7 Quick Takes Friday - Volume 6

I'm excited to announce that I've been chosen to be apart of the 2011-2012 TOS Homeschool Crew!  Last year, as my first year on the Crew, I'll admit I felt a little frazzled by figuring out how to balance our school year while including the curricula we reviewed, how to be properly prepared for writing up reviews, even how to blog about regular life amidst all of the reviews, and so on.  This year, I'm feeling like I have a much better idea of what to expect, AND what's expected of me.  I'm really looking forward to sharing some more awesome homeschool products with y'all!

This week began my first week of exercising since Rachel's birth.  Since I didn't really exercise at all during my pregnancy with her (bad! very bad!), it's really my first week of exercise in... a YEAR!!  That's a lonnnnggg time for a body to be not-so-active!  I've upped my wake-up time to 5:30 (ish) so I have time to work out, shower, and still have some quiet time before real life starts.  Rachel has been helping me in that regard as all week she's woken up around 5 to nurse (thank you for that, Rachel).  I'm alternating strength training with walking/running.  I'm not following the Couch to 5K program, but a similar one that incorporates walking and running until I'm able to run 3-4 miles consecutively.  I'm looking forward to being in "not tired and flabby" shape soon!

It's growing season at our house!  We're growing lots and lots of tomatoes, we've got some radishes, a watermelon vine, and even a cantaloupe!  In just two weeks, our plants have gone from this:

  

To this:

And there are flowers blooming everywhere!  And where there's flowers... there will be fruit!  I'm so excited!

We are back to using cloth diapers full-time.  With Rachel, in the beginning, I kind of waffled about using cloth.  I had lost the love.  So I used disposables for a while, and then after dealing with leak, after leak, after leak... I ran back to my beloved and dependable cloth!  I still have some disposables on hand for "just in case", but I'm even using cloth at nighttime.  In disposables, she was waking up several times a night, soaked from diaper leaks.  In cloth, she stays dry, her clothes stay dry, and she sleeps a lot longer.  I'm using prefolds in Thirsties covers during the day, and FuzziBunz for outings and nighttimes, because of the stay-dry fleece.  Another bonus, of course, is the cuteness factors of cloth! They're like their own little fashion accessories!  ;-) 

Two of my favorite retailers for all things cloth diapering are Abby's Lane and Little Lions.  Abby's Lane has awesome customer service and free shipping on all orders, and Little Lions has awesome sale prices on all of their things (you have "add to cart" to see the sales prices, but they can't be beat!), and happens to be owned by a friend of mine (hi, Gina! *waving*)... so check them out!

I want to take a second to get real .  I struggle sometimes with my "blog identity".  I want to be honest and forthcoming, not painting a false picture of some imaginary perfect family who is always smiling and accomplishing all their goals and never struggling with things. However, I don't tend to post too much about struggles or problems because, either, 1. they're too personal, or 2. I want my blog to be an encouragement to others, not a downer.  However, I have realized more and more recently that I find the most encouragement from those who are "real" and do share their struggles and problems.  So I've been thinking a lot about the voice I use on my blog, the portrait I paint, as well as the light in which I display my family. 

Let me just let my hair down for a moment.  We are real.  We struggle!  I have awarded myself the "most horrible mom of the entire existence since Creation" award many a night once I've wrangled all of the hooligans to bed.  I lose my temper.  I am not a very good housekeeper. Michael and I argue at times. Sometimes we're just disconnected and disjointed.  The kids bicker, disobey, and make lots of noise and lots of messes.

I fail ALL.the.time. This journey of marriage and mothering is sometimes the hardest challenge I've ever faced.  I am grateful beyond words that God's grace is sufficient - not only for me, but for my husband and children, too, as we stumble through this thing called life together.  He is my source of strength - I am weak and helpless in my own flesh.  I am a regular woman and mom, with regular kids and a husband, serving a really, really awesome God.

So, just in case it ever comes across as though we have it all together, or that I'm pretending all is perfect, please know that it is not my intent!  We have our ups and downs, just as anybody does.

I know I've mentioned before that we like to run together as a family, but I realized that there's a more prominent activity that the majority of our family participates in together that I've never mentioned - Disc Golf!  Michael has been an avid disc golf player for years, and each boy has learned how to throw a disc from about the time they start walking.  Isaac and Ezra just completed their first Disc Golf league, with Ezra placing first and Isaac second.  They're really excited about their award plaques!

  

Disc Golf an excellent family sport because anyone of any age and fitness ability can play - you just have to be able to walk the course and throw the discs.  And it's inexpensive!  When the kids are small, Michael pushes them in our jogging stroller and they just toss around small marker discs or frisbees, but as soon as they're big enough to walk the distance (just like regular golf, there are 18 holes), they're able to join in the fun!  We even have a practice basket in our yard.  I'm the only one who doesn't actually play, but on occasion I will go and walk the course with everyone.  Most of the time while they're out playing, I stay home to get some much needed quiet time and chores done.

For the first time in 6 children, we have a painted and decorated nursery!  I know, it's probably terrible that we never went to such lengths for the boys and now that we have a girl, suddenly it matters!  Hopefully it won't scar the boys for life.  It's nothing too fancy, but I thought I'd share some pictures anyway:

Have a great weekend!