7 Quick Takes Friday - #10

This week has been a great one, and I'm going to try to be brief in my 7 quick takes, as we're about to have dinner guests:

1. We started Moses on solids last week. I ground up some brown rice (man, that is loud!), and later in the week baked and pureed some pumpkins, and froze those little food cubes once again. I love these familiar routines. ... in related news...
   
   
2. Moses is sitting up all by himself (just started that 2 days ago), and boy is he cute! I love having children at all different stages... one child is making a joke, one baby is grinning at you. When one child is learning about equivalent fractions, another is starting to speak in full sentences, and another is talking to the baby like a little mama. Or, on the flip side, (just to give you a dose of reality) when one child is having a bad attitude and having to re-walk across the living room, *this time without stomping please*, another has tipped down to one side and bonked his head on the floor. One child is grumping about having to sweep under the table while another is running through the house screaming because his sister is chasing him like a barking puppy dog. :) Well, I don't know that all this has exactly happened in one moment, but it has happened in the same day.
   
   
3. My mom got us the game "In A Pickle" for Christmas, and it is so awesome. I've played it several times now with the two older boys, and it's great fun. PLUS-- my oldest son is learning to think more logically (because the game requires that you put words together in reasonable ways), and our 2nd son (learning to read) is doing great and having additional motivation to read longer words so that he can play too. We love this game just for the fun of it, but I'm also loving that it's spurring Baxter on to read more and more!
   
   
4. Another fun homeschooling "find" (recommended to me by wiser and more experienced moms) is "Liberty's Kids". We're doing American history this year, and have gotten to the Revolutionary period, and this PBS series on DVD is just great. It tells the stories of the birth of America in a way that holds the interest of even my 2 & 4 year olds (but it's particularly relevant and memorable for the older boys-- 6 & 8). I recommend this DVD series to those who want a great way to reinforce American history.
   
   
5. This week we had guests (strangers to us-- that happens sometimes when you live in a major city that people pass through) for nearly a whole week, and it was great. For starters, they were just fun and easy to be around... we laughed and got to know them throughout the week. And our kiddos enjoyed it immensely!
   
But one great thing we noticed about having guests in our home is that it forces us to examine our lives in a fresh way. Suddenly, we notice the random items littering the top of the shoe cabinet, or we realize we've made it through the whole week without yelling at the kids... and that we *CAN* do that. Or we pull out family games a little more often (see list item #3). I think having guests is a good way to "see" your home & family with fresh eyes.


6. Someone asked last week how the "No S" Diet is going, and if I'm losing weight. I'll say this: I don't own a scale, so I have no idea about the actual numbers. But my clothes are fitting differently. Not so tight, and I don't have that mid-section bulge I was so embarrassed about a month ago. But what's been more amazing to me is that I didn't gain weight over the holidays, and I really, REALLY enjoyed myself (sweets-wise). I just did it with common sense. I really like this diet, and yes, I'm still doing it. I *think* I'm losing weight (my husband thinks so too), but I have no way to verify that at present.
   
   
7. My husband's computer stopped allowing me to upload pictures from my camera. Thus the reason there are none with this post. Sorry about that. Hopefully we'll rectify that soon and I can once again start linking up pictures of the cutest baby in the world. [Obviously, I came back and added in the pictures that you now see in this article.] :)

Have a great weekend! As always, please share thoughts/comments!