{SQT} More Reading And Appointments

1.

Last Friday we finally saw Avengers; Endgame. I say finally because having to wait one week almost killed half my family. As such, we arrived plenty early to claim our reserved seats…as if missing the previews would somehow ruin the experience. If you’re a Marvel fan, I have no doubt you’ll enjoy the movie, but you’ll get no spoilers from me. Or my children as we’ve instilled the ‘snitches get stitches’ rule in regards to spoilers. (“Spoil it all, get boiled in oil”…or maybe “Ruin the movie, get a noogie”…”Spoil the ending, get an unfriending” …I’ll keep working on it.) But anyway, even though I probably never would’ve let Addie or Byron watch these movies at age 8, I’m glad we’ve loosened up enough our parenting enough to enjoy Marvel movies together.

2.

Last Saturday was our parish’s First Holy Communion Mass. In a couple weeks is Confirmation. Tis the season! If you need some gift ideas for your godchildren on their big day, or if you’re a confirmation sponsor (enthusiastically raises hand!) , or if you just want to give something more personal than cash (though my kids always prefer cash) check out my holy gift guide for some unique ideas. Feel free to make additional suggestions in the comments.

3.

I’ve remained committed to staying off social media this week, jumping online just a bit over the weekend to share the conference recap before quickly asking Tony to block Facebook on our network again. We use OpenDNS to block sites. Its useful for blocking whole categories (pornography) or specific sites like Facebook. Despite not signing up for any more notifications, Facebook has increased it’s emails to me, as have Instagram and Twitter. These sites can tell I’m not using them and are reaching out more in desperation. But I’m hanging in there and as a result, reading more books, catching up on podcasts, and, oh yeah, working on my book.

4.

I finished reading ‘Deep Work‘, ‘Digital Minimalism‘, and I’m finally reading ‘The Catholic Table’ by Emily Stimpson Chapman which I picked up ages ago, but only recently rediscovered during the move. I’m planning to devote future posts to some of the ideas in Cal Newport’s books, but for now, all my additional writing time is spoken for. Emily’s book is wonderful, and as someone who enjoys a good foodie book, I love how she’s taking these seemingly BIG COMPLEX CATHOLIC THEOLOGICAL IDEAS and making them easy to digest through food symbolism. I would highly recommend this title for food lovers and anyone who struggles in their relationship with food.

5.

In addition to books, I’ve rediscovered the joy of catching up on blogs via Feedly. Rather than checking Facebook over my morning coffee, I’m enjoying posts from my favorite bloggers. Additionally, posts like those from Helena Daily, keep me updated on what’s happening online without the downsides of continually reading about such news on social media. I’ll be sharing my favorite recent posts in my next newsletter. Sign up HERE if you haven’t already.

6.

Back in the real world, Tony accompanied Teddy on the second grade field trip to the natural history museum Tuesday. We had a membership a few years back, but I’m not sure how much Teddy remembers. (Thank goodness for blog archives.) Although I wasn’t super excited about attending Fulton’s IEP instead, being in a museum with multiple school groups isn’t my idea of a fun time either. I was more than happy to outsource that parenting job to Tony. Fulton’s meeting went well. I believe our new district and I are on the same page: Fulton’s current school is not the one for him. It’s a great school for more seriously developmentally delayed kids, but if you ask Fulton about it, he would just like to be able to hold conversations with the kids in his class and learn to read. So I think the plan is to move him into the district’s middle school next year where he’ll interact with his typical peers and receive instruction in a self-contained classroom. He likes that idea, but has already asked, “Mama, if this doesn’t work, can we just go back to homeschooling again?” Sigh. Fingers crossed third times the charm and that we can make up for time lost at the last two less than optimal schools.

7.

On Wednesday the boys, Fulton’s nurse and I went to Shriner’s hospital for a delayed six month surgery follow up. We had some concerns about some bumps that seemed to have formed around Fulton’s upper spine but thankfully we learned it was just his fusion hardware, sitting right where it was supposed to. It had become more prominent as his posture changed over the last few months. Teddy’s curvature remained unchanged so it was an easy, in and out visit- meaning it took just under three hours. While meeting with the surgeon he apologized for the wait, explaining that someone at registration had called out. I said that I thought things had moved along pretty good for a Wednesday clinic, he laughed and replied that he hadn’t heard that response yet.

So now spill the deets on your week! Link up below and 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!