7 Quick Take #293: Seven things that happened while I was away

 

 Happy May! Long time no post ~ how about a bit of catch-up?

1. Slightly out of order thanks to an uncooperative computer:
   
   
   
   May 1st brought some Lily of the Valley and
   
   
   Caitlin's First Communion!
   
   
   Was able to return to my favorite Longwood Garden during tulip peak!
   
   
   Caitlin got glasses
   
   
   

   
   Dr. Dad and I celebrated our birthdays
   
   
   
   Liam got glasses, making for a full set!
   
   
   And back in April, we celebrate Easter!

Quick Takes #292: Maine recap

 

1. We are deep in the final prep for returning to school on Monday over here, but I wanted to quickly record some reflections on our week in Maine.  Starting with great gratitude that it was even possible to happen.  After failing to find rapid testing here in PA, Dr. Dad was able to get us appointments for testing in Maine for the day after we arrived.  We both tested negative; allowing us to comply with Maine's visitor rules and give an additional level of reassurances to his mom. 
2. The trip up went so well. We left later than we planned (as usual) but then encountered minimal traffic and we managed to only make one rest stop along the way.  We were 'on schedule' enough that we were able to stop in MA and pick-up our niece.
3. The weather cooperated wonderfully with rain mostly at night and brief if during the day.  After nearly a month in the '90's here in PA ~ Maine's low '80's felt amazing.  The ocean was brisk to start but did not hold back our intrepid boogie boarders.  Going a low tide most days also allowed for exploring a tide pool where on a couple of occasions the kids found giant clams.
4. Cooking is a favorite activity of Dr. Dad's family of origin and this vacation was no different; yummy brunches, tasty dinners, and the tweens even got in on the action making delicious strawberry tarts and blondies.  Our favorite ice cream place had done a great job of meeting the challenges of keeping everyone safe while maintaining their wonderful atmosphere and quality ice cream.  No trip to the Maine seacoast is complete without some seafood; and that we indulged in a couple of occasions.
5. In addition to having ample time to read, my book-loving heart was happily blessed when my SIL passed on to me several ARCs (advanced reading copies) of books unclaimed at the bookstore she works at.  I like to read seasonally, and am so grateful for the chance to read books at release time or just prior.
6. Back in a reality where it will be a busy weekend of organizing school supplies, and school uniforms.  In another sign of the times the school is requesting that forms be filled out and signed prior to the first day adds to the general frazzle of these days.  However there are many good memories to hold onto, and perhaps a couple of more pool visits before we officially put a close to this summer.
7. Photo Dump:

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Quick Takes #290: Mid-June Check-in

1. Hi ~  we made it to Friday. In my case a sunny morning ~ storms predicted for afternoon Friday but still a chance to put down a few thoughts. Here we are slowly resuming to going places; wearing a mask and with a lot of crowd control but expanding the bubble none the less.
2. Our community pool has opened and we have been a couple of times. The older two quickly passed their deep water test and Caitlin re-found her 'doggie paddle.  One of the adjustments for this year is that the pool is not offering lessons so it looks like it will be up to Dr Dad and me to help Caitlin organize her movements into an actual stroke.  So good to actually see people (at a respectful distance) and watch my kids play with some of the friends they are been missing.
3. One upside of the otherwise bummer of no camp is that there is a lot of options of when to do the summer work assigned in a day. After a well deserved break from school work; we are now back at it but at a more leisurely pace.  
4. In the category of 'better late than never' I finally got a couple of tomato plants in the ground, as well as some basil and trying for the first time this year summer squash.  As always we already have a bumper crop of mint, but I am hopefully that with a steady weeding the others plants might have their chance.
5. Nice weather and a still mostly empty calendar has allowed me to keep reading at a wonderful pace. Currently reading this and these titles coming up next.  I had in January set the Goodread challenge of reading 40 books this year; however in the craziness that is this year I'm likely to hit that goal next month!!
6. Another treat that June has brought is the return of HGTV's Good Bones.  While their design direction is often different from mine, I love the mother-daughter dynamic!  The show also really makes me want to go to Indianapolis; which I haven't thought a lot about since I was a kid watch One Day at a Time.
7. Wishing everyone a good weekend ~ and the dads out in blogland Happy Father's Day!!

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Quick Takes #289: As My Remote Schoolhouse closes for the summer

1. Today is the last day of the school year give or take returning textbooks and chrome books next week. The bigs each have papers due today; and we are all a little crispy around the edges after a week of exams and finishing final projects.
2. That being said I am extremely proud of all of them and how they met every challenge given by their teachers really well.  I am also taking a moment to acknowledge how well I think I rose the challenge as well.  With a significant shout-out to Dr Dad who came to my rescue a few times when technology tried to get the better of me.
3. Memories to hold on; Lisbeth and Dr Dad discussing/commiserating how to attend several Zoom meetings a day and still get your work in on time.  Morning prayer time when they would take turns leading the Morning Offering and saying the pledge. Caitlin also tried to teach me the school song with mixed results.
4. I also had fun introducing the youngest two to some of my favorites from Grammar Rock when they were learning about conjunctions and adjectives.
5. It was also fascinating to see their learning styles up close; for example I see a standing desk in Liam's future.  Lisbeth preferred to work on the floor in her bedroom where she could spread her papers out in a circular manner; organized chaos if you like.  She also won a few prizes for her enthusiasm in zoom meetings.  Caitlin is struggling the most with missing seeing her friends but also finished the year strong.
6. As the many different options for the next year are discussed and given how many of them include as least part-time remote learning I'm glad to know we can do it if we need to.  But first summer ~ and summer work; but that is for another day!

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Quick Takes #288: Thoughts as May blooms

1. Happy May Day! Channeling Mr Darcy to Elizabeth "I hope your family is in good health"; we are all doing fine here and my Lily of the Valley have come up nicely which always seems a good omen for the month to me.
2. Speaking of Pride and Prejudice, one of the post school day pleasures I am enjoying is listening to Jennifer Ehle's Youtube channel where she is reading the book chapter by chapter. Lovely!! 
3. Another treat I really enjoy is reading on the front porch which I had been early in April, unfortunately the last two weeks have been too chilly. Fingers crossed that May allows for more porch sitting and reading. 
4. School lessons are continuing well with us overall in a good pattern, but with just enough hiccups and technical glitches to keep me on my toes. The teachers and administrators arranged a car parade this week and it was so much fun.  The planned route went right by our house so we were able to stand in the front year with the signs the kids made and cheer. The kids really enjoyed seeing their teachers and it broke up the monotony of week.
5. With so much uncertain about summer plans we paid our community pool dues but are otherwise trying to stay in the present.  Focusing on making remote learning go smoothly; and finding some fun in each day while keeping it quiet when Dr Dad is tele-conferencing.
6. With good weather predicted we have high hopes for knocking out jobs both inside and out; but I'm also planning on some porch reading. Whatever your weekend holds ~ Enjoy!

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Quick Takes #287: Ma Bailey's 3 Room Schoolhouse

1. Greetings from my corner of world where I am mostly successfully maintaining social distance except from my little and medium loves to whom I'm teaching about the distance their dear introverted mother needs on occasion.
2. One week in remote learning is largely going well; though I am still taking a wary deep breath each morning as I log-in to find my orders for the day.  As in their teachers create the plan, and I to the best of my ability execute. Mostly this week has been a lesson in when they can work independently versus when I really need to sit with them.
3. Hopefully next week goes even smoother; the weather continues to allow for outside time. Hopefully we begin to know if we are in fact 'flattening the curve', and what the timeline looks for the next few weeks.
4. The world outside my window is starting to show signs of spring.  Our daffodils are in bloom, as is our forsythia. Trees all around are beginning to blossom and the smell in the air is beginning to change. About half of our yard was torn up for the addition construction leaving ample area for mud but hopefully soon grass seed.
5. On the topic of the addition; I owe you a really post on this but... it is complete!! We now have a working bathroom!!  There is still a lot painting still to do, not to mention putting the rooms disrupted by the construction back in order but the biggest hurdle crossed.  
6. Philadelphia along with many other dioceses has closed Mass to the general population so we will be watching one that is being streamed. But to be honest I am struggling to wrap my brain around what Tridium and Easter will be like, hoping if we start now by those important days I will have something in place here in our domestic church for my little family.  
7. As with many of you, there are good days and tough days.  The uncertainty is tough but prayer is constant; and be assured of mine.

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7 Quick Takes #285 ~ Caitlin is 7!

1. Happy New Year! Earlier this week Caitlin marked her personal new year and turned 7. We celebrated as a family with cupcakes and presents. This weekend she will celebrate with friends at at a local gym with some gymnastics and maze exploring, choosing a Vampirina theme for the balloons and tableware.  
2. Caitlin at 7 is a unicorn loving, artist; who loves drawing & coloring, and playing with magni-tiles, and kinetic sand.  Very fond of her scooter to explore neighborhood, is contemplating learning to ride her bike without training wheels this spring.  However Skye and her light-up seahorse are still essential at bedtime.
3. Favorite shows include Spirit Riding Free, Vampirina, Molly from Denali, and when watching with Liam, Pokemon.  Max and Ruby, Elena of Avalor, and Sophia the First still make the cut. 
4. She is enjoying school; doing well in all her subjects. Building her reading skills with sight words and learning phonetics.  Often now reading before bedtime involves her reading a book to me before I read to her.  
5. Favorite foods include lasagna, Shepherd's Pie, and pizza. Mostly she like cookies and milk. 
6. She is really enjoying her beginner ballet/tap class, and looking forward to her recital in June; and swimming again next summer.  
7. Picture time:

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Quick Takes #284: Mid December Check-In

1. Greeting and Salutations; not sure how all of November and nearly half of December has pasted since my last Quick Takes. November was overall very nice and Thanksgiving in particular as we had a wonderful time with my family including my nephew who surprised us by coming home from college, and encountered remarkably little traffic for a holiday weekend.
2. Advent is going well. The kids seem to enjoy our wreath tradition while of course debating whose turn it is to light or blow out the candles. I've been pleasantly surprised how independent Caitlin is when it is her turn to read the prayer.
3. This week in particular is very fun #liturgicalliving wise. In addition to the Good Bishop visiting us last Friday with chocolate and oranges; last night the kids enjoyed Choco Taco in honored of Our Lady of Guadalupe (thanks Colleen for that idea).  Given that I knew dinner was going to be a bit of a rush job given the school's Christmas Tableau I appreciated a fun and easy way to mark the feast.  This morning I made cinnamon rolls to mark the Feast of St. Lucy.
4. The Christmas Tableau was lovely with all of the kids doing a lovely job under the direction of the school's wonderful music director.  It is the tradition that the 6th graders act out the Christmas Story during the show.  It was such fun for me to watch these kids many of whom I've known since Lisbeth was in Kindergarten perform (she by the way was one of the dancers who ushered the Romans in the proclaim the census).
5. I am finishing The Cross which is will wrap-up my book challenge reading for this year; and with Modern Mrs Darcy announcement of next year's reading challenge I'm excited to start thinking about next years reading.
6. We truly love our house but from the time we bought 5 years ago we knew at some point we wanted to put in a bathroom on the first floor; and it is finally happening.  Seriously the whole getting estimates and finding a contractor took much longer than I would have ever guessed.  We have already pulled up our deck in preparation and will this weekend take down some fencing to make way for the builders this week.
7. Some pictures to share:

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Quick Takes #283: How is it already late October?

1. Happy Fall; the mums and asters are planted and Football is again a fixture.  Decided not to plant any bulbs but did plant some winter pansies.  After hearing many dire predictions that fall colors would likely be very dull due to lack of rain, have been enjoying what color there is.
2. School life is continuing a pace; everyone is settling in after a few bumps.  Elisabeth and Liam saw a jump in the homework required but are meeting the challenges with a minimum of complaint.  Caitlin is liking the 1st grade and slowly building independence with reading.
3. Out side of school life we are busy with sports and Scouts. After a bit hunting we found a wonderful gymnastics class for Lisbeth and she is loving it and happily making up for lost time.  Liam is on a great soccer team with a wonderful coach who is doing an amazing job of teaching strategies while keeping the focus on fun.   
4. Caitlin had requested to try ballet this fall and thanks to a tip from the mom of a friend of her's I found a fun beginners ballet and tap class. Unfortunately earlier this month Caitie sprained her ankle on a neighbors trampoline and so she needed to miss a few classes but she is getting back into the routine and having fun.
5. At the beginning of the month Dr Daddy and I had some fun, dressed up and attended the Penn Newman Anniversary Gala.  The Newman Center at the University of Pennsylvania was founded over 125 years ago becoming the first in the nation. Being long-timers we both remember the 100th Anniversary and was so happy to join in the festivity's for this anniversary.
6. Because in life sometimes everything happens at once the same weekend as the anniversary events was also the baptism of the daughter of friends of ours. So after returning home from the gala we loaded up the kids in their pj's and headed out into the night to NY.  We arrived in the early hours at a quaint hotel founded in the 1790's by a relative of John Adams and grabbed some sleep. The baptism was lovely, the reception fun, and aside from the rain the trip home went smoothly.
7. On the docket for the weekend; a soccer match, some home and house work, and getting pumpkins for carving.  Whatever yours hold ~ have a good weekend!

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Quick Take #282: Endings and Beginnings

1. I promise to post the rest of our Canadian vacation recap next week but wanted to take time and put down some thoughts as our summer ends and the school year begins.  As many of you parents know come next June my threesome may look very different.
2. Given how fast this summer flew we must have had a lot of fun! Certainly two trips contributed to the speed I'm sure; but also the kids enjoyed their camps, friends and pool time (when the afternoon thunderstorms stayed away).  Summer work was done largely without complaint and a good amount of reading was done by all of us.
3. First days are always a bit rough with completing supply lists, forms to fill out and books to cover but all in all I'm happy with the launch week we had.
4. Elisabeth is starting 6th grade, excited about Advanced Math and considering switching back to drums after playing violin for the past two years.  She is continuing with gymnastics and choir.
5. Liam is starting 3rd grade, and has the same teacher Lisbeth had. Good group of kids in his class with several of his 'buds'.  He is playing soccer this fall and is asking for guitar lessons.
6. Caitlin is starting 1st grade and was quite nervous about moving into the main school but after visiting her classroom and seeing many of her friends from Kindergarten she is getting excited about the year.  Will be continuing with Daisy Scouts and has been asking for ballet lessons.
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Quick Takes #281: Canada, O'Canada

1. In a bit of a departure from our usual August vacation, thanks to the generosity of my MIL we as an extended family have recently returned from a Canadian Maritime cruise.  Which in summary was wonderfully exhausting and hopefully have left us with many, many memories to reflect back on over the years.
2. It all began very familiarly with driving to Maine which actually went fairly smoothly with minimal traffic for a summer Friday; the next morning we quickly repacked and headed down to meet up with the rest of the family and head to the port. Boarding the ship involved the excited nervousness of having never done this before and being unsure of how independent the kids would need to be with holding their own passports and answering security questions.  In the end it all went very smoothly and we found our room which was very nice and well set-up for four people (Elisabeth was staying with her TCBFF in Gma's room).
3. Bar Harbor was our first port of call and our first experience with the process of getting off & on the boat made more interesting by having to take a tender (small boat) to the port as the Zaandam had anchored off-shore.  Bar Harbor is a lovely old seaport town where we found tasty sandwiches and a wonderful park to eat them.  After while some of the party went shopping the rest of us followed a walking trail along the coastline. Beautiful rocky coast, with evergreens right down to the shore line and lovely old homes.  Other highlights were the cannons the kids could climb on and the ducks by the tender dock.
4. Halifax allowed for a wonderful and unusual welcome; as we walked down to breakfast we heard a bagpiper welcoming us to Nova Scotia otherwise known as New Scotland.  On our walking tour we saw the Government House, a beautiful old church, the Citadel overlooking the city, and the Public Garden.  After a lot of walking luck smiled on us and we found a playground for the kids to blow off some energy and the grown-ups to sit a spell. Then back to the boat to prepare for our first fancy dinner on the ship.
5. Sydney was our stop in Cape Breton Island (also a part of Nova Scotia); and we were again greeting by a bagpiper.  After all the walking of the day before I decided to hang back with the kids and we explored the shoreline while the rest of the group headed into town to shop and sightsee.  During our wandering we found a fun ice cream spot that we returned to later in the afternoon while others enjoyed an American Taste Kitchen demonstration.
6. And so as to not cram too much into one post I will leave the overview here with one lovely hint ~ our next port of call allowed me to visit the house that was the inspiration for Green Gables!!
7. Photos: 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
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