7 Quick Takes

I've been meaning on jumping on board this 7 quick takes business. This is the week I guess.



1. Sadness and Gratitude. My cousins' three week old baby died suddenly yesterday. The air has been a bit heavy ever since. Turns out my stone cold heart has some emotion left afterall, and my tear ducts might still work. Not only are we grieving with and for them but we're grateful for what... who we have with us. All of a sudden the children smell a bit sweeter and their whining isn't quite as unnerving. Prayers requested of course. God's will is perfect, but not comprehensible.

2. 3 Weeks from today we move. Days like today when Happy screamed bloody murder and shook the locked door while I tried putting Pax to sleep I couldn't wait until there are two entire floors between the playroom and the nursery and not six inches. We're still working on finding a renter but we have some time.

3. Couponing. I made some good progress this week. Slow and steady. I went through the grocery store twice (so I could double more coupons) and saved 45% the first time and 50% the second time, spending a little over $100 total. Since I'm working on the stockpile (sounds so unBiblical) it's going to take a while to see a real cost decrease. I'm 90% done organizing the coupons I have and I'm ordering some Sunday papers through a special offer later this week. I have to confess that I already have a couponing injury. The scissors have rubbed a cut onto my hand from clipping so many coupons.

4. "A Well Trained Mind" is the book I'm currently reading. We love what we're learning about creating a classical education at home. Turns out my instincts for teaching Demand were correct.

5. YouTube. I've been watching couponing videos on youtube while the kids sleep and/or I'm cleaning up the kitchen. I'm learning a lot and it keeps me motivated. I think I finally found a hobby Mr. Sloth can support. Although I did tell him that if I ever ask him to video tape me couponing in the grocery store to ask me to stop couponing.

6. Boxes. Here and there I've been finding a few moments to fill a few boxes. Thankfully a lot of our stuff is naturally stored in containers making the move a bit easier. We've been getting a lot of boxes in the mail too. I recently received a music program for Demand's Kindergarten curriculum, a number of new books for fun and for reference and an Easter package from Mena and Papa. (Who knew bubbles could be so fun?)

7. The kids. Pax is crawling, did I mention that? It kind of just happened slowly. Today he used me to stand up and when I called Mr. Sloth, he said Pax does that all the time with him. Third kid syndrome I guess. Demand is really plowing through books now and so proud of herself. She's also entering a phase where she wants to play alone a lot so she's looking forward to her new bedroom. Happy; we've had some really great days with Happy this week. He's learning a lot more and saying a lot more. Today is not one of those great days however. I have a feeling Demand woke him up about an hour and a half too early this morning. She woke everyone up about an hour and a half early today.

There you go 7 insights into the Sloth home this week. Check out Conversion Diary for more 7 Quick Takes.