Seven Quick Takes vol 153

Hi Kelly! Head on over to say hi too!

{one}

Sooooo...November?? It really got sucked down the election toilet didn't it? I barely know what day it is between trying to figure out how I should be feeling about everything. Because everyone is telling me I should be feeling something terrible. I feel like I've had all these grieving feelings a long time ago, and have never regained positive hope for any political future. I'm basically over democracy, it's the conclusion I've come to just so that I don't harbour ill will for my fellow countrymen. (I'm Canadian, our crappy election was last year, I'm still working through it)

{two}

We've been busier than normal because we added swimming lessons for this month to the mix. It's twice a week but since it's an hour away it sucks up basically the entire afternoon and makes the morning really busy trying to get school done in time to leave. But the kids love it and are having a fun time, and it's doable because it's only a month long. I love shorter time period activities. But I keep thinking I have time when I don't which means I haven't blogged in forever and am struggling with some writing deadlines this week. I just need more time in the day - said everyone ever.

{three}

We've had such a wonderfully mild November that it's made up for the awful, snow-filled, dark and depressing October we had. We've been able to spend lots of time outside which makes me feel better, and the kids have had more space which has been wonderful. But now that things are getting colder it's a bit brown and bleak outside so it will be ok to have snow on the ground again. I think the kid's are ready for snow activities. And they want colder weather so they can skate on our pond, and go ice fishing again. And since I've been able to clean up my yard, planters, and summer furniture we'll maybe be ready for snow instead of when it snowed the first week of October!

{four}

I cruised through The Crown on Netflix and pretty much loved every minute of it! The acting was impeccable, the writing was great, the pacing of every episode felt pretty good, much faster paced than the last few seasons of Downton I thought and much more satisfying. I know that there were a few historical inaccuracies, and what I found the most unbelievable was idea that the Royal family et. al, would have no clue about the Royal Marriage Act. It's not as if it would ever effect them, why would they need to know?? I hardly believe that it was news to the Queen or Princess Margaret in the way it is portrayed on the show, but again, I will make allowances based on how great the melodrama was.

I'm trying to finish rematching Gilmore Girls for the....I won't admit how many times I've watched it...but I've got two full seasons to go before Thursday. My plan is to skip each and every episode with Luke's annoying daughter. Possibly some of the extra flakey Lorelei episodes, and definitely the first half of season six when Rory is a big old baby. Basically there's not a lot of good spots going for the last two seasons, hence the dire need for some goodness with this new mini-series! I'm excited!

I haven't finished Poldark yet because....it's been such a boring season! And I've heard that bad things are a coming, and I'm so spent from raging at things in real life that I have barely left for television, but hopefully soon, I Insta-Story Poldark so if you want my opinions check your instagram!

{five}

I got crafty and painted another peg doll. This time for a nativity peg doll swap. I painted the little shepherd boy and I'm pretty sure I was the least talented person in the swap, which works out nicely for me, because all the other dolls were just gorgeous. People are so talented! I didn't mind painting mine, I find them pretty fun for the most part, especially when it's a good excuse to just keep watching The Crown, but I definitely don't have a great attention to detail which is need to be An Artist.

{six}

Completely unrelated cute photo of kids in costumes!

I am needing to get on the Christmas shopping bandwagon. I think I'm going to try and get the majority done next week, or as much as I can online next week. I really like having Christmas shopping mostly done before Advent. It really forces me to be more organized and intentional about what's happening so I don't just buy, buy, buy for the entire month of December. Of course I have no good shopping lists for you, but if you have some send them my way! 

{seven}

I don't have any exciting plans for this weekend other than writing another letter to my MLA! I am so tired of writing, and calling, and dealing with the crappy government in my province. It feels like a hobby. And there are two more years to go! But it's my responsibility as a citizen in a sorta democratic country, even if this government won't really listen to what I say. I'm just going to offer it up, maybe even pray for them, and keep living my life, because at the end of the day that's what we've gotta do. There's been much worse times politically, and people still lived their lives as best they could, we can too. 

And bonus take! New podcast episode this week where we talk about all these Flannery O'Connor, come on over and have a listen! 

Happy Weekend everyone! 

---

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Seven Quick Takes vol. 152

Hi Kelly and the cool kids!

{one}

Friday! So thrilled to have made it through this busy week! With Halloween, birthdays, swimming lessons, school, and all the other extras, this week was pretty packed! And after almost a solid month of cloudy, grey, and cold weather the sun finally came out yesterday and I swear my mood improved approximately 150%. I was just so cranky and miserable Wednesday when it was foggy and damp, then yesterday the sun was shining and it felt great to be outside and the whole day was so much better. I'm officially diagnosing myself with seasonal affective disorder.

{two}

You know I'm kinda over Halloween, right? I don't share these feelings with my kids though, so they found Halloween to be the greatest and I still love seeing them enjoy these things so much. They just look forward to everything with such enthusiasm! It does make all the work and organization worth it, probably doesn't completely erase my need to whine about it, but it does make the work worth it. 

{three}

Halloween is, of course, Luke's birthday so that adds to the festivities around here. We try to make sure his birthday is celebrated with the complete equality of everyone else's birthday around here, just with lots of costumes and candy added on top! He requested his birthday pavlova once again, and was just the sweetest all day long. He's pretty much the sweetest the whole year long. We're so lucky to have him in our family and we love him so much - and I can't believe he's 7 since he was born yesterday.

{four}

See the tile?? If I was a good blogger I'd have before and after photos.

We've had some minor renovations done to our house, our doors were replaced, the bay window in my kitchen was also replaced and the window sill was tiled in these beautiful tiles that I love. I'm just so happy and grateful for these small changes, I'm almost surprised. Since we're currently renting we can't completely change this house to be the way we want it, nor would we want to invest in this particular house too much, but just having new tile in one little spot in my kitchen suddenly makes me love my kitchen a bit more! I can't imagine having a completely new kitchen! I could cry over this windowsill. Let alone an entire new kitchen. 

Sometimes when watching Fixer Upper what I'm shocked by most is when the couple walks through their entirely new dream home completely nonplussed. HOW CAN YOU NOT BE CRYING?!? You just got a beautiful new home, had to make none of the agonizing decisions or deal with the stress of overseeing a renovation and had it all done by famous people on tv, AND YOU'RE NOT CRYING?! Do you have hearts of stone?!?! 

{five}

I just finished The Good Wife last night in time for The Queen to come out today! I enjoyed watching The Good Wife even though I didn't really love any of the main characters. Actually, I did kind of love Eli, Cary, and Diane. But does anyone love Alicia? Did we expect anything but misery throughout the entire show? It ended in such a nihilistic way for women. It didn't even end in a way where Alicia somehow fulfilled her feminist dream. I think I'm mostly unhappy because it was such a badly written finale. Even if it ended in a way I philosophically disagreed with, if it was well written and more true to the characters of the show I would be more accepting. 

Wow. Way too many thoughts on this tv show...

{six}

We had a great new podcast come out this week all about the saints and creative work with Kristyn Brown, a photographer who has a new project of creating photographs of the saints. The project is so interesting and it's so cool to hear about the story behind it. I hope you get a chance to listen!

{seven}

And I forgot to report that we got away for a few days kidless last week! It was sooo nice and relaxing to just get away from the real world and endless child-needs. The mountains are always beautiful and refreshing, and I think I could probably do with a getaway like that once a month - a girl can dream! The only thing I wish is that the effects of having such a lovely break lasted longer, already this week I found myself thinking, "That break was so awesome, we should do that again sometime, oh wait - that was a week ago!!!" 

---

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Seven Quick Takes vol 151

Saying hi to Kelly and the rest of the great quick takers!

{one}

Well, I'm alive and temperatures are above freezing so things are looking up! I don't know how October has sucked me up but it really has. I know it's annoying to blame the weather, but I'm blaming the weather. We had over two weeks of gray, cold, snowy, rainy, cold, windy weather. The two separate snowstorms that brought first 4 inches, then over 6 inches of snow a week apart in early October just really took the wind of my sails. It seems so demoralizing to wake up to winter in mid October, to have to dress everyone for snow and cold with boots and mittens, to feel trapped in my house with my kids for the next six months. It's just a tough adjustment. At least the snow has melted a lot, although still fully covers the ground at my house, and the forecast doesn't look too dismal for the next week or so. Maybe I'll pull myself out of this before winter really settles in for the long haul!

{two}

I'm knee deep in the seasonal clothes turnover around here. I spent an hour the other day going through the thousands of shoes we have. I mean, it's not thousands obviously, but man, we have a lot of shoes. We have a whole closet devoted to children's jackets and coats. And I don't buy 5 new everything every season, but handmedowns x seasons equals so much clothing for so little a house! I was thinking about it at my kids each have at least three different types of coats depending on the weather, snow boots, rain boots, running shoes, church shoes, and usually crocs or sandals for the summer. I don't even go to crazy and buy the girl's more fashionable choices but look how fast that adds up! 

The funny thing is by the time I get all the clothes organized I'll still have kids refusing to take off their shorts in the snow. Kids cling to seasons harder than I do! 

{three}

But not quite true...most of the kids have thought it a thrill there's snow on the ground and Nora insists Christmas is only a few sleeps away! Max has been out late playing in the snow peacefully which has been a complete departure for him as of late. 

See, I'm trying to find the positive in all this...I really am!

{four}

I am so tired of hearing about the election and knowing it exists. And I'm Canadian. I read one thing after another about either candidate and vacillate and wonder how the other could be worse, and yet the answer is, THEY ARE WORSE! I feel personally that what I believe is so unrepresented in politics in my country that I've gotten used to it. Not that I don't still believe in the importance of politics and government, it's just I'm so very used to being discouraged and living with incompetent, corrupt, or just morally blind politicians in power. I just can't even picture what things will be like in January, although if we were really honest, we shouldn't be surprise when things turn out to be exactly the same as they are now.

{five}

I'm picking up my yarn and crochet! It feels like such a seasonal hobby for me I just can't separate it from long dark nights and snowy days. I have no desire to work with yarn in good weather. I clearly have a way to go to yarn addict/granny status. I've just started another blanket which doesn't require a lot of brain energy but feels so comforting when inside on dark evenings.

{six}

New episode of the podcast was out this week talking about my favourite book of the summer - The Awakening of Miss Prim! I found this to be such a delight to read, while at the same time being surprised with how it wove such interesting ideas of faith into the story. You know we love our book episodes, but we hope you do too!

{seven}

I am so looking forward to next week when my husband and I are able to get away for a quick getaway by ourselves! Uninterrupted sleep, drinking hot coffee, eating at great restaurants. That's the dream! I really love how I could have a good time going anywhere with him. And that sounds incredibly sappy. It's a really great time for me to reset hopefully, and I plan on going to confession this weekend which I've felt like I've so badly needed lately. Needed resetting on all levels is what I'm aiming for! 

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

---

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Seven Quick Takes vol. 150

Joining Kelly and the great takers - happy Friday~

{one}

Well. I made it through this week. 

Just wanted to start this post off positively so that my laments of woes and whines is evened out somewhat. 

But in reality, my husband worked through last weekend, worked at least 14 hour days, the weather was cold, grey and awful, and then I came down with a weird cold from the kids. I made it through and it definitely wasn't my worst week of parenting, because, oh boy I've had some weeks. I'm not sure if I should blame all those factors, but I just feel like crawling into bed for a few days with Netflix, books, and a big bag of yarn and pretending the outside world doesn't need me, but 5 kids, yo.

{two}

I'm about to complain about a date night. Which is the worst, I know. 

Last Saturday we went out to see Jim Gaffigan, and he was hilarious. I really recommend his show, it's start to finish laughs and it was great. And I love him. 

But! As a date night for us it just was kinda ridiculous. Firstly, I was home with the kids by myself because my husband was working, I was leaving the kids with my parents who also had a bunch of things going on and I had to make sure everyone had church clothes and everyone got into the car so they could take them to Mass and then it was pouring rain all day so loading everyone turned into a fiasco. Then I raced to pick my husband up at his work, he was barely able to get away from work because things were so busy and hectic. We were about 45 minutes away from the show when I picked him up at work, we ate awful hamburgers that I had to wait a ridiculous amount of time for in the car while I raced through the city at breakneck speeds trying to get to the venue in time. I was stressed out and grumpy that things seemed to be taking so much work and effort and coordination just for us to go out for a few hours. We get there with about 2 minutes to spare, the show was great, then as soon as it was over at 8:45 we went to spend the night at my in-laws in the city because my husband was exhausted from getting up before 5 to work for 13 hours that day and to get up before 5 again the next. 

I mean, I know, first world problem in a way. But it still kinda stinks when we only get out of the house alone together every 6 months or so. It's just so. much. work. I bought these tickets six months ago not knowing it was going to be such an awful time at work for him, so it definitely could have been avoided, but, it was kinda a bust.

{three}

It's the beginning of October but it is cold. Windy and temps around freezing make things really unpleasant. We didn't get snow this week at the very least, but the kid's are already showing signs of weather rebellion and refusing to go outdoors for more than five minutes because "my nose is cold" and "I can't feel my knees!" Do you ever feel your knees, btw?? Nora brought me one of her summer dresses and said that was what she was going to wear that day and when I responded with how it was too cold outside to wear something so summery she demanded, "But I just want it to be sunny outside!" And I couldn't argue with that.

{four}

I'm so glad there seems to be a proliferation of decent movies on Netflix because I'm going to need them. Also - the last season of The Good Wife is out so now I can finally finish/hand over my life to the Good Wife again. We're also watching Luke Cage and I think I may secretly be in love with Luke Cage.

{five}

Since this post is almost exclusively about complaining about stuff, how about Halloween? I'm not complaining about it on a theological, moral basis at all, I'm complaining about the costumes and the need to get them. I'm officially a horrible, boring mom who would rather sit through a Presidential debate (singular though - I'm not a total heartless mother) than figure out kid's costumes. My kids are also at the stage of being horribly uncreative when it comes to costumes and so dearly want the mass marketed, ridiculously overpriced and yet cheaply made store costumes. Which you think would make my life easier except Amazon in Canada has a terrible selection, the stores in my nearest city have been sold out of the costumes my kids want to be since August,  and I don't have the time or will to go to every store looking for their perfect costume x5. I just want it all to go away. I'm a Halloween grinch.

{six}

Cherrier note, new podcast this week and it was with Anna Liesemeyer of In Honor of Design! I've wanted her to be a guest on the podcast for so long and was thrilled she came on. She's just got the greatest perspective when it comes to motherhood and business and really has a mind for both. I think she's got great things to say if you haven't listened already.

{seven}

Thanksgiving weekend around here! We are helping my dad move cattle though so it'll be a working/holiday weekend. It means we'll be sticking around home for the weekend and be at my parents for dinner. We'll probably have turkey Sunday and leftovers Monday and possibly pie for every meal. And crossed fingers no snow! 

---

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Seven Quick Takes vol. 149

Hi Kelly!

{one}

It's the last day of September. I barely know where this month went, and yet I do because it was fairly packed! I only posted twice here on the blog, and no quick takes! I miss blogging, I'm going to try and get back on the writing wagon in October. 

September is so busy for a lot of reasons, and for all those plus a camping trip, a weekend away for me, and trying to get everyone back on track with school writing just slides to the bottom of my list somehow. But look out October, I'm going to write....some....stuff....some....time....maybe...

{two}

Shockingly, homeschooling is still exhausting. After having a couple of really rough Septembers the last few years, this year I approached September differently. I thought I'd ease into school, or "soft start" as I've been calling it, with an emphasis on getting back into a good routine even without all our subjects or going hard for 5 days each week. I think it's helped. Probably because my personality demands order and instant action, I have a tendency to make my kids insane during September. And when I demand instant back-to-school-readiness/why-aren't-you-understanding-all-the-things the first few weeks of school it does not make for the best learning environment. The hardest and most important thing about homeschooling though is to cultivate and maintain a daily rhythm and expectation of learning everyday, so I feel if I consciously focus on that for the first month instead of ticking off my boxes the rest of the school year is miles more productive, I'm happier, the kids are happier, all over better. But it does involve a lot of attention on my part for the first month, hence no writing time on the daily. But hopefully this leads to good things for the year. And that's enough school talk.

{three}

Two weeks ago I was lucky enough to get to go to the Blessed Is She team retreat in Minnesota and it was just lovely! Everything was just so much fun and really rewarding. It was amazing to finally meet a lot of wonderful women I've known online for so long, and to see other friends again - like we're real friends!! What?! Nell was wonderful as you obviously expect, and I love my Minnesota friends, I may have to move to the balmy state and live next door. I'm still incredibly humbled to be part of this ministry overall, and feel at any moment I should be kicked out for being the worst writer around. 

Also; travelling. By myself. Feels like a surreal, glamorous dream. Always and forever.

{four}

But back down to earth here this week. My husband is really busy at work for the next week or two and it's involving working weekends and 14 hour days. I'm just trying to stay in a constant state of denial/survival so we'll see how that goes. Only good things ahead I'm sure.

{five}

I haven't been watching too much because....all of the above! But I liked the first new episode of Poldark! Stuff actually happened! I did feel like last season moved quite slowly at times so I hope this season is better paced. I'm also so happy that everyone has important conversations on the cliffs overlooking the ocean, I'm glad that's just something they naturally do no matter where they live. 

{six}

The podcast is up and running with new episodes if you haven't gotten a chance to listen yet. We chatted about books we love for girls because we love books...and are girls! 

Then we talked to Tommy Tighe, the hilarious Catholic Hipster of Twitter fame. We laughed a ton and made a million jokes about Haley's toilet. Then we talked about the real life stuff like living with grief and the death of a child. I thought it was a really interesting conversation and Tommy's perspective was really good to hear. 

{seven}

Almost all our leaves have fallen! It's so very sad. I like everything about fall but the fact the pretty leaves fall off the trees. And of course, the darkness. But it feels sad to go to bare trees so quickly after a lush green summer. Today it's rainy and cold, and although we've already had several nights of frost since a week or two ago, the next several nights are forecast to be below freezing so anything left alive will definitely bite the dust. 

Here's to surviving a working weekend, have everything pumpkin for me!

---

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Seven Quick Takes vol. 148

Hi Kelly! Hi Takers...

{one}

Oh, August. Ours hasn't been too hot with showers almost everyday. And although it's still full summer for us, it's felt leisurely which is worth noting I think! I aspire to leisure. I also believe school in August is just plain wrong. So we haven't hit the books yet, which probably helps the leisure part. And with all this leisure I feel as if I don't have very much to report. No great checklists for back to school, no what to wear for back to school, no crazy trips. But if you're reading this you already know I'm boring.

{two}

We have knocked a few things off our to-do lists though which is always satisfying. I stained one of our decks, with one still to go(barf), but it's needed to be stained for about 3 years so it's simultaneously not a great goal to accomplish and something monumental that actually got done. Also, staining is the worst chore there is. I would paint indoor rooms for days before having to stain a deck. 

We also put up some new bookshelves in Gemma's newly painted room. It really helped lower the growing book stacks on the floor in my bedroom and all these great children's series look so dreamy on a high shelf. We're really outgrowing this house when it comes to book storage!

{three}

A few great articles I've come across this week:

The Moral Heart of Hamilton: Yes, yes I am obsessed. So I completely agreed with this entire article. 

A Former Janitor Collects and Photographs the Items Seized and Thrown Away at U.S. Customs and Border Patrol : This is really beautiful and touching and heartbreaking. I love human ephemera because it shows the importance people give to things, but it's heartbreaking thinking about all the stories and lives touched by these simple items. Also; the collection of rosaries just gets me in the gut.

10 Things to See and Do in Prince Edward Island for L.M. Montgomery Fans: Yes, this is me and Haley's dream trip. And yes, my sisters and mom are there right now and it makes me want to cry.

{four}

Last Friday we celebrated our 10 year anniversary! 10 years feels big. It feels old. But at the same time the time has flown by and it feels like we were just married. So that's gotta be a good thing right? We were able to go to the city the night before for dinner just the two of us which hasn't happened for about half a year - we usually average two date nights a year  - so it was awesome!

{five}

I'm currently reading my second memoir of Indian childhoods this summer and I'm completely fascinated. I feel like I'm definitely being sucked into a bit of a book jag. Do you ever go through book moods? I'm in the mood for Indian.

{six}

So my garden grew actual vegetables! I'm in shock and awe. We've been eating tons of potatoes, beans, peas, onions, and our tomatoes just started to ripen on the vine, and we ate our way through two rows of great lettuce in July. The carrots still stink and I'm going to have a ton of beets! You can barely see the vegetables for the weeds, but the important thing is they're there! Our pumpkins didn't make it at all and no zucchini which I don't think has ever happened before in the history of the world. The sunflowers aren't very good either, but I think that's because it's been so cool and cloudy for most of the summer. Do I chalk this all up to garden success or failure?

{seven}

I've been editing podcasts all week so that means that we're coming back with new episodes soon! September 6 we will be back with a new crop of great episodes. It's been fun to edit episodes we recorded a while ago as they seem new again. It also means we're somewhat organized which is amazing! 

---

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Seven Quick Takes vol 147

Joining Kelly on this fine summer day!

{one}

I'm back! Have I said that 50 times this summer in all 4 of my blog posts? Most likely. I wish I was posting more, I wish I was writing more, I wish I felt like I had more to say. Sometimes I feel like I just don't have anything to say that someone else hasn't said a million times better, sometimes I feel like I shouldn't even bother because it'll be unpopular. But I still just like blogging. I just like the random posting and the writing and I probably won't ever give it up. 

Weird blogger confession finished.

*Insert uncomfortable silence*

{two}

Our summer has been so lovely! Really, really. It's been a great combination of taking things easy, getting out and doing fun things, and all the great things summer brings. We've spent time with family, we've gone away for a few days, we've gone to the lake for the day, we sleep in, we read comic books, we have campfires. Honestly, sometimes when I come up for air from living life in mommy-guilt land I realize my kids have a really wonderful childhood. Really, really. 

{three}

And then I realize that it's already August! And everyone is saying it's the end of summer! (Which isn't true until the first snow falls...Canadians have to fight for every day of summer we can get.) And then waves of melancholy hit me. I've got kids who are going into grades 4, 3, and 2. How does that happen?! Can I handle another school year with everything on my shoulders? Will we fit everything into the day without the toddlers driving me crazy? Will we do enough extra curricular but not too much? Will the kids like what we put them in? Will winter come soon and fiercely leaving me feeling isolated and trapped for too long? Just weird anxious thoughts to have in August. Because it was May yesterday guys, and now...yeah, tomorrow it'll be Christmas. 

{four}

So yeah. School. I don't think I've ever started the school year brimming with excitement. Obviously I don't hate teaching my own kids, but it's a lot of work and it's honestly pretty hard to work up genuine excitement about. I like the rhythm of our school days, but it does take a good month to get there and that month really equals some hard work on my part to make sure the day goes smoothly. It's a lot of discipline on my part in order to get the whole house in a solid routine. So there's that. I do have most of our books ready to go and that's a good thing. But it is a drag seeing everyones gleeful Facebook statuses in being kid free for 8 glorious hours a day again. I feel it just really has the opposite effect of getting someone excited to homeschool their kids, weird eh? Haha, anyway! I'm being all dour it'll really be fine and I'll become magically chipper somehow.

{five}

Guys, I was going to talk about how much I've been enjoying Malcolm Gladwell's new podcast Revisionist History and then this week's episode happened. So if you ignore this week's episode, the previous ones have been really great and I especially thought the three episodes on higher education in America were amazing. I do hold a bit of cynicism in the back of my mind when it comes from this "journalistic" style of reporting just because you just are never sure if they're telling the whole story, or just the stuff that supports their opinion. But that's all news so I'm permanently cynical. Just like everyone else I'm sure.

I've also been listening to Young House Love's new podcast, which is exactly how you think they'd sound in real life. For better or for worse. If you read their blog you know what I mean...you know! But it is kinda fun to have a short podcast where they talk about the fun frivolousness that goes into home stuff. You gotta listen in small doses, but it can be fun.

{six}

We started watching the tv show Fargo this week and I can't believe it took me this long to watch it. I kinda love it. It's completely dark humour, has violence, sex and swearing, but the storytelling and writing is so good and so entertaining. Which makes me sound like a horrible person. But there ya go. I feel like I only recommend R rated television these days so every holy person has long since stopped reading me. 

{seven}

In bigger summer news:

I made pickles! What the hell, right?! Can you even believe me? But not real pickles. Refrigerator pickles, because ain't nobody got time to really can. Or maybe I just don't have the right medication to do it. But we made them, they're sitting in our fridge pickling and we will get to try them next week! 

Also; last weekend I went on a girl's weekend I planned and some friends and I just got a hotel room, went to eat in fancy restaurants, and spent the day at the spa. It was as awesome as it sounds. And you know how it happened? I picked a weekend three months ago and told my friends to come. I believe my exact thought process went like this: "Omigosh, everyone on instagram looks like they have the greatest time on their girls weekends. Why don't I ever get to go on a girl's weekend? I'll never have a girl's weekend. Wait. What if I just picked a weekend and booked a hotel room? I wonder if that would work?" And it did. It really did. Of course our husbands were awesome, it was only two nights away, and we had so much fun. I'm just so glad we made it happen and actually enjoyed ourselves. It's a big deal! 

K, that's it for me today, but I wish you all the best summer weekend - I don't care if school started already! 

It's summer.

---

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Seven Quick Takes vol. 146 - Holiday edition

Check out Kelly and the cool kids for better takes!

{one}

I'm alive! We're all alive! It's still summer! We went on holiday! 

And that could basically be my quick takes, but let's go into some detail shall we? 

I feel like I've lost almost two weeks with the packing for the holiday, the actual 5 days away, and then the subsequent laundry. I miraculously found 5x5 pairs of underwear plus at least 10 extras, then there were multiple shoe choices, because mountains, and then different layers of jackets for rain, for cold, because mountains, and then five days worth of food because we had a cabin with a kitchen. But we made it with only a few things forgotten and miraculously survived without two different kinds of child carriers. We're basically survivalists. 

{two}

The mountains were beautiful and it was a really lovely time! This is the third year we've gone back to the same cabin (and only partly because finding hotel/cabin accommodations for 5 kids is so easy!), and the kids are really sweet because they each have something they remember from previous years that they want to see and do. Or we'll have memories of what funny thing what funny kid did here or there. It's turning into a sweet tradition.

{three}

I JUST SPILLED MY BOILING HOT FRENCH PRESS FULL OF COFFEE ON THE FLOOR!! 

Timeout while I now wash my kitchen from top to bottom.

{four}

Andddddd, we're back. 

To my husband's eternal delight we all went on a rafting trip down the Athabasca river. I think it shaved off a good 5 years of my life worrying one of my precious babies would fall into the river, but other than that it was a lot of fun! I can definitely picture having a lot of fun myself rafting if all my offspring weren't in the inflatable raft with me at the same time. 

Dom sat at the front and laughed out loud whenever someone else got splashed by water while barely ever holding on to the rope himself, Gemma chatted up the shirtless rafting guide giving my husband a pleasant glimpse into the not-so-distant future, and Luke, Max, and Nora took turns loving it and then being a bit freaked out if things got rough and we got wet. 

{five}

We also went on several short hikes with all the kids and they did great! We visited different glacial lakes, kayaked on the lake our cabin is on, ate ice cream everyday, got very little sleep, saw elk and one bear, and basically had an all around great time. We're so lucky to be able to go and I'm sure when I look back on the pictures in a few years I'll know that these were some of the sweetest times.

{six}

While I was a way and out of touch for the most part, I wrote a post on marriage, creativity, and how that plays out in some famous marriages over at Haley's. 

My Facebook page also reached over 1000 likes and I can hardly even believe it! Thank you so much if you follow me on Facebook, I'm a pretty sporadic poster so I promise when I do post something and it by chance ends up in your feed it's good stuff!

Also; if you've been living under an online rock (which is a very legit choice these days) or aren't Catholic then let me tell you it's been NFP Awareness Week! Party time, excellent...

All my NFP posts have been published elsewhere, which probably says a lot about me, but I've written about the Billings method of NFP, and what to do when NFP doesn't go your way over at Haley's. And if you're in an even tougher spot with NFP I wrote a piece last year for Jenny on all the sex we're not having. Enjoy ;)

{seven}

And it's another long weekend for us up here so we're planning on hitting our small town parade and rodeo and hopefully hanging out with some friends. My sister will be home and I think it's high time for a croquet tournament. And it's finally gotten hot this week so I'm putting on my non-lazy-mom pants and taking everyone to our nearby lake this afternoon. Try not to let my overachieving intimidate you! 

I hope your weekend is beautiful and relaxing! I said it - relaxing. That's the goal.

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Seven Quick Take vol. 145

Saying hi to Kelly!

{one}

I'm obsessed with instagramming mushrooms and I can't stop.

I'm still in denial it's already July, and yet here we are already a week in! We've had a nice slow, lazy summer week this week which has been nice. I've been noticing I'm getting a little crazy anxious thinking we should be doing more, we're not doing enough, but the whole point of summer is to have this break from the schedules and appointments and activities. But it's really hard as a mom, especially a homeschool mom, who feels wired to be moving people at all times to just sit back and relax about it all. Because the thing is I really believe that kids need the down time, the boredom, the freedom of summer. And I know our schedule has much busier weeks and weekends this summer than this one so I need to calm the heck down!

{two}

Our weather has been cool and the forecast looks...cool. So we haven't been to the lake yet this year and haven't been in the kiddie pool and sprinkler this week. It equals kids needing a bit more things to do around the house, and I've been balancing some sick kids with normal kids and I've had a few days where I feel like they're definitely driving me crazy. In other words: nothing new to see here, folks!

{three}

I've been on a Pimm's Cup kick as of late. And a few people were asking me on Instagram what the heck it was. Those people were obviously not British. A Pimm's Cup is basically Pimm's, a spiced and slightly sweetened gin aperitif, and ginger ale or lemonade, then garnished with cucumber and strawberry. A really easy summer cocktail that isn't too sweet and has a nice kick of spice that I really enjoy. I'm sure there are fancier recipes out there, but for simplicity sake this is a go-to for me. Until I run our of Pimm's of course.

{four}

I hope you all have heard of the wonderful new membership site of Blessed Is She. It's a new part of the ministry where you'll be able to join in some amazing live workshops, have access to the Advent and Lent journals shipped to you directly as soon as they're published, and hopefully more opportunities to grow alongside other Catholic women. It's something you can do on a monthly basis if you're interested in particular workshops and it helps keep this ministry going!

{five}

I've also been meaning to share a bit about Kelly's new retreat book that she's recently released, it's a really straight forward but richly rewarding three day retreat based on the writings of Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ. This is the perfect resource if you're looking for a personal renewal and focus on the Eucharist, or if you've got a small group or retreat planned. I think it would be great to do with a few friends, and to really dive into a more personal devotion to the Eucharist. Highly recommended!

{six}

We're going to be taking a little podcasting break, but before we do we have a brand new episode this week where Haley and I talk all about the fun of making big life decisions together with our spouse. We hoped to touch on some of the big facets of making decisions even though it can be a really big topic. Haley has come up with a whole ebook devoted to the subject and I think she makes some really great points if you're looking for a bit of guidance when it comes to this kinda thing. Hope you get a chance to listen!

{seven}

Hoping you all have a wonderful weekend, it's probably going to be hotter than ours, but we're Canadian so we'll make it. We're hoping to take the kids to Finding Dory, and most of my kids are just excited for the popcorn and pop. Because we did it ONE time and now we HAVE to! Kids these days...

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