7 Quick Takes (volume 44)

-----1-----

Pumpkin wrapped up ballet camp this week and I was so proud of her. Especially since she experienced cliques for the first time and it wasn't pretty, or fun. Who knew that cliques started when you were four years old? It seems that a group of mothers all signed up their daughters (who apparently only play with each other) for the same dance camp on this particular week. So ,unlike the last time we went, (each camp is a week long) this group of girls only spoke to each other and ignored poor Pumpkin. She lasted 4 of the 5 days. I didn't make her go the 5th day because really, do you have to be exposed to every bad thing when you are four years old? Also, I had just shared with Big Daddy the night before how proud I was of her that she was going and having fun even though I didn't think any of the other girls even spoke to her. I know my daughter. On Friday morning she cried that she didn't want to go to camp because she didn't have any friends. She has never cried about going to Sunday school or any of the other camps she goes to. She always makes friends when she is there and expects to meet new people. My heart still hurts for her, even though she has (thankfully) forgotten about it.

-----2-----

Two more Leopard Geckos hatched bringing our count to three adults and 5 hatchlings. Who knew the life study of a gecko would result in a small gecko farm? Clearly we need to separate our male and wrap up this study! Cutie Pie enjoys running up to the tanks and screaming "Gecko", she's 1. I actually think Tortuga was her first word. Another animal lover enters our family. I think it's time to hit Big Daddy up for a puppy. Because with 4 homeschooled children, a writing gig and building a house I don't have nearly enough to do!

-----3-----

I posted my updated Schedule Cards that I made under my Teacher Tips tab. But you don't have to be a homeschooling mother to appreciate them. They really are great for helping your little ones understand WHAT we are doing next, WHEN we are going to the playground (or where ever they keep asking you to go), and that you eat breakfast before dinner. They work like a charm in our house!

-----4-----

This was the week of the playdates. We had two playdates and I'm exhausted. It was a good reminder how good it is to make time for play though with our friends. Which reminds me that I need some Mommy Playdates too (sans kids). I'm hoping to do that at least once a month starting in the fall.

----5----

This week they began work on our dining room ceiling. I'm really excited about this dining room because in each of our other homes we rarely used it. It is my intention that we will eat all of our dinners in the dining room---not only save it for special occasions. If that seems a bit difficult to pull off in my wife-of-a-road-warrior-reality, then I will insist we eat all of our weekend dinners in the dining room. Weekends are when we are usually able to eat as a family so it will be even more special in the dining room I think....even if it is take-out pizza!

-----6-----

I'm so excited about the Not-back-to-school blog hop that Darcy from Life with my 3 boybarians is hosting! You see, it was my bright idea and I didn't have to do a darn bit of work. Bonus! I like being the idea girl. I can sit back with a smug smile and enjoy the fruits of someone else's labor. How often do we get to that as moms? All kidding aside. This is going to be cool. So make sure you participate and tell Darcy how brilliant she was for listening to my bright idea!

-----7-----

I'm really excited about speaking at the upcoming Heart of the Matter Conference

which is being held August 3-7th. The speaker line-up is amazing and I'm both honored and amazed to be a part of the conference. I am so excited about my presentation, "The Best Online Teaching Tools" and Big Daddy even taught me how to create a pretty cool looking Power Point Presentation! I'm so addicted to PowerPoint that I think I'm going to create slides to use in our home and present to my children throughout the day. I'm sure they will appreciate my "Here is why you need to eat what I cook you" slide, don't you?

You can join in with your own 7 Quick Takes here.