Friday, October 19, 2012

7 Quick Takes: 10.19.12

1. I was going to start this post about 20 minutes ago but first decided to throw some homemade applesauce on the stove.  I wish you could smell my house right now.  Absolute perfection.  Especially with the glow of the changing leaves outside and the soft pitter patter of rain.  So cozy.
2. Some of you may remember that I mentioned awhile back that our family is undergoing genetic testing after Brian's mom was found to have a heart defect gene.  We got Brian's results back yesterday and he is negative.  Insert huge sigh of relief.  This means none of our four children will be affected.  I wasn't too worried about the results either way but it is nice to be able to scratch "make cardio doctor appointment" off my list of things to do.

However, a negative result for Brian means nothing for the rest of his siblings so we are still on a journey with all of them trying to figure out what all this means while keeping all them in our prayers.
3. Last week Brian and I attended a talk at William's school about the Love & Logic parenting philosophy.  You should know that I don't like parenting books or methods so when I say that this speaker was top quality, I really mean it.  And that's just it, love and logic isn't a method, it's a philosophy applied to all areas of parenting.  The core of the philosophy is allowing natural consequences to occur instead of applying your own made-up non-logical ones.  For example, taking away a favorite toy if a child doesn't stay in bed at night.  Sleep and toys don't really relate to one another so that doesn't make sense.

I decided to apply a little love and logic yesterday when I told the kids that we were going to have a movie night.  I rented Madagascar 3 from Redbox.  I told them I really hoped that we would have time to watch it before it was bedtime.  They, of course, asked what I meant about having time.  And I told them that before Dad and I watch TV at night we first have to tidy up the house so I hoped that they were able to clean up the toy areas in our house in time to watch the movie.  And then that was it.  I didn't care if they cleaned up or not.  But they certainly cared if they had enough time to watch their movie.  The movie wasn't a reward.  It was already there for the taking.  They just had to make sure they had the time to watch it.

It really is such a relief to be able to rid myself of the nagging and the threats and just put the ball 100% in their court.  There are still a lot of things we need to figure out as they relate to our household and the ages and expectations of our kids but so far it's been a pretty smooth process.

4. The reason we were able to have a movie night last night is because the kids are off of school through Monday.  At first I was nervous about having three days off and falling back into my chaotic summer ways but then I realized that this was time for me to enjoy too.  No more did I experience that then yesterday when I woke to see the clock read 8:00 and the house still quiet.  We all slept in.  It was bliss.  But come Tuesday I'll be ready to get back to the grind again.  It's just a nice little breather for all of us.
5. I'm taking place in a week-long credit card study which pays very handsomely.  At first I wasn't sure if the money was worth it because there is quite an extensive personal journal that I have to complete before the study concludes with an in-home interview next Thursday.  The journal includes hypothetical questions about myself, a few personal photographs and some magazine image collages.  I dove into it yesterday and I'm actually finding it quite fun.  Brian and I are having great conversations coming up with the three people, dead or alive, that I would like to have in my personal posse.  Or the three words that best describe what I want my money to do for me.  Or if I had a magic wand, what is a life problem I would love to solve.  Very thought-provoking.  And I get paid for it!  Yay!
6. We took the big kids to see the live production of Beauty & the Beast on Wednesday night and they did really well!  I wasn't too sure about Lucy Girl.  She isn't a lover of television like William is so I thought she might get bored.  She did get a bit antsy during some of the dialogue parts, just as many of the other kids and even adults in the theater did, but she was on the edge of her seat during the musical numbers.  And since the musical numbers make up 90% of the show that meant she was captivated for most of it.  I'll never forget the look on her face during the opening number of a movie she's watched countless times when she realized it was real people on the stage.  Priceless.  Great memory-maker for our family.
7.  A couple of weeks ago, in a moment of hormonal weakness, I made on online purchase for maternity clothes.  This makes no sense.  I have less than two months to go and am uncertain if I'll ever be pregnant again.  Total waste of money.  And yet, maybe not.  Because I just needed something new to get me excited to get dressed in the morning.  I admitted my wasteful purchase to Brian and he gave me not one iota of grief.  "Good for you!" He said, possibly just relieving his own guilt for being at least half of the reason I'm in this situation for the fourth time in six years to begin with.

One of the items I bought was a pair of over-the-belly black leggings.  Ladies, if you are pregnant or planning to be, I can't recommend these very affordable leggings enough.  They are more comfortable than any other maternity pants I own.  I've been pairing them with tunics and tall black boots.  But you could also wear them with a longer sweater and a pair of comfortable ballet flats.  The money is worth the comfort and joy of getting dressed.  I recommend!

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