SQT: Apples, a Tattoo, and Babyness

Right now my living room is a disaster.  I’ve got three loads of clean-but-piled-up laundry all over the couch, and there are legos and books all over the floor.  The biggest factor in my meal planning is which pan is clean.  With eating all three meals at home, seven days a week, we go through a lot of pans.

I’ve read some devotional somewhere about looking around the mess of life and thinking of an associated reason to be grateful.  Laundry– be thankful for clothes to wear.  Dishes– be thankful for food to eat.  Plus-plus blocks strewn everywhere– be thankful for a houseful of happyish kids.

That’s a lovely thought, but it still just means I’ve got a lot to do.

Two of my favorite bloggers (Anni and Angela)  have been taking time each week to focus on gratitude.  Even thought I’m not sure I’m quite at the place where I can be grateful for the crayon marks on the tile or the balled up dirty socks I found in the pantry (the pantry!?!?), gratitude is one of the biggest factors in having a joyful life.  And I want to live a life of joy.

My blog tagline is “Loving the life behind the mess,”  because it’s something I need to hear Every.  Single. Day.  Or I’ll get caught up in the mysterious red goo on the wall (pretty sure it’s Babybel cheese wax) and forget to smile.  Forget to laugh.  Forget how beautiful my life is.

These little bits of life have me feeling extra grateful this week

 

-1- Apples
Our neighbor has a connection and gave us three five gallon buckets of apples.  Eventually we processed them all end ended up with applesauce.  Applesauce that we didn’t have to buy.  Applesauce we know is completely free of sugar and preservatives.  Applesauce that will be a little taste of summer during our long, cold winter.  Yay, apples!

 

-2- Our Library Card
We are down to one very small shelf of books, and the rest are in storage.  (Ummm…now that I’ve typed that out, I realize we still have a basket of chapter books and rubber tub of board books as well.  Which is probably about the quantity of children’s books a normal family might have.)  That means we’re relying heavily on the library to keep our kids from smearing more red goo on the walls out of boredom.  I love the library with a passion reserved for sports teams.  If the library had a jersey, I’d buy it.  If the library went on a six year losing streak, I still proclaim publicly that it’s a building year.   I don’t drink, but I’m pretty sure I’m only a few beers away from this tat:

 

I’d totally get it somewhere trendy like my wrist or behind my ear.

 

 

-3- The Garbage Man
Every Friday at about 7:30 The Garbage Man comes by with his fancy truck.  It has an arm that lifts up the can and dumps it into the back of the truck.  The Garbage Man is good for about 2 minutes of silence each week, well, except for the truck noises.  We watch him go down the street and then come back up again.  That guy is the best.

-4- This Red Head

Bea is so very two.  So Very Two.  But in between bouts of stubborness, she is the sweetest, cuddliest, little Bea ever.  She answers to “Bubs,” “Beebs,” “Beebee,” “Bubsie,” and any other variation we come up with.  Since our oldest is only called by her entire first name all the time, it seems funny that Bea gets such a stack of nicknames.

I was working in the kitchen, and she asked me to tie an old dishtowel on her with a ponytail.  She was so pleased to tell me she was Mary.  So sweet!

 

-5-  Survival of the Fittest Gardening

Cee and Elle are modeling the 2 cantaloupes we harvested from our garden this year.  This is noteworthy because we didn’t actually plant cantaloupe.

In case you missed my introductory post last year, here are the directions for starting your own Survival of the Fittest Garden:

1.  Plant some seeds.
2.  Water half-heartedly on occasion when it gets dry.
3.  Weed for exactly 40 minutes total over the course of the summer.
4.  Harvest in the fall, amazed at how little effort was required to get turnips bigger than Bea’s head.

 

With the move this year, it was our survival-est garden yet.  We planted a tomato, a pepper, and some lima bean plants that the kids got from co-op.  And we harvested tomatoes, a few peppers, a handful of lima beans, and two cantaloupe.  No turnips this year.  They’re easy to grow, but not easy to eat.

-6- Veggie Fairy

Aside from the tastiest cantaloupes we’ve ever eaten, our garden was a little sad this year.  But we’re grateful for the vegetable fairy who left all sorts of goodies on our front step.  It’s exciting to stop outside in the morning and discover someone else’s produce generosity.  Thanks to the veggie fairies in the world!

 

-7-  Babyness

This is our only 3-D ultrasound picture so far, back when the new baby was 13 weeks.  On the one hand, I can admit he or she is a little alien-ish in appearance.  On the other hand, at only 13 weeks just look at how many features are visible.  Isn’t that amazing?!?!  Won’t be long before #5 will be locking us out of the house, too!

 

 

Linking up with Kelly for Seven Quick Takes!

 

Day 1:  I’m baaaaaack!
Day 2:  The House Sitchiation
Day 3: An ER Adventure
Day 4: First Reconciliation Head to Head
Day 5: Packing Struggles
Day 6: This Is Us Bookless Club
Day 7: Just Take Me Now
Day 8:  Hair Trouble
Day 9:  The Crutch of Comfort
Day 10: The Whole Truth About My Summer Break
Day 11: Popcorn and Cardboard
Day 12: Locked Out
Day 13: Apples, a Tattoo, and Babyness