My first writing goal this year was to publish a 7 Quick Takes post weekly through March. Except I missed week two. Bummer. But it was a crazy weekend so lets just move on and skip it. No sense in trying to come up with 14 for this week…
1. Boys Choir Sweepstakes is in full swing and this is a new thing for us. We are called upon by the boys choir to choose sites to go and collect donations and sell the sweepstakes tickets. On Friday last week, we had or first experience with selling. It was exciting to see little Max in action. He just jumped right into it, going up to strangers and giving his little schpiel. Most of the donations we collect go directly to pay for his tuition and summer camp (and eventually tours as well, which can be very expensive!) But it was stressful. We had three sites last weekend in the middle of an otherwise busy weekend. We hit Monday feeling like we had all been through the whole week already. If you would like to help Max, you can go to this website.
2. I mentioned in my last quick takes that I am trying to get a handle on my device time (which is also a reason I missed last week’s Quick Takes) and live a more hands free, available to my family life, and it seems that God heard the call loud and clear. I’m losing control of a couple of my afternoons during the week, and being forced into handed the opportunity to play outside with my kids. Here’s how a thing like this happens. Max (3rd grade) has to go for tutoring after school twice a week. So I emailed Lily’s (Kindergarten) teacher to ask if she could also stay for tutoring/hang out in the classroom/whatever and was given a polite but firm “Heck no!” Since returning home is not an option (we live half and hour away from school) I will be staying on the campus with Lily (and Gus and Molly) for those hours of tutoring. I was originally spitting mad when I got the email from the teacher. But I decided to just use this time to be with my kids. It was my plan to increase that, after all. This plan should work great at least until we have a rainy day and have to spend an hour in the car with these little hooligans just being stir crazy. But today? It is 75 degrees and sunny. And this is what the campus looks like.
3. These quick takes aren’t very quick, are they?
4. My competitive streak is showing up. I’ve been watching my friends totals on the fitbit, and I’m just really not happy being in the middle of the list. I MUST do better. (It would also probably help with the weight loss thing too.) But sometimes it is just not convenient to drag my butt out the door and go around my dull, dreary neighborhood again. Seriously, Arizona neighborhoods are just so full of beige it is disgusting. So I have decided to try to get my hot little hands on a treadmill. That will also come in handy during the summer, when I really only go outside to either get into the pool or into and air conditioned car.
5. I’m doing well on my year in pictures project! I’ve only missed one day so far! And a lit of days have more than one picture. Earlier this morning I went through my posts from 2011, when I tried the project. It certainly wasn’t an every day event that year, but what was there was such a nice remembrance to look through.
6. Tales of Fatigue – I mentioned this problem last time (#6). I seem to be coming out of this episode of fatigue. It reached its peak right around Christmas, and this episode lasted two months. But I have managed to exercise twice this week and it didm’ wipe me out. I’m not falling asleep again by ten in the morning. So hopefully whatever this is, is backing off for now. I am going to try to keep tabs on my energy levels and work hard to not over exert myself or tire myself too badly. I have been being more careful to just rest a while every day. Minecraft is helpful with that. Or reading if I try to act like a real grown up.
7. Potty training began today. Since I’m feeling better, and Gus has gone potty on cue several times now, I am going to take the next step and increase his “potty opportunities” by setting a timer for two hours after he has either a wet diaper or pees in the potty. I will adjust the time as I figure out his pattern a little better.
We still have that tread mill which no one is using if you want it. It also works as a good clothes hanger.