, but I'm lazy and haven't actually made the burritos yet.   The filling is made, but I kind of stopped there for awhile.  Naptime was preptime, and actual dinner-making-time isn't here yet.   This is a family favourite though - the kids love it and I love how easy it is to make a ton and freeze for a future meal.  (Heidi's note:  I double the spices, though.  Without that, it seems bland to us).

2.

At School

This week has had a lot of "school on the go" days, and we also did a few movie afternoons with the weather and a certain sick little boy.   The biggest Circus clown is currently reading/learning about Ben Franklin, and it seemed kind of like Divine Providence that Baby Girl would just so happen to wake up and not want to go to sleep and instead want to have a middle-of-the-night party and I would get the urge to flip on the TV (NEVER happens, because we don't have cable, so there's nothing on in the middle of the night!) and it would just so happen to be left on PBS (okay, this happens a lot, haha) and this show would be on.  I let the kids watch it again the next day, and they were fascinated!

(Okay interesting graphic to choose, YouTube, but it's "Secrets of the Dead:  Ben Franklin's Bones")

3.

What I'm Reading

Mike's been gone the past few days and I've still got a few days ahead of me, and what that translates into around the Circus is READING TIME FOR MOMMY!  I decided to start reading my friend's book, Winter's Fallen, and have loved every second of it.  It's engaging, easy to read, and it's crazy refreshing to have a "chick flick" kind of book that doesn't have a raunchy sex scene every five pages.   Go check it out!!

4.

In the Gym

Alright, I'm still struggling with finding the right time to workout.  Someone inspire me.  What do you do?  HOW do you work it in?  I need to get my brain in order, which is definitely the biggest problem, but I've got some sort of mental block as to how to make this happen.   Help me!

5.

Clown Update

Hmmmmm...Theo-Rio is back to full steam.  Well, as full steam as a little boy with no immune system in the middle of a Maine winter and who's exposed to germs over and over and over again at preschool.   But full steam for him.   The rest of the kiddos are happy to be back to a semi-regular daily life.  I'm trying really hard to stick to lots of sleeping and napping times to keep their immune systems going strong, so I'm limiting what we do and where we go.....but we're not quarantined at home anymore.  For now, anyways.

Nicholas is SPEEDING through learning to read, so I think I need to get looking for a good deal on a Nook (the simple touch ones).  Each boy above him has gotten one when they could officially read, and I'm thinking my goal (as his teacher) is going to try and get him reading officially by our May vacation so he can have a Nook in the car like the big kids.   Fingers crossed!

The crawler has also started climbing stairs to get out of our sunken living room.  Yikes!

6.

What I'm hearing....

The script of Big Hero 6, as the boys re-enact it in an attempt (I think) to convince me to purchase it on iTunes for tonight's family movie night........

7.

The Week in Review, aka Mommy's Bag of Tricks

Do you see these?

Magic beads, y'all.  Magic beads.

These are whole allspice beads.   From the spice section of your local grocery store.  Well, my local grocery store.  But you can find them on YOUR local grocery store's spice aisle, I'm sure of it.   

Want to know why they're magic?

See that cutie patootie baby there?  Do you see what's around her neck?

Yeppers, my baby wears a necklace when she's awake.   (she's a mouther, so I take it off when she's sleeping so she doesn't get to it before I get to her after she wakes up).

She smells like pumpkin pie.   It's delicious.

You know what else she's started doing since I got off my lazy butt and finally made her the necklace that I have been talking about making for MONTHS now?

Sleeping.

Oh glorious sleep, how I missed you.

She's also cutting TWO teeth right now.   Her gums are swollen and purple/bruised, and the teeth are pushing their way through.   Until two nights ago, she was waking up every 2 hours, not wanting to eat but wanting to be held and only sleep in my arms.  Typical teething behaviour.

Last night and the night before?  She slept seven glorious hours straight.  Seven, y'all.  I feel like a new girl over here.

You can read more about allspice necklaces here, from the friend I first learned about them from, but let.me.tell.you.  If you have a teething child, you *need* to try these things.  I was totally skeptical until a friend gave one to me with Grahaminator (who was cutting molars at the time and miserable) and my life was changed forever.  For-EV-er.   Suddenly we were sleeping again and everyone was happy and man, those teeth popped through so fast!   Flash forward 3 years to Baby Nicholas, and another allspice necklace, and another set of teeth popped through with NO medications and with lots of sleep.

Magic, y'all.  Magic.  You must read about it and try it!!   Seriously.  TRY IT.

****

Okay, the natives are growing restless and are scavenging for food again, so I need to get my burrito-buiding-game on and get movie night going.

Have a great weekend!!

Quick Takes

Linking up with Kelly again today!

I'm too lazy to go and look up the different categories that I decided on, so.......I'll just do my best.

1.

In the Kitchen

Hmmmm...nothing too exciting going on in the kitchen this week.   Yesterday, in particular, was a horrible food day - we ate out for EVERY meal except breakfast because of our schedule.  Blech.  I did try the Soba Noodle broth bowl at Panera and it was pretty good.    Something different, ableit super salty.   I definitely was crazy thirsty afterward.

2.

At School

Yeah, so schooling has kind of been a "just do the basics" this week, too.   I do think I'm going to try a new project with the kiddos, though.  A friend mentioned that she had her son create his own curriculum for a cooking class, planning the techniques and resources needed, and then how to teach cooking a particular dish.  My boys LOVE to be in the kitchen, so I think we're going to do something similar - maybe with friends.   We'll do a cooking tv show, though, I think - they'll plan out the recipe and the script, go shopping, and then film the show, and then edit it on our computer.   The "premiere" will be when we watch the show and (maybe, if I can finagle it) enjoy the dish that is prepared.    I think the kiddos will have a lot of fun, and I love watching their creativity on independent things like that, too!

3.

What I'm reading

Okay, I'm cheating.  I haven't read this YET, but they're written by a dear friend and I know she's talented with words.   Are you looking for something to read?  Go check it out!

4.

In the Gym

Alright, I'm struggling here, I will admit.  I thoroughly enjoy the T-25 workouts, and you'd think that 25 minutes isn't too much time to find during the day, but.......I'm having a hard time doing it.   Could I be working out instead of blogging?  Probably - but the kiddos are all around and working on projects and the only "safe place" for the baby is also where I work out (by the tv).   I've been doing it after the kiddos go to bed at night, but then I struggle with going to sleep.  Maybe the secret is working out and then drinking this.   Does anyone else have this issue and only have time to work out at night?  How do you balance it?  I feel like I'm dragging out of bed the next morning.   (Oh, and working out before the kids get up is unreliable with the baby's wake up time, AND because our oldest child has a super sonic "MOM'S AWAKE" sixth sense and walks out of his bedroom within minutes of me leaving my bedroom, no matter what time I get up!).

5.

Clown Update

We officially have a crawler!  She's slow, but steady, and more than anything else, totally in love with her newfound freedom.   Her favourite place to head, once she starts moving?   Right next to the light switches in the sunken living room - she loves to push the buttons and see what happens!  

Say a prayer for our little Theo-Rio.  He's fighting off some sort of virus and is absolutely miserable.  Part of the reason that this week's been so hard to stay on top of things is due to him being sick - he just wants to cuddle, and while I'm happy to oblige him....it makes it really hard to do anything else around the house.   Sometimes I really hate the fact that we live in a fallen world and beautiful little children have to deal with horrible things like chemo and cancer.  

6.

What I'm hearing....

Right now?  Magic School Bus.  Thank you, Netflix, for bringing it back.   Today's science lesson, at it's very best........

7.

The week in review...

Like I said above, it's been a hard week.  I'm exhausted and kind of totally touched out.   I'm going to write more about it later - this winter has definitely been a cross for me.  I was expecting it, but it still took me by surprise.   I kind of feel like I'm doing my Lenten penance a bit early at times.   It might sound dramatic, but to go from one doctor's visit in  4 years to a child who's constantly sick and clingy while he's sick really has been challenging.   I feel like this one little guy is throwing my entire parenting knowledge for a loop when it comes to sickness and nursing ill children, and that has been really difficult, mentally, for me.   Stay tuned....

***

Alright, lunchtime and laundry calls me.  Have a good weekend, all!

*****

OH!  ETA - we're currently trying to figure out our vacation plans for May.  If you have super awesome, money saving Disney tips, please let me know.  That was our first choice, but budget constraints are leading me to think it might not happen....

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.  

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!