7 Very Quick Takes - Feast of St. Nicholas

1.  Jill is going to be a big sister!

Thornton 6.0 is due on June 22nd.

She is very indignant that she IS the tiny baby.  She also has a baby brother in her tummy and believes that I have a baby sister in mine.

Time will tell...

2.  

This is filling up right now.  Three days of low-flow showers and three nights of listening to the water meter chug all night long to fill this baby.  

Some people pray for a mild winter, some of us pray for lots of sub-freezing temps to make this all worth it.

3.  

This guy came last night.  He left this beautiful 10 inch statue of himself on our mantel.  You can get your own St. Nicholas statue just like it here.  

The People's Republic of Illinois finally struck down a law that prevented Illinois bloggers from monetizing their blogs.  That means I can start linking to books and products and make a few dimes if my readers click through and purchase anything at all!

Patrick promised to teach me how to link my photos, but until then, just click on the ads if you want to shop.

4.  St. Nick keeps it pretty simple around here.  Candy and books.  

Peter got A Canticle for Leibowitz, which is the seminal Catholic dystopian novel.  

Susan got A Girl of the Limberlost.  Lucy continues her obsession with all things Maude Hart Lovelace with Carney's House Party and Winona's Pony Cart.  

Edmund got a book that's a little young for him.  Oops.  I couldn't "see inside" so this was sort of a miss rather than a hit, but Lolek - The Boy Who Became Pope John Paul II is his.  

Jill cleans up with The Baker's Dozen:  A St. Nicholas Tale (thanks, Mom) and Can You Find Saints?  We've been doing a lot of I Spy books.  She's extra good at spotting hearts and crowns.  Go figure.

5.  Yesterday, I was having the kind of doubts that I can only imagine are fairly common among homeschooling parents.  You know, the kind where you think you bought all the wrong stuff, and you're not doing enough, and your kid isn't learning enough, and he'll live with you forever.

Well, my dear friend IRL Mary Kate told me to listen to this.

It's been stuck in my head ever since.  

So what if yesterday's lessons including going to Wisconsin with his dad to pick up the rink liner, and subsequently picking up dog turds, and laying out the liner?  Some days, life is about one-on-one trips with your dad, and some days it's about dog turds. 

Hopefully, we'll do some math today though, for my peace of mind.

6.  

Between homeschooling, having a 2 year old, and being first trimester, I haven't had the time or desire to blog much lately.  

Come to think of it, I haven't had the time or desire to cook, clean, or do laundry much either.  

Theme Thursday comes and goes without me every week.  Micaela's 3 Three Reason I Love Advent link-up is on my wish list.  

Hopefully, things will settle down soon.  Until then, it's just What We're Reading Wednesdays and the occasional 7 Quick Takes.  

7.  Patrick made me stop what I was doing to watch this commercial last night.  It has nothing to do with Christmas or Advent but it's very sweet.

In that same vein, I made him turn off The Middle the other day when Frankie was crying about Axl going away to college.  

Patrick called me a big pile of hormones, but that day is coming way too fast in my life.  I'm trying very hard not to think about how this is Peter's last St. Nicholas Day at home.  

It appears that we haven't watched network television since September since the commercial and the show both first aired then. 

Happy St. Nicholas Day!  

Joining Jen on this wonderfully cold day.