Quick Takes: Volume 75

~1~

We're back in the realm of fall soccer and I have to say that it really sucks.  And what's worse is we aren't even fully immersed in it.  On Saturday, Bryan and Madeline went on the team bike ride that officially kicked off the soccer training.  Then practices began on Tuesday.  So we're now looking at practices every Tuesday and Thursday from now until a week or two before Thanksgiving.  That means about 2 1/2 hours each practice night of Katie being very upset that people are missing.  It's exhausting.  This week has been particularly rough since Bryan has had other soccer obligations since he's a member of the board.  Tonight and most of tomorrow he has a coaches' licensing class that he has to attend so six out of eight days (I'm counting tomorrow) are consumed with soccer.  And we haven't even gotten to the point where Ellie has practices.  I feel like soccer has taken over our lives but Bryan keeps assuring me that it hasn't.  Perhaps it would be more accurate for me to say that soccer has taken over my husband's life.

~2~

At the youth group breakfast after Mass on Wednesday I met another "normal" homeschooling family with a child around Ellie's age and another one close in age to Katie.  It's funny because the person who introduced us told me that she gets that homeschool vibe from me but she figured I just wasn't there yet.  I still firmly believe that homeschooling is the right choice for my girls.  I just need to get Bryan and the girls on board.  Bryan has been talking about it as an option for Madeline for high school.  And our plan is to homeschool Katie.  I suppose technically I will start homeschooling her for pre-school next year when she turns three.

~3~

Have I mentioned how much I like Lysol and Pledge wipes?  I managed to go room by room a few weeks ago and deep clean the house.  Now I'm using the Pledge and Lysol wipes and the house is staying nice and clean.  I can't tell you how happy I am now that I've conquered the dust.  My kitchen counter tops are so nice and clean, too.  I previously thought these items were a huge waste of money for people who were too lazy to use paper towels or dust rags to clean.  Now I see them as amazing inventions that even the kids are willing to use to help with cleaning.  It's worth about $10-15 a month in cleaning wipes to have a nice clean home.  I feel a lot less stressed about cleaning now.  

~4~

Katie seems to be fascinated with trying on Bryan's shoes.  It's funny to watch her grab his shoes and hop up on the couch to put them on.  Actually, that's not all she's been trying on lately.  She's been putting on the girls shirts and bottoms when she's "helping" me fold the laundry.  She's a funny little girl.

~5~

Did any of you watch that Megalodon special on Discovery Channel's Shark Week?  I fell asleep during it and then woke up on the couch at the same place where I fell asleep several hours later.  Then I decided to record it so we could watch it later.  After we watched it we found out a day later that it was a fake documentary.  Bryan thought he saw something flash up on the screen at the end but he figured he saw incorrectly.  I'm annoyed that Discovery Channel wasted two hours of my time.  Bryan really dislikes those fake documentaries like the Walking With Dinosaurs type of shows, so we typically don't watch the fabricated ones.  

~6~

How cute is this child?  So she picked up Madeline's flute and is trying to hold it but her little arms are too short to reach the keys.  And when she does get to the keys her mouth can't reach the mouthpiece.  But that doesn't stop her.  She just pretends to play the flute and make her own flute sounds.  

~7~

Can I call these quick takes when I spent nearly four hours from start to finish?  So many distractions but they were all for good causes so no worries!