7 Quick Takes - July 31st (Volume 10)

~ 1 ~

I'm not sure why I'm nervous, but this week, we talked to a piano teacher about signing up Noah and maybe even Molly for piano lessons this school year.

I don't know if I'm nervous because it will be an extra expense that we probably don't need to do, or if I'm just nervous that it will be hard for them to learn.

We also are setting up Jack with violin lessons. Not surprisingly, that makes me a little nervous too. Oddly, it doesn't make me quite as nervous. So, maybe it's not about money, since we'll have to rent a violin on top of lessons. (You know, unless anyone wants to send me a kid sized violin.)

Wish us luck!

~ 2 ~

I have a little confession to make.

I have absolutely no idea when we are going to start school. I have been busy organizing for a while now, but I still don't know when to start. My goal is to start at least by the time all the kids around here in public school start.

~ 3 ~

My sinuses have been bothering me lately. Because of this, I have been using the neti pot more often. As a matter of fact, I'm seriously thinking about it right at this moment.

And, for the record, that's not a picture of me using the neti pot. Because, really, as good as I feel afterwards, I have never smiled while I'm actually doing it. In fact, I don't even smile thinking about it.

But, it is amazing. And, I always feel better afterwards.

~ 4 ~

As we get ready for school, I have already begun to think of some changes. What's wrong with me?

Specifically -- I wonder if we should switch from Horizons to Math U See. I have thought about that before, because the boys are very visual kids. I just don't know about that though.

Also, I have the preschool Handwriting Without Tears book for Molly, but I'm seriously considering having her use the D'Nealian style of writing (which was kind of how I was writing before I even heard about it). But, I'm having a hard time finding anything D'Nealian for preschool age. Any leads?

~ 5 ~

We had an interesting thing to deal with a couple of times this past week -- hives.

Oddly, at 1:30 am on two different nights, Jack came to find me. One night, he had hives all over his hands and feet. The next night, it was all over. On a third night, he did come out for something else at around 10 pm, and had one big hive on his neck. And, then just as suddenly as they came on, he hasn't had anymore.

Very, very odd. It also made me feel very itchy for him.

I also felt bad for him because on the night that his body was covered with it, I took at least 20 pictures of him. He apparently thought I was going to show them to everyone, but I promised that I was just taking them in case I had to show them to the doctor. (Or, apparently if all the blog readers had to see his hive-covered knees.)

~ 6 ~

We had our Chuck E. Cheese birthday party! And, while it was a bit pricey, it was worth every penny to not have to have everyone over, clean the house, buy a pinata and fill it (because every home party has to have a pinata for us, apparently), and then entertain a bunch of kids.

Instead, I was busy with the party, but not stressed. The kids also all had a great time.

Definitely worth it!

~ 7 ~

This week, I got to start using my newest edition of the Catholic Woman's Daily Planner.

Such a pretty planner. Love it!

Picture credits: neti pot by * debris * / planner by Family Centered Press / Violin & Piano by Section_Eight

Webkinz Can Be Inexpensive Entertainment (and Educational!)

One of the things that works for several people in my family (including my own Mom!) is Webkinz.

Okay, sure -- Webkinz has the possibility of being expensive. I'm sure many of us know some child (or adult!) with some large amount of webkinz. As a matter of fact, I know some people that have anywhere from 40 - 100 webkinz.

Now, let's look at it as the possibility of inexpensive entertainment.

Lil Kinz (the smaller version of the stuffed animals) can be purchased for just $5 or $10 (or less!). (There is a big price variation on Amazon for Lil Kinz, but some of that is based on retired pets and hard to find ones.) They also come with a code and it allows you one year of access to the online gaming site. So, for just $5, you can play for a whole year. And, only then would you need to purchase another pet (again, a $5 one can be picked up) for another year of fun.

Why do we enjoy Webkinz?

We love that there are a great variety of games. There are games that help with typing practice, logic puzzles, spelling, patterns/math, and so much more. There are also quizzes where the kids are given answers (when they don't know them) that help them learn all kinds of information -- subjects cover most typical school subjects. It is also interesting for kids to understand some monetary situations, one such is that while items can be sold back to the "W Store" after they have been purchased, you only get back half of your original purchase price. (Ouch!)

Of course, there is also just some general fun activities that don't have any particular educational value. But, so many of the games and activities involve real thought.

Being able to use all of these features for just $5 a year not only works for me, I think it's pretty frugal option too.



This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday and Frugal Fridays.

photo by ouvyt

A Four Year Old With An iPod

Four year old Molly (who would be quick to tell you that her birthday is only about two months away) has been greatly enjoying her new favorite thing lately.

It is Eric's hand-me-down iPod Shuffle. And, it's no shabby Shuffle, let me tell you. It's a 2 gb Shuffle in a beautiful blue color. We loaded up Molly with the same playlist that Jack has on his Shuffle, as she kept taking off with his.

So, now we get to enjoy watching her dance as she bops around the house. Even better is when she sings along to whatever it is that she is listening to.

Sometimes, she asks what the name of the song is. The other day, I asked her to tell me about the song, so that I could tell her what the name was.

"Well, Mom, it has a guitar and drums in it," she clued me in.

Oh yeah. That narrows down which song it is. Sigh. "Just give it to me, and I'll listen."

"Okay, I'm gonna plause it, so don't listen too long or I'll miss the song." (She insists that she just likes to say "plause" better than "pause."

What a little diva!

(For the record, it was a Smooth Criminal remake by Alien Ant Farm. This is the same song that she told me that it said something strange in it. I asked her what, and she laughed and said, "They said there was a butt stain on the carpet." I promptly corrected her that it is a blood stain on the carpet. She found this equally gross.)

photo by kate at yr own risk

Create More Monday: The Rosary Edition

I had a friend ask me a couple of months ago if I could make a rosary for her (to buy) to give to her new goddaughter. She gave me a link to my old Etsy shop of what she was intersted in. Unfortunately, I had purchased the beads on clearance, and couldn't recreate one like it.

I wanted to send her pictures of beads to pick from (but kept putting it off -- beads are hard to get good pictures of), but she told me to just make one and she would buy it. I didn't want to do that though, I wanted her to have some options.

But, being me, I put it off, thinking that I "just didn't have time." Finally, in honor of spending more time to create, especially with time that I would have sat on the computer, on Friday, I spent several hours (during a few different times during the day/evening), and I made three rosaries for her to choose from.

It felt so nice to be creating something again! I just love to look at rosaries, and I love making them even more!


I think it's official -- Create More Monday is just what I needed! If you've created something this week, join in by putting a link to your post in the MckLinky! First though, read through the guidelines about Create More Monday.

What is Create More Monday?

What is Create More Monday and how did it come to be?

I found that I was really putting off a whole lot of creating that I wanted to do. From cool desserts that I read about on blogs to finally sewing some rice socks that I have been meaning to do to making a few rosaries to starting on the Christmas gifts that I have had the materials for since last November or December to working on the mixed media painting that has been in my head for months. I even have a teeny tiny craft room in my house, but it mostly just collects things that have no home, and I didn't visit it.

I put off all of this under the guise of there simply not being enough time. But, I can apparently find plenty of time for blogging (reading and writing), Facebook, and any other attention sucker I can find.

I finally realized one day while I was sitting at the computer, thinking about that painting, "I need to create more, and compute less." I vowed to find time to do just that.

So, I decided to be accountable here and now. And, maybe you'll want to join me. Come back each Monday (Sunday late night), and I'm praying that I'll have something that I actually created (a special meal, a craft project, a home redecoration, a piece of art -- something!) to share, and I hope that you have something to share as well!

A Few Guidelines:

1. Posts in the MckLinky should go directly to your post (the post's permalink), not the front page of your blog. If it goes to the home page of your blog, it will be deleted.

2. Your Create More Monday post should be something that you have created in the past week. (And, if you can, please include a picture!)

3. You are welcome to use the Create More Monday button on your blog with the post. This is optional. However, you do need to link back to Create More Monday ( http://www.manylittleblessings.net/ ). This allows for more people to join in, as well as to visit others' blog posts.

4. What you have created is pretty wide open. It can be a meal that you cut out a recipe for and have had sitting around for years, thinking that you wish you could make it. Maybe it's an apron you made as a birthday gift. Perhaps you painted a room. Or, you went out with the kids and made a fort out of garden poles and blankets. The purpose is to help us be more committed to creating.

5. While you are allowed to have your post be about something you are selling, this is a sticky area. If your post is just the item and selling information, it will be deleted. However, if you post on your own blog about what you created, perhaps some about the creating process or some other background information, and then a link to your Etsy shop (or the like), that would be okay. Beware though -- I am going to be guarded about this getting too spammy.

Many Little Links {July 26, 2009}

How to Make Artist Trading Cards -- wikiHow

(I have wanted to make some of these for ages. Perhaps that will need to be one of my Create More Monday tasks! If you missed my info on that, check out #4 on my 7 Quick Takes post.)

How-to Video: Water Sponge Toys -- Make and Takes

(I saw this idea in Family Fun Magazine, so this was a great reminder to just do it sometime! I think the kids would love it!)

Homemade Cracker Jacks -- Cooking During Stolen Moments

(If you don't already subscribe to Kate's cooking blog, you should. This sounds delicious!)

Strategies for Decluttering Your Kitchen -- Simple Nest

(I worked on this earlier this summer, but I suspect I should seriously look at my large utensil drawer!)

7 Quick Takes - July 24th (Volume 9)

~ 1 ~

On Thursday, all of the kids got up early, and I was still sleepy. It was my mistake to sit in the recliner while they played, because I fell asleep.

When I woke up, I felt something on my head. I was startled and reached up to feel a giant gerbera daisy hair clip right in the front of my hair.

The funny thing is, I talked to Molly several times while I slept for about 20 minutes. However, I have absolutely no recollection of her putting it in my hair. Eric says I need to watch out for more hazing when she gets old enough for makeup.

~ 2 ~

This week, we used our blender for probably the first time ever. We also got to use cucumbers, lettuce, and grape tomatoes all from the garden. We used them all to make these faux-Gyros (aka Mediterranean Beef Pitas) from Home Ec 101.

Holy Pitas, Batman -- these were good! The cucumber sauce (which I left the garlic out of, because that's just how we roll) was amazing. I had leftovers of the pitas today for lunch and then just sat and dipped chips in the leftover sauce. This was definitely one meal to add to our regulars list.

~ 3 ~

Speaking of making meals in, Eric and I have begun to wonder why it is that we eat so many meals from out (usually at least a couple of times per week, sometimes even three or four, as ashamed as I am to say it, although they aren't all dinners, sometimes lunch).

The funny thing is, we have really been commenting about how much we enjoy the meals that we make at home. We feel better after we eat them, and we tend to just enjoy them more. Food from out often sounds better than it actually tastes.

We both vote that we're just being lazy. (Although my working many week nights right at meal times surely adds to it.)

~ 4 ~

As long as I'm on the subject of being lazy, it reminds me of something that I wanted to share. First, let me say, yeah -- I know that the blogosphere needs another weekly meme like...well...it doesn't need it. But, this one is for me. I need to be more accountable, and hopefully the blog will help me do it. And, just maybe, other people need the same accountability, so I'll put up a MckLinky.

Here's the thing -- I really put off a whole lot of creating that I want to do. From cool desserts that I read about on blogs to finally sewing some rice socks that I have been meaning to do to making a few rosaries to starting on the Christmas gifts that I have had the materials for since last November or December to working on the mixed media painting that has been in my head for months. I even have a teeny tiny craft room in my house, but it mostly just collects things that have no home, and I don't visit it.

I put off all of this under the guise of there simply not being enough time. But, I can apparently find plenty of time for blogging (reading and writing), Facebook, and any other attention sucker I can find.

I finally realized one day while I was sitting at the computer, thinking about that painting, "I need to create more, and compute less." I vowed to find time to do just that.

You know what? I haven't.

So, I am going to be accountable here and now. And, maybe you'll want to join me. Come back on Monday (Sunday late night), and I'm praying that I have something that I actually created (a special meal, a craft project, a home redecoration, a piece of art -- something!) in the past week. Maybe you'll have something to post too.

~ 5 ~

Being a computer kind of gal, I keep trying different ways to be more organized. I have tried all kinds of different programs with "to do" list-types of options.

This week, I just looked lovingly at the "Things to Do Today" notepad that I bought from Miller Pad and Paper while at a homeschool conference. Then I realized -- it's okay to love writing a "to do" list on a piece of paper with a pen. I love making other notes on the paper, and I love checking off the little boxes (or crossing things off when I used to use a spiral notebook instead).

I gave myself permission to not seek out a computerized option for something I enjoy using a pen and paper for, and I am much happier now.

~ 6 ~

I have been trying to get more exercise, though I've not always been sucessful at making sure to do so. But, hands down, my favorite exercise to do in the house is the 10 minute Super Hula Hoop on the Wii Fit.

It kills my stomach muscles sometimes (especially when I haven't done it in days), but I love it!

Sadly, I cannot do a real hula hoop for longer than about 20 seconds. I'm not what one would call graceful.

~ 7 ~

We are bad. We let our almost 10 year old drink soda, though we limit it. He asked for one today, and I had to tell him that we were out of his brand. He was fine with drinking ice water, and I promised him I would buy more soda soon.

When the grocery store ads came in the mail, I told him, "Good news, Noah -- soda is on sale this week!"

"Oh, oh, oh!" he exclaimed. "This must be the greatest day of the year!"

Gosh, I love that boy. He is just so genuine, and he does love a good sale.

photos by Angie @ Many Little Blessings, freakgirl (daisies), and katiescrapbooklady (Wii Board).

Making Lunch Special

My kids would love lunch from a restaurant every day. Seriously. I think if I just alternated fast food restaurants, they could eat them endlessly. (In case you're worried about us, we don't actually indulge this wish.)

However, today they did have lunch from a restaurant. It just so happens that I was the waitress and the cook.

You see, I was getting ready to offer them up some of the choices that they usually get for lunch -- a few types of sandwiches and the like. I thought, "They won't be overly excited, but that's just what's for lunch."

But, then, I stood up straight, held my hands in a way that indicated I was going to write on a pretend piece of paper, looked at them and said, "Well, hello, folks. Thanks so much for coming in to the restaurant today. Can I tell you our specials?"

I gave them the entree specials, as well as what their side dish options were. I took an order from each of the children, calling them sir and ma'am as I took their order, and commenting on each selection, "Oh yes, the string cheese here is very good." I also took an order from each of them for their guest that was joining them (they each grabbed a stuffed animal or action figure).

I prepared their plates and small bowls of "goodies" for their guests. As I brought out their plates, I would say, "Okay, now, sir, you had the peanut butter and jelly, correct?"

They loved it. Loved it.

I've done this with them before (probably almost a year ago), and they loved it just as much then too.

For dessert, I put samples of candy and gummy snacks on a plate and brought it out a la waitress style (plate flat on my hand, arm up in the air). They liked this best. I let them verbally tell me what they wanted, and then whisked away, only to come back with their choices.

As far as I'm concerned, not only was this a frugal lunch option, but based on each child thanking me about five times for a fun lunch, it was one of those finer things in life too!

This post is linked to Frugal Fridays and Finer Things Friday (links above).

Our 2009-2010 Homeschool Curriculum Plans

It's that time of year again when homeschoolers around the country are putting together their plans for the 2009 - 2010 school year. We are not exceptions. I think that I finally have it put together.

This year, we will be doing 4th grade, 3rd grade, and PreK. My boys (the older ages) are mostly doing the same things together. Sometimes they are doing the same thing, but different levels (like in Math, for instance). I'll go through what we're doing for the boys first, and then I'll add some things we plan to do with Molly.

I am moving a lot of our Language Arts work into workbooks. This is partially to move the boys to working on some things more independently, and also because I felt like we were really lacking in the language arts area last year.

Oh, and one more quick note -- we are, obviously, not doing everything on the list on every single day of school. (Some of the things listed, for instance, are only once or twice per week.)

Language Arts:

Phonics: Spectrum Phonics

Vocabulary: Wordly Wise

Handwriting: Handwriting Without Tears (this for level for part of the year, and then this level)

Spelling: Sequential Spelling

Grammar: Language of God -- this is the grammar program through Catholic Heritage Curricula (the boys are using two different levels on this, only because that was how we started out)

Writing: Writing Strands (one week) and Spectrum Writing (opposite weeks)

Reading:

As per the reading schedule in Winter Promise's American Story I plan, plus the 3rd Grade Readers in the Language Arts Plan

Silent Free Reading Time Each Day (Kids' Choice)

Math:

Horizons Math (Level Two and Three, as this program was above what they were doing in public school, so I had to start them both at the level one below their grade level)

Drills on Math Is Fun (free website)

Religion:

Our Life with Jesus - Faith & Life Series

Religion Books with Winter Promise's American Story I set

Weekly Religious Education (aka: CCD) at Church

Saints for Young Readers for Every Day (Vol 1 and Vol 2) -- start each day with the short reading of the Feast Day for that day

Social Studies:

Winter Promise - American Story I

State History Class at Co-op

Science:

Winter Promise - Shoot & Sprout, Buzz & Bite

Art:

Artistic Pursuits (K - 3, Book 1)

Various arts and crafts activities with Winter Promise curriculum

Jack -- Art Class at Co-op

Music:

The Story of the Orchestra (I broke it down into about 40 "lessons" -- this is a very neat book and CD combo)

Music Lessons - Violin for Jack, Piano for Noah

Gym:

Weekly open gym time

Foreign Language:

Rosetta Stone - Spanish (Latin America) Level 1 (we actually own the level 1 & 2 set)

Typing Instruction:

Mavis Beacon Deluxe

Other:

At co-op (twice a month), the boys will also be taking a Chess class, and Noah is also taking a Life Skills Class.


For Molly (PreK):

We will be doing a lot of free activities, as well as inviting her to join us for all of the activities that she is able to do with the boys' schooling. (She has always listened along to books, done science with us, joined in on hands on projects, etc.)

When we are working on more formal things, we will work on:

Handwriting Without Tears - Get Ready for School Edition

Who Am I? -- Preschool Edition (Religious Instruction) (Book A and Book B)

Get Ready for the Code - Book A

Getting Your Preschooler Ready for Math

Activities from Montessori on a Shoestring

And lots of educational toys and games, plus just free play! (She will also be taking a preschool class and songs class at our co-op, as well as going to open gym time with us.)

Can I admit that I'm a little tired just typing it all out? I'm really excited about all of the materials that I have picked out for this year though. They are very different from last year, and I hope that will lead us to a more successful (and less stressful) year this year. Last year, I planned every little bit of it myself, so I'm hoping that by letting Winter Promise do some of the work, then I'll be a little less stressed.

This post is linked to: Thirsty Thursday, Weekly Wrap Up (Special Curriculum Edition), and Not Back-to-School Blog Hop.

Storage Solution for Baking Supplies

For years, I kept all of my sugar (white, brown, and powdered) and flour (a couple of varieties) all in my pantry.

This wouldn't have been a huge deal, except I had a baking shelf, and it was near the bottom. This meant that I sometimes didn't know when I was about to run out of something, and sometimes I stocked up because I was just sure I was running low when I wasn't.

In fact, one year, I apparently kept being sure I was low on brown sugar, only to finally count bags of brown sugar to see that I had five bags in the pantry!

Plus, I have to be honest, I was afraid of putting my hand in the paper bags of flour and sugar (which I stored inside a large ziploc bag) because I got a paper cut on one once that got infected. Ouch!

Then, one day, I had to get something for my Mom in her lazy susan to find that she kept all of her flour and sugars in large reusable containers. I was so excited! I just knew that I had to do that too.

So, I rearranged how we had some of our food stored, and went to Walmart and picked up two sets of containers. Each came with four containers of various sizes -- the largest was big enough to fit in an entire 10 lb bag of flour or sugar. I was able to use all but the smallest size of each set for various flours and sugars. (I am using those for leftovers instead.)

Not only do I not risk paper cuts now, but now I can see exactly how much I have (so I know when I will run out!). But, the best thing of all is that I love how easy it is to use these while I'm doing a lot of baking.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday and Things I Love Thursday

Making Your Homeschool Master Schedule

I have books all lined up in neat stacks on the table in our school room, and I'm at the point of being ready to plan out our general school plan for next year.

It sounds like I'm all ready, doesn't it? So, what's the problem?

Well, I have had those books sitting nicely like that for about a week. (read the rest at The Homeschool Classroom - including links to other people's schedules)

Sugar-Topped Blueberry Muffins

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and it has been very popular at our house. When I made them, we ate a few right afterwards, but then put the rest in the freezer.

I have been taking a few out of the freezer at a time, and the kids have been enjoying them for breakfast. (They especially like it when I pop one in the microwave for about eight seconds before giving the blueberry muffin to them.)


Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 and 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour, divided (I used a mix of equal parts unbleach all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (I made my own buttermilk with milk and vinegar)
• 1 pint of fresh blueberries (washed, drained, and patted dry)
• 2 extra tablespoons of white sugar (though I would like to try a more coarse sugar sometime, as this is what is used for the top of the muffins)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Fill a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar (1 1/4 cups), and salt (until light and fluffy). Add in eggs and beat, one at a time.

3. Mix together 1 and 3/4 cups of flour and baking powder.

4. Beat in the flour mixture (into the butter/sugar mixture) alternating with the buttermilk, mixing just until incorporated.

5. Crush 1/4 of the blueberries, and stir into the batter. Mix the rest of the whole blueberries with the remaining 1/4 cup of flour, and fold into the batter.

6. Scoop into muffin cups. Sprinkle tops lightly with sugar. (As I said, I would like to try this part with coarse sugar.)

7. Bake on the middle rack of the oven (that you have preheated) for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Tops of the muffins should spring back when lightly tapped.

This post was submitted to: This post is linked to: Tasty Tuesday, Kitchen Tip Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, and the MckLinky blog hop (see below)

Cool Learning Products for Preschoolers

Not too long ago, I was reading Let's Explore, which is a blog that I love. Always lots of great ideas! While I was reading, I saw this cool spinning letter toy (it's wooden and made in Vermont). I thought it would be perfect for Molly, as we are beginning PreK at home this year.

When it arrived in the mail, we were thrilled with it! Not only did she quickly learn how to sound out the letters and read many of the words on the toy, but she also kept asking me if I wanted to play the "game" with her.



Yes, there we were, working on early reading skills, and she was thrilled because she was calling it a game!

Since I was already ordering from the shop anyway, I decided that I would finally order the Crayon Rocks that I have seen so many blogs rave about. I always thought they looked neat, but couldn't commit. But, if I was going to be ordering, why not?

We loved the Crayon Rocks as well! Not only are the cool and vibrant colors, but they come in a pouch with a three different color options. Molly was thrilled to have a purple pouch! Apparently this made them seem extra special, as she has been pulling them out to show every single visitor we've had at the house since they arrived.

We also ordered the Wikki Sticks Alphabet Cards to work on during school time as well. We haven't opened them yet, but considering how cool everything else was, I just know that they will be awesome as well!

I can't wait until we place another order from Let's Explore!

In interest of full disclosure, I was not asked to write this nor compensated for it. I just really enjoyed the things we ordered, and wanted to pass along the word!

All photos from Let's Explore ~ Creative Fun for Curious Kids

My iPod Touch Wouldn't Charge (another trouble shooting moment)

Here's a quick little tip that probably won't help any of my regular readers right at this moment, but I'm posting it anyway, because it seems that my Sonic Riders / DDR Wii Trouble Shooting post helped several people who found it through Google.

For Mother's Day this year, Eric and the kids got me a 16 gb iPod Touch (an upgrade from my 30 gb iPod video). I was so psyched! I'll admit it -- I love gadgets. And, I love music. So, an iPod is like the ultimate gadget for me.

I was thrilled to use it right away. I love how it comes charged and ready to go! And, use it we did. It wasn't long before I had the message popping up at me that there was less than 20% charge left.

No problem, I thought, and went ahead and charged it. Or, at least I thought I did. I had it plugged in for hours and it didn't charge. To say that I was worried about this expensive little gadget at this point would be putting it mildly.

I searched around online for answers, and didn't seem to get any. The most "helpful" solutions seemed to indicate that I just had to buy a wall charger and charge it like that.

You know what? After spending $280 on something, I really didn't want to go out and spend more money on a charger that I didn't feel like I needed. So, I tried again to charge it. Still nothing.

Finally, after so many frustrating attempts at doing things in different ways, trying different cords (just in case I was using the wrong one), and hoping for the best, I finally was rewarded for all of my efforts.

I plugged in my iPod while it was turned on, and then it charged just fine! Yep...it was as simple as that. I was used to turning my iPod video off while charging it (just because I didn't see a good reason to keep it on). But, my iPod Touch will apparently only charge when it is turned on.

I don't know if I just have a Touch with a glitch or if they are all like that, but in my online reading, it seemed like I was finding a lot of people with the same problem. So, maybe it's not just a glitch with mine.

Hope maybe this will help someone ease their frustration a little more quickly than mine was!

photo by Joits

7 Quick Takes - July 17th (Volume 8)

~ 1 ~

I have been thrilled to be harvesting from our garden quite a bit lately! On Thursday while I was making a cake for Jack's birthday, Eric went out and picked a mixing bowl worth of lettuce, three or four cucumbers, one zucchini (we've had quite a few), and about three yellow squash.

There is something that feels so amazing about just stepping into the backyard and coming back in the house with food!

~ 2 ~

As we were driving the other day, the kids and I started talking about how when I was pregnant with Molly, I wanted us to call her Molly Kate. And, I just never started doing it, so now it seems a little late. But, then I declared that we would all just have new names.

Molly lucked out with hers, as she got to be "Molly Kate," although I was surprised that she didn't complain that her name wasn't Mary. I decreed that Jack would become "Hula Hoop." And, then decided that Noah would be "Old Pete."

You know that a joke has gone on a little too long when a few hours later, the boys actually asked if I could go back to calling them their real names. This was not, however, before Molly gave Eric and I new names.

Sincerely,

"Ninny" wife to "Corn Maze"

~ 3 ~

I have been busy trying to get ready for next school year, which really just means next month. I am trying to be considerably more organized this year, so I want to come up with a schedule of what we will do on which days, just so I have a general overview each week.

Why are some subjects so easy to schedule -- like math. You know, it's just math. But, then there are things like language arts, that include things like grammar, vocabulary, spelling, phonics, composition, and handwriting. What the heck?

~ 4 ~

Last week, we got a crazy cute sherbet colored tutu from Simply Sweet, as well as several cute hair clips. Seriously -- they are insanely cute. Go check them out! (And, no, I don't know the owner or get any kickback. It's just so cute.)

If you do decide to buy something from Simply Sweet, be sure to use the coupon code of SWEETFIVE to get $5 off your order!

~ 5 ~

I have been trying to be more responsible with money lately. That is probably not obvious if you saw #4 on this list. (Though, in my defense, I do like when I can spend money at a small, self-owned business.)

Number five on this list is also going to indicate that I am apparently not spending like there is a recession. For the first time ever, we have booked a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party! In a few weeks, Noah and Jack will have a combined birthday party filled with pizza and tokens.

I figure it's just a sign of how strongly I felt about not having a bunch of kids at my house and having it be my duty to entertain them.

Most years, they do not have any birthday party other than a small family gathering. But, every so often, I think it's nice to do something a little bit bigger. What do you tend to do for kid birthday parties?

~ 6 ~

Last weekend, in one afternoon, I made (all from scratch): one batch of blueberry muffins, two batches of zucchini raisin walnut muffins, two loaves of zucchini bread, and one loaf of banana bread. All of these were mostly just to use produce that I had sitting around the house.

Two days later, I made chocolate chip cookies with walnuts. I did not have anything that "just had to be used up" for those. Those were just because the walnuts smelled so good when I put them in the muffins two days earlier.

A good portion of the first baking day's products were wrapped up and put in the freezer. The cookies, sadly, were not. It's hard to pack away cookies.

I love baking. I hate cleaning up the mess afterwards. I would bake more if I never had to clean up after myself.

~ 7 ~

I think that I am finally just about done setting up class lists for our homeschool group's co-op for next school year. I am thankful for that.

I am not quite as thankful that I offered to teach one class, and then co-teach another class during another hour. What was I thinking?

Since I only ended up talking about this past week, this post has also been submitted to Weekly Wrap Up.

photos by B.K. Dewey & Majiscup - Drink for Design

How Do You Sum Up Eight Years in Just One Blog Post?

I wrote a long and sordid post about Jack, to commemorate his birthday.

I wrote about how very much we wanted to add a second child into our family.

I wrote about the whirlwind experience of our lives as we prepared for Jack's birth (including moving twice in five days, just two weeks before he was born).

I wrote about the deep depression that I suffered from, silently, during my pregnancy and postpartum. A depression that couldn't be silent anymore once the night came that I considered doing unspeakable things.

I wrote about how God blessed us by giving him a serious heart defect. It was the thing that brought me out of a depression to know how fragile Jack was, and that I needed to love him and protect him. (And I'm sure that's why it has consistently gotten better since then, because it served its purpose. Though, he will still need surgery one day.)

I wrote that of the difficulties of raising Jack. Having been one of those kids that knows how to push your buttons, and then knows to point it out, in case you failed to notice, raising Jack has had to be accompanied by a lot of prayer. (And also the need to always look at those sparkly eyes and shining smile.)

I wrote about how Jack has come in to his own. While he can still be strong-willed and tiring, he has also become this smart and funny boy. He has become a kid that I not only love, but I really, really like him.

I wrote all those things. I wrote all the details, all the emotions. I wrote everything.

Then, I deleted it all. It went on and on, it was so long. But still, it seemed inadequate. There were too many words, but there just weren't enough.

I'm sorry, Jack, in trying to tell your story, I realized that there just weren't enough words in the world to tell it. Not enough words to truly explain the emotions and the experiences.

All I really have that seems to be adequate is to say --

Our family wouldn't be the same without you, Jack. Eight years ago, God blessed us our family with your arrival. Sure, it's true -- you make us want to pull our hair out sometimes, but you also make my heart hurt because it is so full. I love you.

I Have Started Dating Again

I started dating again this month. Eric did too. And, not only are we both okay with it, we think it's great.

Yes, of course you know that it's not really anything scandalous. Instead, we have started having one-on-one "dates" with the kids.

What we are going to attempt is that in each month, one of us will have a "date" with two of the kids (each individually) and the other will go out with the remaining child. Then, the following month, we'll each go out with the child(ren) that we didn't get a chance to do it with in the previous month. This way, in a two month period, each of the kids gets a chance to go out one-on-one with each parent.

This month, I went out with Noah on one day. We spent a little over an hour out, and our big location was the grocery store. While it doesn't sound exciting, we were shopping for when we were feeding 20 people and Noah had a great time! As we got to the store, he grabbed my hand and said, "This is really nice to have some time alone with you, Mom."

I also had a much longer "date" with Molly this past weekend. We went to the farmers market and got so many goodies! (I even parallel parked, which I took a picture of on my phone to prove later.) Then, we went to Hobby Lobby for some crafty goodies. Throughout the morning, Molly couldn't quit hugging and kissing me. We had such a nice time!

While I know that this is going to be one of those things that will be easy to forget to do, I pray that we can keep it up. Knowing what a good time I had on both of my dates this month, and then seeing the kids' reactions to it, I know that this is truly a good thing that warrants holding on to tightly.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday, Finer Things Fridays, & Thankful Thursdays.

Zucchini Raisin Walnut Muffins

That's a mouthful of a name, isn't it? In truth, we just call them Zucchini Muffins. But, Zucchini Raisin Walnut Muffins is a much more descriptive name, don't you agree?

I got this tasty recipe from my Mom, and with a bounty of zucchini from the garden, decided to whip up a couple of batches of it this weekend. That way, we got to eat some right away (and for breakfast on Sunday morning), and then I froze most of them for us to work on a little at a time.

My Mom reports that she makes two batches (in separate bowls) at the same time sometimes. I knew that I wanted to make two batches as well, but I just made a double batch in my Kitchen Aid Mixer with no problems.

Zucchini Raisin Walnut Muffins

Ingredients

1 ½ cups flour
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup shredded zucchini
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

2. Add oil, milk, eggs and vanilla and mix.

3. Add zucchini, raisins, and walnuts.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full (I used muffin liners) - makes approximately 12 - 14 muffins.

This post is linked to: Tasty Tuesday, Kitchen Tip Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, and Talk about Tuesday.