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24 May 2013

7 Quick Takes

Linking up with Jen over at Conversion Diary!

1. Last Sunday evening some sweet gals (Hi Jennifer and Lisa - if you're reading which you might not be!!) from Catholic St. Louis came by to discuss an upcoming article and take some pictures. I say 'take some pictures' like it was no big dill but the big kids went into stubborn stray cat mode and I hope Lisa wins some sort of photography award for any pictures that she successfully snapped with both of the big kids in the frame along with the feline parents not looking irritated with their young. Reporter Jennifer has been given full permission to interview a different family that has their act more together than we ever will after enjoying some time in our fun house because ... you know us. I'm getting to my point. Simon said I should go "buy some scones or something" for their visit and so during naps I trotted off to Trader Josés in search of something sconey. No scones but I bought these insane little sea salt brownie bite petites. I know I KNOW the sea salt thing is getting old but these were ridiculous. They were so good. I refuse to take the kids to TJ's but I wanted to eat 15 more so I did 4 seconds of Googling and found this recipe. I finally got around to making them last night with Julia and -- not AS ridiculous as the real thing but still really good. I think I baked them for one minute too long and MAYBE slightly oversalted which I didn't think was a possibility. Anyway ... there's that. Also, the chicken and cilantro wontons in the freezer section ... so great.

2. That transitions not nicely into the current exercise situation. The ONE upside of Simon working late late late every night is that I have virtually no excuse not to take the kids on a walk/run. I'm back on the Couch to 5K train with a 5K not being the goal but just to be able to run my entire 18 minute route. I just really like week one's "run 60 seconds, walk 90 seconds, repeat" routine and I think I'll go ahead and do two week ones. Or maybe three. I'm alternating Jillian and the Barre Method DVD during nap times and undoing all my toil with quick take number one.

3. We went to visit Simon on Saturday night while he was on call and while we were outside Julia was running and fell flat on her face. Her face was fine but her knees took a bit of a hit.

(Simon took a picture before she saw the wreckage and we still thought mayyyybe we could salvage the visit. We thought wrong. We thought very very wrong.)

I'm pretty sure she confused bloody knees with leg amputations because the drive home was nothing short of everything my nightmares are made of with her (understandable but very dramatic - Sebastian didn't blink once) screams. Six days later she still totally freaks at the sight of the scabs and so baths (well - I avoided baths because I know Julia but then her filthy hair convinced me otherwise) and wardrobe changes have been real delights. Also, Theo gave her his cough thing and so she's just been Julia with an extra helping of Juliar this week. You can catch the tail end of what I'm talking about via Vimeo clip right here with the whine + whine + whine.

4. Mrs. Meyers (inspired by a mother of nine! love)


kindly sent us some cleaning supplies from their new spring line back in March. The scent was radish and I was super skeptical because I hate cleaning and I really hate radishes. They didn't ask that I even mention anything on the blog unless I felt compelled to do so but the other night completely unsolicited while he was washing dishes Simon said, "this stuff smells really good and I would actually voluntarily go out and buy more when this runs out." He said it and he meant it. I love the scent too and have been using the all-purpose cleaner to mop the floors and our tables and the pleather couch (twice in two weeks but the first time since before Theo was born - I know). Anyway - if you're in the market for some new dish soap or cleaning stuffs and are anti-chemical (I'm not but this stuff works really great) ... I recommend.

5. Some links!!

Ashley wrote a stellar post about a serious topic and still managed to make me audibly laugh. She can write no wrong. Thank goodness the Bachelorette is firing up again on Monday (that I get to watch with non-blogging friend Tami in real time and I'm an unhealthy level of night before Christmas ecstatic about it all) because Jones never ever disappoints with a good recap.

Iris asked that I tell you about her new Simple Saturday link up going on .... check it. And her FAQ page cracked me up. Right up.

I found this sweet blog recently (click over if only to see a shot of her wedding dress!) ... I love reading blogs of teachers because I was such a fantastically terrible suck of a teacher ... I am kind of in awe of them.

Kate retired her teaching hat recently but I love her blog and I wish she would PLEASE blog daily - if not hourly. 

Oh! Mary's wedding pics ... most stunning bride ever.

Any new-to-you blogs you want to give up to selfish me?

6. I'd never understood people complaining about their "full email inboxes" until recently and this is NOT a complaint but an apology if you emailed me regarding the martyr complex post. I wish I could just lock myself in a room and reply with long and thoughtful emails but I have children and sometimes I let the laundry get so backed up that they actually have no clean clothes left to wear and time management has always been a strong suit of mine. Thank you! if you emailed ... and I'm really sorry if I haven't responded YET. I was blown away by all the solidarity and am a lucky writer of the written whine.

7. And in case you were worried about the sound machine situation of yesterday -- worry no more. Simon came home and got Sebastian dressed ...


{our definitions of "those pants don't fit him anymore" vary slightly}

and took him to B-cubed to pick up my little savior. We put the kids to bed at 10pm like idiots and that panned out very, very beautifully this morning, as you can imagine. Anyway - all's well with the sound machine. Sorry about that rantnasty.


Go see Jen for more more more.


and I hope you have a weirdly harmonious weekend.




22 comments:

  1. I love how your kids always seem to be wearing rainboots... indoors, in the sun, in the heat, in the cold... haven't seen them in the rain yet though!

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  2. THE WEDDING PHOTOS. gahh I die. So gorgeous.

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  3. I love the wedding photos! I love dresses that have sleeves. It's so pretty and feminine!

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  4. I thought of you Wednesday, because I had to go by our local Brusters (BEST ice cream place, ever) to get some gift cards and they had a new ice cream. Sea Salt Caramel Toffee. Yes, you read that correctly. I thought about it literally ALLLLLLL day. So at 9:30pm I put on my altruistic-"honey, you look like you could use some ice cream hat" and volunteered to run to Brusters for a taste. OMG. SO worth it!!

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  5. 4. I love Mrs. Meyers. I want to try the radish scent, but we they're not overlystocked in the product out here in M(iddle)O(f)N(owhere). So I snatch up basil whenever I find it. It smells sooooooooooooo good, more like green tea and ginger, which is weird but fine with me.

    5. The one photo of the boys running down the alley is a million dollars.

    You are welcome to swing by my blog any time
    www.everything-to-someone.com

    What kind of camera and lens do you use? Your pictures really make your posts pop! Alliteration!

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  6. Grace, you are so good! Thanks for giving my little space a shout-out :) I am greatly indebted to you.

    You are the second person this week I've seen/heard/read? rave about Mrs. Meyers cleaning supplies so I'm pretty sure I'll be ordering those soon.

    And Sebastian is too darling- love that he's rocking the man-pri in numero seven.

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  7. ha...Basher with an ankle strap, that may have just done me in! Also- thanks for the introduction (awhile back) to miss oh jones- that girl cracks my shiz ups! also- i picture you as a fantastic teacher and would love to hear about those days. my husband is a relatively new teacher (3 years) in Olathe..not too far from your Lawrence roots!

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  8. I've been doing the couch 2 5K training and loved week 1, week 2, week 3, and even some of week 4 - but week 5?! they think that you're some sort of running goddess and can just put out 2 miles like it's nothing after sitting on the COUCH just a few weeks ago with no running! luckily I've done a little training before, but...they are seriously trying to kill me! Maybe not even me, maybe everyone who does their program...some sort of conspiracy! Anyway, love reading the rants ... always like to write them, but yours come out so much funnier than mine!

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    1. ah! I'm so glad I'm not alone. i agree --- I've never made it through the entire program for that exact reason. and my rants ALWAYS make me cringe in retrospect but it is somewhat therapeutic ... sort of.

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  9. I stumbled upon your blog not too long ago and it was like blog Heaven for me. Finding other young Catholic bloggers is amazing... And the cherry on top? You're down right hilarious. I can't get enough! Thank you for breaking up my day with fun (and funny) stories that always leave me smiling.

    Another thing... I love and appreciate the beautiful teachings of the Catholic church and all of the glorious sacraments and traditions we share; but I get giddy with excitement watching you show that there is a younger side of the Church emerging full of fun, joyful, light hearted faith-filled believers. It just makes me feel so proud. Sorry for the long ramble, I get that way sometimes. ;-)

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    1. oh thank you Erin!! the nicest comment. Don't apologize for a ramble .. comments make my heart go pitter patter. and I don't know how much fun and joy I'm spreading but I appreciate you reading SO very much. thank you!

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  10. I feel like I need to dress up to go into Trader Joes (hair, makeup, cute clothes) .... like I will be given whithering glances or disdain from other patrons if I don't look like I belong. I'd run into my regular grocery store with sweats on, frizzy hair, and no makeup, but not TJs! I went there today looking for those sea salt brownies but they said they are only seasonal and they don't carry them now. :( Guess I'll have to try making my own.

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    1. what?! seasonal how? weird. I guess maybe they kept them around because winter is just now lifting in St. Louis?

      and agreed! that is why I stick to Costco where yoga pants are fancy fance.

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    2. Maybe the guy I talked to didn't have the right info. I live near Chicago, only 6 hours from you, so it's not like we're in different climates. Oh well! Maybe I'll try again sometime. In the meantime, I know Costco sells bite-size brownies and I bet they're good. The only problem is that, being Costco, they probably come in a pack of like 400 and I don't need to be eating all 400 by myself! ;)

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  11. Not to encourage you in the lack of time management area but my friends Mary and Seth have a photography business and I LOVE scrolling through their website. Gorgeous stuff. (http://sethmorrisphotography.com if you want to check it out.)

    ALSO - my good friend Katie is a 5th grade teacher at a Catholic school and a DRE. Her blog features a lot of projects she uses with her kids and they're amazing. I wish I could be her student - I think she's just about perfect. (http://looktohimandberadiant.blogspot.com/)

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  12. Wow, the wedding pictures!!! So beautiful!! I love the picture with the rings, the one in the middle is so pretty, thanks for sharing.

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  13. Wow, those pictures are incredible, I cannot get over Mary's beautiful dress and design talents. And I just realized that I went on a TEC with Elizabeth, way back in the day. That's kind of weird.
    Sebastian looks very pleased with his cropped pants, so why mess with it?

    My husband I blog at www.ifwp.wordpress.com

    P.S. I love chocolate and sea salt, even if it is trendy.

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    1. what a small world!! thanks for the blog link -- your kids have the BEST names!

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  14. We just bought a house within walking distance of TJ's. I've been eyeing those brownie bites for a while now and I just might have to take the plunge next time I find myself there (tomorrow...).

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  15. So I watched the video, then we watched a few other videos and.... I love your kiddos :)
    The video of Theo kicking.... made me comment "he kinda looks like Conan OBrien" and Josh kinda agreed.
    The video of Basher's vocabulary was pretty reminiscent of Joseph's current abilities.
    And I giggled all the way thru the snake video because it cracks me up that it was a stick the whole time!

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  16. I think I became a diehard Mrs. Meyer's girl about a year or so ago. It all started with lavender.... and now I'm crushing on honeysuckle. HOWEVER, I did buy the radish scented hand soap in my last order (yes, I order online b/c I can't find scents like bluebell and honeysuckle anywhere in my vicinity) and have yet to break it out (due to said crush on honeysuckle). I adore their countertop sprays... makes me kinda want to clean my counters. weird.

    i have yet to jump on this whole sea salt trend as I'm often late to the party BUT I do have sea salt and I do love a good brownie. SOooo, maybe I'll make it all happen sometime soon or not so soon.

    love your place here, Grace. blessings to you and yours!!

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  17. Really enjoyed all the links!

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