7 Quick Takes Friday (take 1)

1. Yesterday and today have been unseasonably warm, even for Central Texas. Yes, we’ve reached highs of 78 or better. You northerners may be green with envy, but consider this – if it is 80 in January, what will July or August look like? Oh, Lord have mercy!

2. Molly has learned how to say “yes” and it is like having our own personal Magic 8 Ball (remember those?). So far our 8 Ball has the following responses:

• “yesh” (uttered in hushed tones with a bashful head tilted)
• “no” (sometimes screamed, sometimes stated matter-of-factly)
• “yeah” (said in a rather uninterested manner, usually without even looking at you)
• “UH-UH” (rudely grunted in a very disgusted, angry tone)

3. Here are some really good articles I’ve read recently that I think a lot of you mothers (and fathers) of young children would appreciate:

Pre-school Learning Plans – Homeschooling Series Part 1 (these are really good tips for any mother of preschoolers, not just homeschoolers)

Every Single Stinkin’ Thing I Ever Learned About Potty Training

4.  With three girls in the span of 3 years, I have the benefit of using and re-using (and re-using) their clothing. The hand-me-downs have worked really well so far, with the exception of some minor variations in the seasons. What this means, however, is that I must be on top of my game when it comes to stain removal, organization and storage. I’ve learned a few things along the way – like store shoes separate from clothing in your attic as some shoes will melt in the TX heat! I consider it quite a victory that Violet will be wearing most of Olivia’s clothes, which means I’ve only purchased slightly more than one girls’ wardrobe so far. At some point, it is possible that two of the three will share the same size for awhile or something, but it sure is nice to know when I buy something that it will get a lot of use. That also means that I like to buy clothing that will withstand many wearings and washings and still look good. My favorite clothing brand is Carter’s and I like to go straight to the source – the Carter’s store (basically an outlet). I sincerely recommend checking to see if they have one in your area (unfortunately their on-line shopping is seriously limited). The prices can’t be beat for their clothing (keep in mind that the exact same items are sold at department stores; Carter’s also has a  line that they sell at discount stores like Target & Wal-mart, but in my experience, these clothes are of a little lesser quality – I’d say they’d last through 2 kids as opposed to 3 like the ones directly from Carter’s). Also, please note that Carter’s sizes run large, and especially pants run long.  Livy is wearing some 5T shirts, but still looks just fine in a pair of 3T capris (worn as long pants)! But don’t get me started on the randomness of children’s clothing sizes!! I got quite confused with the last round of Livy’s clothing purchases – she is some mixture of 4T/5T/4/5! The clothes I bought for our trip to NE this year all ended up too big, but I think we’ve got it figured out now and I guess she’ll just wear those clothes to NE again next year. Who needs long sleeves with weather like this anyway!

5. One of the most beautiful things in my life is watching Olivia play sweetly with her younger sisters. This morning, she laid on the floor with Violet telling her stories, teaching her to hold a rattle, and saying “God bless you” when she sneezed. She was so gentle & sweet. Yesterday, she took the time to teach Molly to do a puzzle we got from Grandma Kane for Christmas. It makes the animal sound when you get the piece in the right spot. “What’s this Molly? It’s a horse. Can you find the place where the horse goes? Right here, Molly. Good job, Molly, you did it! Great!” she said. These are the times when I think I must be doing something right!

6. If you read my Daybook, you saw that we started tracking points in Weight Watchers again. I really think it’s a good idea to do this on a regular basis because every single time I realize how terrible I am at guessing what’s going to make me gain weight. This week’s worst guess was sour cream – what was I thinking loading up my enchilada with that stuff? And nuts may be nutritional, but they are no weight loss food – 1/4 cup of pistachios was as many points as a meal replacement shake! I guess that’s why people calculate points BEFORE they eat things . . .

7. When we received two containers of Bubble Tape from Grandma Andrews for Christmas, I was not so pleased. What just-turned-3-year-old & not-even-one-and-a-half-year-old need 6 feet of bubble gum apiece?? We managed to get it home without anyone noticing it, but in the last round of unpacking, Livy came across it and wanted to open it. Since it is a present from Grandma, I decided to let her have the equivalent of a normal stick of gum. She, of course, loved it. And realized there was a lot more where that came from!

Before I get to the punchline, the other half of this story is that we went to a parenting seminar before Christmas where they suggested that a young child receive a daily chart with 8 spaces. The first 3 spaces are free spaces and the next six name a privilege that can be lost for misbehaving. Each time the child misbehaves, a square on the chart is marked out and whatever privilege is inside the square is lost for the rest of the day (they start fresh every morning). Livy has been pushing the limits a lot lately and we have started using some of this thinking in her discipline (in fact, I think I’ll print out some charts after posting this).

So here’s the punchline – thank you, Grandma, for giving us a very effective privilege that can be lost. The mere threat of losing the precious Bubble Tape is usually enough to make Livy do (or not do) whatever we’ve asked. And thankfully, at this point, she is so ecstatic to carry it around and talk about its many wonderful qualities (“isn’t it fancy, Molly?”) that she hardly even asks to consume any!

Update: Molly, on the other hand, is not fooled in the slightest by the fanciness of the Bubble Tape and much prefers to eat it over carry it around. Yikes! It can’t really take 7 years to digest, can it??

Hope you enjoyed my 7 Quick Takes – be sure to visit Jennifer at Conversion Diary for links to more 7 Quick Takes Friday! Have a wonderful weekend!!