{SQT} No More Clean Kitchen, Flax Seed Surprise and Speaking

It’s the time of year when you discover which Christmas toys are actually cheap junk, and the kids start clamoring to spend their Christmas money on more toys even though you haven’t found places to store all the stuff they already have. But ITS FINE. REALLY. LET’S GO TO THE MALL FOR FUN.

We’re wrapping up our Christmas break this week and everyone heads back to school on Monday or Tuesday. I’m ready to get back to our usual routine. My mom has been visiting for the last two weeks so I’ve been spoiled with lots of home cooked meals I didn’t have to make, and a clean kitchen filled with shiny dishes I didn’t need to wash. And the kids aren’t complaining about all the fresh baked desserts either. I think we’ll ease our kitchen back into its normal disheveled state gradually over the weekend, before allowing a full blown disaster to erupt sometime late next week necessitating a last minute Chinese take-out dinner. 

The kids are also thrilled because they know I have new ideas about healthy eating I’m excited to really launch into now that Christmas and grandma’s visit are over. I don’t know why they don’t understand that I only care about their well-being and am not embarking on some radical dietary changes just because I “read a book” or “hate them”. Now who’s ready for some sprouted flax seed muffins! WOOT!! 

When I wasn’t updating all of Edie’s assignments in Google Classroom, or studying for our foster parent training classes, I was outlining a new talk I’m giving as part of an upcoming Living Pro Life Conference hosted by Plating Grace and the Catholic Speakers Organization from Jan. 22-29. You can learn more HERE. The conference talks address common reasons people give for seeking an abortion, or supporting abortion. My talk is entitled “What About When the Baby is Diagnosed With a Physical Disability?” and it’s one of many great presentations. You can access the live panel discussions for free, or purchase access to all 50+ talks for only $30. There is also an option for parishes and schools to purchase access to all the talks for faith formation purposes. Check it out and let me know what you think.

On Tuesday Byron took his written permit test and unfortunately failed. I wasn’t too surprised. Addie barely passed herself. (It might be genetic because I also barely passed my written test.) What I’ve learned, and tried to instill unsuccessfully, was that the online practice tests don’t cover near enough material. Even if you consistently pass them, chances are there will be tons of questions on the actual test that you’ve never seen before. There’s no getting around really studying the drivers manual cover to cover. So we’ll go back in another week and hopefully he’ll do better. I only need him to have his license by the time Addie leaves for school in the fall so I’m not too stressed about it yet. He has his bike to get to work, and with COVID cases so high, we’ve had to cancel/ scale back on all social things (i.e. no one is hanging out with friends right now) so there’s nowhere for him to drive to anyway. 

In a few weeks, we’ll be midway through our school year and I’ll probably do a mid-year review post. Planning for it has led me to wonder how all the families who are trying homeschooling for the first time this year are doing. If you’re midway through your first year and have any questions or reflections, shoot me an email or leave a comment. I’m curious to know if it’s going as you expected, what has been most surprising, and do you feel prepared to finish out the year? 

I started work on my manuscript this week as well..I mean I sort of started work on it. I’ve been reading all my editors comments and NOT freaking out at the amount of work I need to do. I mean, anything less than adding tens of thousands of words is going to seem like a cake walk, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it wasn’t all crap. Because really, after years of writing and months of revising you really do start to question everything you put down on the page. I hope COVID is long gone when my book finally drops because I am so excited to travel and meet and speak and hug anyone who reads it. Like, I might just show up at your door unannounced and ask to hug you because I’ll be so thrilled to finally be promoting rather than just talking about it. “Hi are you Amazon purchaser ket93847? Did you purchase my book along with a nose hair trimmer that charges via USB?? I am so thrilled to meet you! Can I come in and meet your family?? Would you like a hug, or for me to sign your book??? Your nose hair looks FABULOUS!”

I suppose that’s enough for this week. Sorry for the delay! Write down your Takes then link them up below. Be sure to include a link back to this post so your readers can find the rest of the Quick Takes. I look forward to reading your posts!