7 Quick Takes: in which I have nothing of interest to report again

One

My first take was going to be about Kelly's sweet boy and getting him a sweet new ride for the beach. But Catholic generosity blows me away and donations were so forthcoming that the goal was surpassed and Bonnie shut it down.

Soo....

What I'm saying is finding seven things to quick take about is hard and I'm leaving it.

Two

I've lost all sense of self-identity this week. 

I worked out. And by worked out, I mean I biked for about 2 minutes and 48 seconds and did squats until it hurt (so we're looking at a timeframe of about half a squat). 

I don't even know myself anymore. And I can thank Danielle Bean and her fun little book Momnipotent that I got from Edel. I've been poolside each afternoon this week and she compelled, inspired, and guilted me into exercising. 

Let's see how long this will last, shall we? I'll give you a hint of my bet:

Three

Our inexperienced homeschooling family is starting our well-respected and established co-op in one week from today. One week. In one week, I will be flying around the house like a maniac trying to figure out how mothers who send their children to traditional schools (eh....less traditional schooling? because home education is the more widely-used form of education if you're looking at the macrocosm of social history?) do it every. single. morning. Kids getting dressed and us leaving the house before nine am? What sorcery is this? 

Four

I stumbled upon this link this week, probably a week or so later than the rest of the online world. But in case your head was buried in sand or curriculum shopping, here it is for your reading pleasure.

I often (always) find myself saying, "we only have two so far." I recently met one sweet mother of eleven and when she asked if I had any children, I answered my typical "only two" response. She stopped and gently put her hand on my arm and said, "dear, you don't only have two, you have two." I told her that Joseph and I so desperately want more children and then when we married, we expected to be the parents of a dozen children - we told everyone that we would happily take however many children God would deem fit to send our way. This mother reminded me that two is what He's given us.

It was such a small gesture on her part, but I've thought about it a lot.

I'm objectifying my babies!

The lady that wrote the article went to Edel, as well, and probably encountered more than one mama who feels guilty and sad about having few children. In conversations there and after, I've found that there are many Catholic mothers who reluctantly bear the title, "Mother of Only..." and struggle with feeling caught between the world and the Church.

I'm going to make a concerted effort to recognize that, at least for now, God has deemed me fit to be a mother of two little girls (and one precious wee one we didn't have a chance to meet) and only those little souls. 

Who's with me on not introducing myself as "I'm Melanie-and-we-don't-believe-in-contracepetion-contrary-to-what-my-family-size-may-suggest." It was awkward rolling off my tongue anyway.

Five

I'm getting to do a really fun review next week and I'm hoping if I get enough feedback that I'll be able to get y'all a discount code or do a giveaway in the future. So, stop by next week to see some mediocre photos of some really great products! And comment it up so we can hopefully do a giveaway!

Six

It feels weird blogging about fairly unimportant (or actually completely unimportant of you take note of the second take) when so much suffering is going on in the Middle East. Please just write yourself a sticky note, tie a string around your finger, or Siri up a reminder to pray for these poor, suffering souls. I think Heaven is handing out many a martyr's crown lately. 

Seven

On that note, I'm out to go elbow and tackle some people out of my way while I back-to-school shop. Technically, back to school for us was three weeks ago, but I'm never one to turn down a good deal and a weekend free of tax. I'm willing to splurge one dollar on ten bottles of glue (10 cents, y'all. Ten cents.) and fight a few frenzied mothers to be a well-prepared educator.

Once again, visit Jen for better quick takes.