Seven Quick Takes -- Take 2

I'm joining the "Seven Quick Takes" posts over at This Ain't the Lycium by Kelly Mantoan. Check out her blog, she's been writing a lot longer than I have, and her writing is awesome. :)

How 'Quick Takes' works is that the participating bloggers share 7 quick thoughts or events from the past week every Friday. It's basically a series of sketches rather than a more cohesive, polished post. I really enjoyed reading them prior to starting my blog (since I was in high school, actually...since Jennifer Fulwhiler was still blogging and hosting them at Conversion Diary), so I'm excited to be able to join in with some of my own.

So without further ado,


1.) We decided to stop praying a full Rosary every night. 

I know, I know. This practically makes us heathens.

Some of you have read my post on praying the rosary as a family, so you have an inkling as to why we made this decision. We've been praying the whole thing for several months now, but after a series of conversations between me and my husband, and reading up on what family prayer should ideally be for the toddler years, we've discerned that a full Rosary every night probably isn't the best idea right now.

 And truthfully, it's been an endurance game for a long time. Right now we're down to just doing a decade while we figure out what our nightly prayer routine should look like. We might just stick with the decade, we might just end up doing a Hail Mary, or maybe we'll end up chanting in Latin every night, I dunno.

Barely any change at all, really. 

But at any rate, we've officially lost our 'good Catholic family' bragging rights. :P

2.) I really, really, REALLY hate rats. 



We discovered two nests of rats in and immediately bordering our chicken run. They were built up in trees, of all places.

My husband, Chris, poked at one of the nests with a pole and sprayed a high powered stream of water at them from the hose. Immediately, two or three rats scattered into the tree branches. He turned to the other nest and did the same thing.

This time, it was an absolute explosion of furry bodies, racing into the farthest reaches of the tree tops, falling down from the branches into the chicken yard, and scurrying, scurrying, scurrying away to any nook or cranny that they could find.

It was really gross. And kind of impressive, to be honest.

3.) I am, and forever will be, grateful for Veggie Tales. 




We bought the boxed set for the kids for Christmas, and it was totally worth the investment. Well written and funny, so the grown-ups sanity is spared even after a 100 viewings (I still remember the moment I realized that the French peas are based on the French taunting in Monty Python and the Holy Grail), and engaging enough that it buys me a few moments to finish dinner or go do an outside chore where I need to focus. And the messages, while simple, are things I want my children to hear.

4.) The end of the year is really, really hard on public high school teachers.




Chris has been coming home and crashing pretty much every day after coming home from school. He teaches seniors, and the past few days have been one long stream of year-end drama and logistical nightmares.

The other day, he got home, got into his comfy ratty T-shirt, enjoyed a beer with dinner, checked his phone-- and then immediately jumped up, threw on a pair of khakis and a dress shirt, and bolted out the door. Turned out they never asked anyone to read the Speech and Debate awards at the senior awards dinner, and his boss texted him asking if he was doing it. Tonight. At a dinner that started in the next fifteen minutes.

So be kind to teachers this time of year. They've got a rough gig.

5.) Potty training is hard. 



So. Much. POOP.

And mysterious puddles. You're never sure quite what you just stepped in.

6.) The dead snake saga (an ongoing tragedy) 



We have this plastic bird netting over our chicken run, basically to keep the hens inside of it because they're flighty and like to take off when they're startled. They end up in the yard, the dog thinks they're a cool new toy, and the feathers fly. No good.

Unfortunately, it's all rather harsh on the local wildlife. I've found two dead snakes utterly tangled in the netting in the past two days. We assume they're after the rats.

I actually don't mind snakes. None of the ones we've found are poisonous, and they're great pest control. So to stop committing snake-icide, we're going to be replacing the netting soon. I've had to cut up too many dead animals with scissors at this point (you would not believe how tangled they actually get). Ew.


7.)  Don't trust your Blogger account. Ever. 




You know that feeling you had in college when you spent hours and hours on a paper, only to have it fail to save?

You can re-create that feeling with a Blogger account and a slightly faulty internet connection. You know, if you're ever feeling nostalgic.


That's all, Folks!!

To see the rest of the Quick Takes for this week, you can follow this link here.